"We are running in these random places where people can’t understand" - Noah Lyles on lack of marketing in athletics

By Janhavi Shinde

Modified Mar 13, 2024 11:31 GMT

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Noah Lyles has always been vocal about the coverage and marketing of the athletic championships and never hesitates to express his concerns about the limited marketing for the sport.

Lyles has consistently drawn the attention of spectators through his distinctive actions, unique hairstyles, performing live at the league's event, making musical entrances for the competition and showcasing different victory celebrations.

In a recent interview with Brandon Marshall, a former American football player, he expressed his views on the insufficient marketing of athletics.

"That leads to another issue of our sport, that we are running in these random places. We are running in these random places where people can’t understand," Lyles expressed.

The statement came after Lyles informed Marshall he would be competing next in Eugene, to which Marshall candidly responded:

"Where the hell is Eugene?"

"They are excited and they are like, they just saw me or Sha’Carri or Christian Coleman who else won world championships," Lyles said further. "They wanna go see them now. It’s like…OK, we are gonna be in the U.S. But how would they know if we aren’t marketing or targeting the right demographics which we really struggle with," Lyles continued.

Lyles will compete next at the finals of the 2023 Diamond League series in Eugene, Oregon, held on September 16 and 17, 2023.

The second episode of "Untitled: The Noah Lyles Project" will be released following the 2023 World Athletics Championships

Noah Lyles celebrates after winning in the Men's 100m final at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary

"Untitled: The Noah Lyles Project" docuseries second part will be released on September 15, following Lyles' remarkable performance at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

The first episode featured behind-the-scenes footage from his 2020 Tokyo Olympic bronze medal, his 200m victory at the Racers Grand Prix in Jamaica, including post-race conversations with Usain Bolt, and a look at his home training base in Orlando, Florida. The second part will focus on his performance in Budapest.

In a short glimpse of the second episode shared on social media, Lyles expressed what went into his head while competing in the 100m semi-finals.

"Semifinals, World Championships, easily, easily one of the hardest parts of all the rounds," he said. "The gun goes off, I take my first 3 steps and I'm like ohh...this, this right here is what I've trained for all the year. We reached the 60m mark, the race is already mine," he continued.

Noah Lyles clinched the men's 100m world champion title, clocking an extraordinary time of 9.83 seconds.