Noah Lyles left shocked by the new World Athletics award format

Noah Lyles, the three-time world sprint champion from Budapest 2023, expressed his confusion over the new format of the awards for the world’s best athletes. This year, World Athletics decided to select separate winners in track events, field disciplines, and road racing, resulting in a total of six awards for the top athletes in 2023 for both men and women.

The American sprinter claimed world titles in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay in Budapest during the summer. The 26-year-old Lyles admitted that he had thought he was one of the five finalists for the overall Men’s Athlete of the Year award and expected that, as in 2023, one man and one woman would be chosen as the best.

However, Lyles discovered upon arriving at the gala in Monaco that this year there are three separate categories for both men and women: track, field disciplines, and road racing. “It wasn’t what I expected it to be. No one was prepared for what happened tonight, especially after hearing our names back to back. I was a little confused about what exactly happened,” said Lyles.

While Lyles agrees with the concept of the new format, he expressed his wish to know in advance about the different categories. “I was very shocked,” added the American.

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Tebogo wins historic 200m gold as Lyles suffers physical problems

Noah Lyles speaks out about the lack of communication from World Athletics as he should. Track and Field need voices like Noah Lyles and Sha’carri Richardson who are in a position to and not afraid to do so. pic.twitter.com/FLSyi3w6OL

— Track Spice 🌶️ (@trackspice) December 12, 2023

The other male winners were Armand Duplantis and Kelvin Kiptum, while on the women’s side, the recipients were Tigist Assefa, Faith Kipyegon, and Yulimar Rojas.