Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill says he can beat Team USA’s 100m 2024 Paris Olympic champion Noah Lyles. Can he?

The title of “world’s fastest man” has been worn with not just pride, but bravado, for as long as the term has been applied to the winner of the Olympic 100m race. Of course, there are other fast men out there but as the age-old saying goes, ‘the fastest men are those in the lists’, referring to the idea that only those who step up to compete can be considered vs. those who simply talk about competing.

Tyreek Hill believes he’s faster than Noah Lyles

It would be fair to say that Team USA’s track & field unit had a successful 2024 Olympics in Paris. Indeed, none more so than Noah Lyles holds the American record for fastest men’s 200-meter time (19.31 seconds) - that’s third all-time - and is now the 100-meter Olympic champion following his gold medal win. Lyles’ Olympic campaign did of course come to a dismal end after a third-place finish in the 200m and then a subsequent covid-19 diagnosis which led to a premature departure from Paris. That said, the deed has been done such that the aforementioned ‘title’ can now be applied to the 27-year-old.

There is one person, however, who isn’t convinced and that’s Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Known league-wide for his explosive speed, Hill is largely regarded as the fastest player in the NFL and it appears that he believes that can be translated to the track. Asked recently if he thought he could beat Lyles in a race, the Dolphins’ pass catcher responded without hesitation. “I would beat Noah Lyles. I would beat Noah Lyles.” It’s worth noting that Hill went on to admit that he didn’t believe the margin of victory would be significant, but he did maintain that he would win.

For context, Lyles’ top speed was recorded at 27 miles per hour during his race, while Hill’s top speed to date was 23.24 miles per hour on a 27-yard kickoff return in 2016. Now, to be fair Hill was running with pads and a helmet on while Lyles was not but one has to admit, the difference is telling. Nonetheless, we’ve got to admit it would be a race worth watching. Where the details are concerned, there is an age difference to consider - Hill is 30 years old - as well as the fact that Hill may not even be the fastest player in the NFL anymore, with the likes of Xavier Worthy now holding the NFL Scouting Combine record in the 40-yard dash with a time of 4.21 seconds.

On the other hand, this isn’t entirely about bragging rights. When we consider Hill’s take on some of Lyles’ comments during the Olympics, it’s clear there is more in play here. To be clear, Lyles said champions of American sports leagues shouldn’t refer to themselves as “world champions” because they only competed against other American teams, rather than internationally. Needless to say, those comments were not well received by various professional leagues in the U.S.A. including the NBA and NFL, who are traditionally called “world champs” even though they only play against other American teams. Ultimately, Hill wasn’t having it. “Noah Lyles can’t say nothing after what just happened to him,” Hill said, before going on to accuse the runner of faking a positive covid-19 diagnosis. “I feel like that’s horseradish. So for him to do that and say that we’re not world champions of our sport, c’mon brother. Just speak on what you know about...and that’s track,” Hill said.