Winners of the 100-meter sprint at the Olympics have historically taken the title of “world’s fastest man,” but Sirius XM host Maggie Gray doesn’t think that title belongs to gold medalist Noah Lyles right now, given his narrow margin of victory in Sunday’s final.
On her radio show Maggie & Perloff on Monday, Gray set the bar at Usain Bolt or Tyreek Hill for an athlete to truly flex their dominant speed in their sport and said Lyles was going a little too far.
“Can you really go around claiming, ‘I’m the fastest, I’m the greatest, I’m this, that, and the other thing,’ when you won by 5/100ths of a second?” Gray questioned. “There needs to be a little more humility when you win by 5/100ths of a second.”
Can you really brag about being the fastest person on earth if you win a race by .005?
No! pic.twitter.com/dHUAVr1ndY
— Maggie Gray (@MaggieGray) August 5, 2024
Gray correctly noted that it’s hard to talk trash or take a (metaphorical) victory lap when, in the moment, you weren’t even sure if you won the race.
“I mean, come on, he thought the other guy won, even,” Gray said. “A lot of people thought the other guy won.”
Lyles stirred controversy last year when he spoke at the 2023 track and field world championships and called out NBA stars for calling themselves “world champions” when, in reality, people like him are the ones actually competing globally. NBA stars took that personally, and Lyles has developed a reputation for exuberant confidence and competitive flair.
Still, he backs it up by winning — even if the margin is infinitesimal.
And while Gray may have a point about this year’s Olympics and Lyles being in a near-tie with Kishane Thompson, the American Lyles did win the 100-meter at last year’s World Championships by more clear-cut .05 seconds.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.