Deji’s doodles: Noah Lyles’ quality steals the headline in Boston, Femke Bol is unstoppable indoors, and more
We are back like we never left. The athletics season is back in full swing as we had headline meets in America and Europe. The likes of Grant Holloway, Noah Lyles, and Tara Davis-Woodhall stole the show at the New Balance Indoor meet, while Femke Bol and Julien Alfred continued to shine. Here are some of the talking points from last weekend’s action.
Noah Lyles’s fixes continue to get better over the 60m after he won at the New Balance Indoor meet.
Very few persons would have predicted Noah Lyles not to win the men’s 60m at the New Balance Indoor meet in Boston this past weekend. What might not have been feasible was to run a staggering 6.44s. It was a new Personal Best for Lyles and a World Lead to take home.
It’s already common knowledge that Lyles isn’t the greatest of starters as a sprinter, but judging by what he has been able to achieve in the last 12 months, both indoors and outdoors, then we might as well make him a favorite to win at the world indoors in Glasgow.
Sluggish or not, Lyles has the heart and fight to challenge anyone on their day. Having opened his heat with a decent 6.54s, chalking off 0.07s from his PB in the final is a great deal. As he said after the race, he just needs to be around the chasing pack the first few meters, and he will take it from there. This win has surely skyrocketed his confidence, and it can only get better from here.
More important is the confidence it will give him ahead of the outdoor season. Despite winning his first outdoor medal in the 100m last year, there is still a bit of trepidation about him not being the absolute favorite when he lines up in the blue ribband event. This is what this win in Boston does. To an extent. Let’s see if he can make it more certain in Glasgow.
Tobi Amusan breaks the 60mH African Record again!
Just over two weeks after Tobi Amusan broke the indoor African record by clocking 7.77s at the Astana Indoor Meet in Kazakstan, it threw up a chain of if, not when will the Indoor world record fall? Perhaps stiffer competition will push her to lower the record. That’s what happened in Boston as he chalked off 0.02s from her Record and the African Record, too.
Not since the Olympic year in 2021 did she run a series of indoor races to build herself for the outdoor season….
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