Canada relay team and Noah Lyles (Photos via Getty Images & @EvanDunfee Twitter)
The internet had a field day poking fun at American runner Noah Lyles after old comments he made about his Canadian opponents during the World Relays in May.
Canada won Olympic gold in the men’s 4x100m relay on Friday after Noah Lyles and Team USA got disqualified for a botched handoff. The team of Jerome Blake, Aaron Brown, Andre De Grasse and Brendon Rodney claimed first place with a 37.50 result and 0.155 reaction time.
Back at the 2024 World Athletics Relays in May, Lyles was asked about USA’s rivalry with Canada. Lyles took a big-time shot at his opponents by responding to the reporter’s question with, “Who?”
With the Canadians emerging victorious in Paris and the USA failing to medal in the 4x100m relay, Noah Lyles was given a harsh reminder about his previous comments. Even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau couldn’t help but join in on the fun:
At the World Relays, Lyles won gold in the men’s 4x100m race with Courtney Lindsey, Kenneth Bednarek and Kyree King. Brown, Blake, De Grasse and Rodney took the silver medals, with Aymeric Priam, Jeff Erius, Méba-Mickaël Zeze and Pablo Matéo of France winning bronze.
Unfortunately for Lyles, the internet did not forget what he had to say about Canada three months ago.
Bittersweet 2024 Olympics For Noah Lyles
On one hand, Noah Lyles added Olympic gold to his illustrious trophy room by winning the 100-meter race. But he also lost to Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo in a stunning upset in the 200-meter race. Tebogo won the gold medal, with Bednarek winning the silver.
After the race, Lyles confirmed that he had been diagnosed with COVID-19 two days earlier. So there’s no telling what could have been if Lyles wasn’t dealing with the illness during the race. Lyles’ opportunity to win one more medal in the 400-meter race then ended with an unfortunate DQ.
But hey, one gold medal is better than zero.