“World champion of 3rd place?” - Kevin Durant throws shade at Noah Lyles after losing the gold medal in the 200m at Paris Olympics

By Janhavi Shinde

Modified Aug 09, 2024 10:54 GMT

Kevin Durant recently took a dig at Noah Lyles after the sprinter secured third place in the men's 200m at the Paris Olympics 2024. Lyles settled in third place after clocking a time of 19.70 seconds, following Letsile Tebogo and Kenny Bednarek, who clocked 19.46 and 19.62 seconds, respectively.

Durant's jab at the sprinter stems from the controversial statements Lyles had made after enjoying a victorious streak at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. The American sprinter clinched three gold medals in Budapest, including the 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m relay race.

Following his glorious feat in a post-race interview last year, Lyles made a controversial comment, saying that it "hurts" him when the NBA champions call themselves world champions. He further claimed that the track and field athletes, who compete against players from different countries are the world champions.

"You know the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA finals and they have "world champion" on their head," Noah Lyles said. "World champion of what? The United States? Don't get me wrong. I love the U.S., at times, but that ain't the world. That is not the world. We are the world."

Circling back to Lyles' recent campaign, Bleacher Report celebrated the sprinter's third-place finish in the 200m event at the 2024 Games, prompting the American basketball power forward to take a swipe at the sprinter in the comment section and write:

“World champion of 3rd place?”

---

Noah Lyles secured a bronze medal in the 200m after suffering from COVID-19 at the Paris Olympics 2024

Bronze medalist Noah Lyles of Team United States after competing in the Men's 200m Final at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Getty Images)

Noah Lyles secured a bronze medal in the men's 200m at the 2024 Paris Olympics despite suffering from COVID-19. While the event was slated for Thursday, August 8, 2024, Lyles tested positive on Tuesday morning.

According to BBC.com Lyles said that although COVID affected his performance, he was proud of his third-place victory. He also opened up about the health issues he experienced a few days before the race.

"I've had to take a lot of breaks," he said. "I was coughing through the night. I'm more proud of myself than anything, coming out here to get a bronze with Covid."

"I was quite light-headed after that race. Shortness of breath, chest pain, but after a while I could catch my breath and get my wits about me. I'm a lot better now," Lyles added.

Before his 200m victory, Lyles clinched a gold medal in the 100m by leaving behind Kishane Thompson in a photo-finish race.