Defending Olympic 100m Champion Noah Lyles named Usain Bolt’s teammate Asafa Powell as the most complete sprinter of all time.
It was a surprise answer for most casual fans who would select Bolt but Powell is a highly respected athlete amongst the professionals.
Bolt dominated the sprint field from 2008 to 2016 winning 19 gold medals at the Olympics and World Championships while smashing several records.
Powell, on the other hand, never won an individual Olympic medal and mustered only two bronze medals at the World Championships.
But he was briefly a 100m world record holder with a time of 9.77s in 2005 and won 4x100m gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Powell would eventually finished his career with a personal best of 9.72 seconds, making him the fourth-fastest man in history.
When asked to name the ‘most complete sprinter’ in history, Lyles named Powell and suggested he deserves more respect.
Speaking last year on The Final Leg podcast, the American said: “Truthfully? It’s crazy when I say this because he [Powell] is known as a choker, but it’s also powerful. The man puts together perfect races.
“His execution of the start, his reaction times, his acceleration, his transition – smooth. It’s relaxed when he’s not under pressure. And he finishes. It never fails.”
Powell himself has previously said that he was ‘never at his best’ at major tournaments.
Bolt and American sprinter Justin Gatlin have previously sung his praises with both of them putting Powell inside their top five greats of the 100m event.
Amongst professional sprinters, Powell is often said to have had the best running style as Lyles suggests.
Fastest 100m sprinters in history
| Ranking | Sprinter | Personal best (seconds) | Year |
| 1 | Usain Bolt | 9.58 | 2009 |
| =2 | Yohan Blake | 9.69 | 2012 |
| =2 | Tyson Gay | 9.69 | 2009 |
| 4 | Asafa Powell | 9.72 | 2008 |
| 5 | Justin Gatlin | 9.74 | 2015 |
| =6 | Christian Coleman | 9.76 | 2019 |
| =6 | Trayvon Bromell | 9.76 | 2021 |
| =6 | Fred Kerley | 9.76 | 2022 |
| =9 | Ferdinand Omanyala | 9.77 | 2021 |
| =9 | Kishane Thompson | 9.77 | 2024 |
“That man has what I consider one of the perfect models for sprinting in the 100,” he said.
“My problem is I’m not built like him, so I can’t model myself after that.”
The American sprinter is aiming to further verify his greatness after winning gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics where he also picked up a bronze in the 200m.
In September, the World Athletics Championships is scheduled in Tokyo and Lyles will have his eyes laser focused on claiming three gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay.
But Down Under, teenage sensation Gout Gout is also warming up for his first senior major competition.
Gout and Lyles spoke together on the Beyond The Records Podcast where the Australian claimed he is ‘coming for that spot’, emphasising his will to surpass the Olympic champion.
