The greatest sprinter of all-time has chosen his dream 4×100 relay team.
And Noah Lyles was nowhere to be found.
Usain Bolt is regarded as the greatest sprinter of all-time and on the Mount Rushmore of Olympic athletesGetty
Appearing on The High Performance Podcast, Usain Bolt was asked who would make up his dream 4×100 relay team.
The greatest sprinter of all-time had to pause and think for a moment.
“Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow,” Bolt said.
He paused again.
“It would definitely be Asafa to start, then Justin, Yohan Blake and me at anchor. Those would be the four.”
And with that the sprinting GOAT had picked his dream team.
Asafa Powell, Justin Gatlin, Yohan Blake and Bolt all in their primes, on a 4x100m relay team would smash every record in the book.
And it wouldn’t be particularly close.
The notable Lyles omission isn’t all that surprising, as the 27-year-old USA star has just one Olympic individual gold, to go with his four at the World Championships.
Perhaps more notably, trails all four men’s in Bolt’s dream team.
The Jamaican is regarded as the greatest sprinter of all-time, holds world records for the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay race (along with Blake).
He also has eight Olympic gold medals, six of them individual, after securing the 100m and 200m double at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Games in more than a decade of dominance.
Lyles won his first ever gold medal at the 2024 Paris OlympicsGetty
Lyles is only 27-years-old and has a lot of career left to try and force his way onto Bolt’s list.
While highly unlikely, not impossible.
Lyles won his first ever Olympic gold medal in the men’s 100m over the summer in Paris, establishing himself as one of the best, and fastest, sprinters in the world.
He is currently the number one ranked sprinter in the world.
But when it comes to Powell, Gatlin, Blake and Bolt, they are simply in a class of their own.
They make up four out of the five fastest 100 meter times of all-time.
Quite literally in a category of their own (along with Tyson Gay).
As the graphic shows, Lyles’ personal record in the 100m is 9.79, a whole .21 behind Bolt, and 12th all-time.
Jack SavageOfficial times from World Athletics[/caption]
And on the track, .21 may as well be an eternity.
Lyles is only .05 behind Gatlin’s personal best, which is closer, but still not up to par.
If Lyles ever hopes to make Bolt’s dream 4x100m relay team, he has a ways to go.
The World Athletics Championships is the next major event on Lyles’ calendar, in September 2025, while he also has a couple of other more high profile dates in mind.
He has publicly called out the NFL’s Tyreek Hill for a showdown, while Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track league – which will offer up to $400,000 in prize money – has yet to secure his services.
For Lyles, it is all about profile and he recently said any commitment to Johnson’s revolutionary new venture would hinge on a high profile TV deal, while a showdown with Hill would be on the sprint stars terms.
