The New Balance Invitational was everything that was advertised. Great distance running. Some exciting field events. And some electric sprints and hurdles. Grant Holloway continued his decade long 60H winning streak. Gabby Thomas dominated over 300m, in spite of being slightly under the weather. And Mikiah Brisco looked good in her 60m win. The talk of Boston however, was the scintillating 6.44sec 60m run by Noah Lyles. Hot talk because it lowered his PB from last year’s 6.51, which in turn begged the question – how fast can Noah run in the 100m? A major conversation given that last year’s improvement to 6.51 resulted in Noah’s first World title in the 100m in a PB 9.83. Similarly his improvement over 60m helped him drop the AR in the 200m to 19.31. So, Boston’s race has become fuel for much speculation. Can Noah win the double in Paris? Can he break the AR in the 100m. Is Noah ready now to break the WR in his pet event, the 200m? For the answer to these and other questions, stay tuned for the Olympic Trials and Olympic Games where we’re sure to find out just how fast Noah is!

There is one question that I did hear online however, that I do want to address now. The question is this, is Noah now the GOAT of American sprinting? A bit of hyperbole coming off of a very scintillating race. A question I’d like to address, mostly because I think that the history of the sport is often lost to our fans. So it gives me a chance to talk history for a minute.

Let’s start by saying that the memory of most fans today only go back to about 2008. Mostly because Beijing was a pretty hot meet for the sprints and relays. When it comes to American sprinting however, our lineage of excellence goes back much farther. Literally back 100 years. Of course, compared to today, the sport was rather rudimentary back in the 1920’s/30’s. Championship tracks were made of cinders; times were clocked by hand; and sprinters dug holes in the ground instead of using blocks. To find a more modern sport, we have to fast forward to the 1960’s. Specifically 1968. Where an all weather track, starting blocks, and automatic timing were all being used. Athletes from all over the world, including Caribbean and African nations competed. And with winning marks (and WR’S) of 9.95, 19.83, and 43.86, results were right in line with today. So it’s from here that I will look at US sprinters to assess where Noah fits within the pantheon of previous champions.

That said, given 1968 as the starting point, the candidates for GOAT-hood in my opinion are (in order of appearance chronologically) – Carl Lewis, Maurice Greene, and Justin Gatlin – and one other athlete to be named shortly. Now, before I go any further, I’m going to kill the suspense and state what I feel is the obvious – Noah Lyles is not ready to be put into this group, yet. His current trajectory is headed in this direction however, and what happens within the next cycle of championships will determine where he lands. With Paris, and Los Angeles being very important in this process. Most importantly Noah must remain healthy, and win a few more titles.

Because as talented as Noah is, health and titles ultimately determine GOAT- hood. Along with some wins outside of championships in meets that matter. You must race and beat the best to be considered the best. And you must give your foes the opportunity to exact revenge. One can’t be afraid to lose. That’s cowardice in my humble opinion. But back to the American GOAT’s. We’ve had several sprinters that are not in this conversation because of injury (bad health); and lack of titles. Steve Williams should have been the first two time double Olympic champion. But he was injured in both 1972 and 76, while dominating everything in between. Tyson Gay was on his way to potentially being double champion in 2008 after winning the double in 2007. Then he got injured during the Olympic Trials in ’08 after running a new AR and the fastest ever 100m to that point. Surgery left him just slightly off after that, and slightly off is huge in the sprints. My final, honorable mention, is Tommie Smith. He set WR’s in both the 200m/400m by age 21. Crushed the 200m field in Mexico City in WR time. Then was taken away from the sport by his protest on the victory stand. Given a lifetime ban by the IAAF. We’re left to only speculate on what his career might have been. Therein lies the status of Noah – his career is not yet complete. Heaven forbid that injury hampers his story moving forward, because current improvement says he could retire at the top of the list. His resume has three World titles over 200m. One World title over 100m. And one Olympic bronze medal in the 200m. A resume most athletes would love to have. But not GOAT ready just yet. So, what does GOAT look like?

