Track and field Olympian Noah Lyles holds the American record for fastest men's 200 meter time (19.31 seconds), landing him third all-time, and just won a gold medal in the men's 100 meter and bronze in the men's 200 meter at the Paris Olympics. But there is one NFL player who thinks he can do better. Miami Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill is sure he can beat Lyles in a race.
When asked if he wants to race Lyles, without missing a beat, the "Cheetah" responded with a confident, "I would beat Noah Lyles. I would beat Noah Lyles."
Hill doesn't think he'd defeat the runner by a lot, but maintains he would best Lyles.
Lyles responded and whether he was just shading him, or genuinely didn't know, he said he couldn't remember "cheetahs" name.
"What's that guy? What's the cheetah guy from football? I can't remember his name," he said, asking someone off camera, "What's the football player that thinks he's fast's name?"
While running for gold, Lyles hit a speed of more than 27 miles per hour. Hill hit a top speed of 23.24 miles per hour on a 27-yard kickoff return in 2016, which puts him about four miles per hour slower, at least at their peaks, than Lyles. Of course, Hill was running with football pads on.
Not only would it be tough to beat Lyles in a race, considering he's an Olympic gold medalist with the sole focus being to run as fast as humanly possible; Hill may not even be the fastest player within his own league anymore.
Kansas City Chiefs first-round pick Xavier Worthy holds the NFL Scouting Combine record for the fastest 40-yard dash, clocking in at 4.21 seconds, and could present Hill with a challenge. Another player who could give Hill a run for his money is a rugby player-turned Chiefs running back Louis Rees-Zammit, who hit a top speed of 24.2 miles per hour during a rugby game. That's 0.96 miles per hour faster than Hill's top speed.
Hill also had some words for Lyles based on comments the runner made during the Olympics.
Lyles said champions of American sports leagues shouldn't consider themselves "world champions" because they only competed against other American teams, not teams around the world. The Olympian's remarks have upset some athletes across all sports, including the NBA and NFL, who despite being limited to one continent, are famously referred to as "world champs."
"Noah Lyles can't say nothing after what just happened to him," Hill said, before accusing the runner of faking a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
The third-place finish in the men's 200 meters was not what Lyles wanted or expected and some, including Hill, are suggesting that he used an illness as excuse. Lyles was able to compete because there aren't any rules preventing athletes who test positive for COVID-19 from participating.
"I feel like that's horseradish. So for him to do that and say that we're not world champions of our sport, c'mon brother. Just speak on what you know about … and that's track," Hill said.