It’s another year of chasing for Lyles in the 100m, but can he deliver in Tokyo regardless?

It’s another year of chasing for Lyles in the 100m, but can he deliver in Tokyo regardless?

There is this scene from the Dark Knight Rises when Bruce Wayne returns as Batman after years of retirement, facing Bane, a villain stronger and more ruthless than anyone before. Despite all the times Batman has already saved Gotham, people doubt him, the police see him as a washed-up vigilante, the city views him as a fugitive, and even Alfred begs him to quit because he thinks Bruce can’t endure it anymore.

But Bruce refuses to back down. After being broken and literally thrown into “the pit” (a prison meant to crush hope), he rebuilds himself, climbs out, and returns to Gotham to prove everyone wrong, delivering when it mattered most. The outcome might sound really cliche as it is fiction, but similarities can be drawn to the current situation of Noah Lyles.

It’s almost as if he has to prove himself every year to the world. For a sprinter that is already the World and Olympic Champion in the 100m, it does feel as if whatever it does would always draw scrutiny. Maybe because it stems from the fact that there is the general perception he isn’t the fastest man over the distance. The times prove that. But when all is said and done, the race that matters is that one race at a global final and Lyles has proved he’s better than anyone.

This year, he has had to start the major part of his season a bit late as he missed almost two months of racing due to an injury. But he came back with a bang after he beat Olympic 200m Champion Letsile Tebogo in the 200m at the Monaco Diamond League. He followed that with a win over Kenny Bednarek over the same distance at the US Trials. At his peak, Lyles is unstoppable over the distance. But it’s the 100m that he still seeks validation. And even after wins in the last two years, questions still linger.

In his last three 100m one off races including finals, Lyles has lost once to Kishanae Thompson and twice to Oblique Seville. All three would hurt as he lost by huge margins against them. The truth is, both sprinters have always had higher ceilings than Lyles over the distance, they just seem to come unstuck when they have faced him when it mattered the most.

Seville’s two wins over Lyles in London and more recently in Lausanne was as emphatic as it can be. He clocked…