I mentioned Tommie Smith, because there are THREE sprint events – 100m, 200m, and 400m. We often forget that, until someone like Fred Kerley, Michael Norman, Shericka Jackson or Gabby Thomas drops “down” from 400m to 100m. Or moves “up” from 100m to 400m. But that used to be somewhat common. Tommie Smith ran 10.1 when the record was 10.0. But he also set long sprint records of 44.5/19.83. Steve Williams ran 44.8 as a college freshman before he set records at 9.9/19.8. And once upon a time, women were even more likely to run all three. Chandra Cheeseborough (10.99/21.99/49.28) and Valerie Brisco (10.99/21.81/48.83) being world class in all three along with several American women since. Including the woman that many consider one of the best ever – Allyson Felix. Olympic and World medalist over both 200m and 400m. And an Olympic finalist over 100m. While many announcers today put sprinters in boxes and call them “100m specialists”, “200m specialists”, and “400m specialists”. Back in the day we just said that “sprinters sprint”. Which meant anything less than 800m!

I say all that, because the true American GOAT in the sprints is rarely spoken of in these conversations. That would be Michael Johnson. He began in the short sprints (100/200), but injuries forced him to “move up” to double in the 200/400. Johnson won one Olympic 200m gold medal (96), and two World 200m gold medals (91/95). He also won two Olympic 400m gold medals (96/00) and four World 400m gold medals (93/95/97/99). Giving him NINE gold medals. Easily more than anyone else in the sprints. Therefore, the GOAT. I’m sure this will be a controversial take for many. But the 400m is a sprint. Not “middle distance”, nor a single event category of, “quartermilers”. That being the case, the man with nine gold medals, must sit atop the list.

Next in line is Carl Lewis. Carl has two Olympic gold medals in the 100m (84/88), and one gold (84) and one silver (88) in the Olympic 200m. He also has two World gold medals in the 100m (83/91), and one silver (87) – as well as a fourth place finish (93). Finally he has a bronze medal in the 200m (93) at Worlds. I think people forget just how prolific Carl was in the sprints at one time. Probably because he was also winning long jump medals – four Olympic golds (84/88/92/96); two World golds (83/87); and one World silver (91). That’s eight sprint medals – just behind Johnson’s nine. Along with seven jump medals. That’s not counting relay medals – just individual. While Johnson is the US sprint GOAT, Carl is arguably the greatest track and field athlete ever – American or otherwise. THE GOAT!

Next would be Justin Gatlin. One Olympic 100m (04) gold, one Olympic 100m silver (16); one Olympic 100m bronze (12). Two World 100m golds (05/17), and three World 100m silvers (13/15/19). Gatlin had one Olympic 200m bronze (04); one World gold (05); and one World 200m silver (15). That’s eleven sprint medals. While Gatlin has more total medals he trails Carl in gold 4 to 5 – with Carl having three Olympic sprint golds! Gatlin only one Olympic gold. Very, very close between the two. Perhaps six of one, half dozen of the other! Either way, that’s the standard that Noah is chasing.

At this point, Noah has four gold medals of his own – three World 200’s and one World 100. And an Olympic 200m bronze. Just slightly off Maurice Greene who had one Olympic gold medal in the 100m (2000) and one Olympic bronze in the 100m (04). Three World gold medals in the 100m (97/99/01), and one World gold medal in the 200m (99). Giving Greene five gold medals and six total medals. Green’s resume being just a hair light compared to the other two. And that because of injury! As Greene was injured winning in ’01. That injury kept him out of the ’03 100m final, and hampered him in ’04. Or we might be having a slightly different conversation.

Those are the four men that are ahead of Noah in the GOAT discussion in my opinion. Noah has four gold medals, but they are all from Worlds. A GOAT needs Olympic hardware of the golden type! So Noah needs to win at least one of the sprints in Paris. Both would be awesome. The sprint double would edge him past Greene and Gatlin – just off Carl. Tokyo (25) could put him past Carl – depending on medal count. Worlds 2027 (location not yet determined) and Los Angeles in 2028 need medals in order to get past Johnson.

I’m sure some people are wondering why I’ve not discussed times. Because I know that fans today are rather obsessed with times. Fans, and even the sport’s organizations (WA and USATF) seem to be obsessed with marks and record breaking. There are lots of fast people on the clock that have no medals. I’ve said for decades, it’s not how fast you run, but when you run fast! And as a coach, I always tell my athletes that if you win against the best, the times will come. Besides, times change from era to era. Technology, equipment, training methods, nutritional knowledge. All these things improve. So athletic performance also improves. At the end of the day, the real question is, how did you perform against the best competition, especially when the titles were on the line? Carl Lewis never got the WR in the long jump, but he’s clearly the best ever in the event. Winning matters. Though all five of the individuals mentioned here set WR’s in various sprint events – Gatlin one that was never ratified. And their records on the clock were all sterling. It was their competitive nature that separated them from the rest however. Ultimately making them the best we’ve ever seen in the United States. In my humble opinion.