Noah Lyles is quick to court controversy off the track, now he’s out to back his boast that he’s the fastest man on earth by winning Olympic 100metres gold.
The speedy sprinter from Gainesville, Florida, caused outrage on social media when he rocked up to the opening ceremony in Paris with the word ICON painted on his fingernails.
NBA superstar Kevin Durant, who won two hoops titles with the Golden State Warriors, was enraged when Lyles mocked suggestions teams who win the domestic sports leagues in the United States are world champions.
Echoing views widely held around the rest of the planet, the 27-year-old taunted: ‘World champions of what? The United States?’
Lyles boasts unlimited confidence and swagger, although he maintains he is not cocky, and after winning 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay gold in last year’s world championships in Budapest, his mission is to go one better in the French capital by winning the 4x400m relay as well.
He prepared for Paris by clocking a 100m personal best of 9.81 seconds three weeks ago – still 0.23secs behind Usain Bolt’s world record – but it’s not a foregone conclusion that he wins Sunday’s final, which will be watched by one of the biggest sporting audiences of the year.
Great Britain’s Zarnell Hughes will be hoping to catch lightning in a bottle after claiming bronze in Hungary 12 months ago while Jamaican Kishane Thompson clocked the fastest time of the year when he registered 9.77 at the end of June.
Oblique Seville, who is also from the Caribbean, and Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala cannot be discounted while Italy’s Marcel Lamont Jacobs won’t give up his title without a fight.
Thompson is the favourite to strike gold after his blistering outing in Kingston when he claimed he was slowing down in the latter stages of the race. It was his first appearance of the year and he has been installed as the 11/8 market leader with BoyleSports.
But Lyles is the man for the big occasion and can back up his bold boasts by charging to victory in Sunday’s final at 13/8 with the same firm.
Kerr can deny Ingebritsen
Reigning world champion Sha’Carri Richardson is 8/13 with Betfred to win the women’s 100m gold while Britain’s 1500m world champion Josh Kerr, who claimed bronze in the last Olympics in Tokyo, is 2/1 with Unibet, BetMGM and Bet UK to prevent Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen from successfully defending his title.
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Wigan’s Tokyo runner-up, world silver-medallist and European champion Keely Hodgkinson is the odds-on favourite in the women’s 800m after clocking the fastest time of the year when demolishing a class field in London 11 days ago but don’t overlook Jemma Reekie for a place on the podium. The flying Scotswoman was an agonising fourth in Tokyo but has the second fastest time in the world this year and is worth an each-way flutter at 14/1 with StarSports.
• Opera Singer can raise the roof at Glorious Goodwood by repelling the challenge of Emily Upjohn and winning the Nassau Stakes at 15/8 with William Hill. The selection, trained by Aidan O’Brien, was just a length in second behind Porta Fortuna in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot last time out and the winner has since stormed home in the Falmouth at Newmarket.
• Michael Appleby’s uber consistent Big Evs suffered a rare defeat at Royal Ascot but can overturn placing with King Charles III winner Asfoora in the King George on Friday at 7/2 with bet365 and Sky Bet while Sergeant Wilko, on a hat-trick after wins at Newmarket and Leicester, can be backed each-way to produce a shock result just like near namesake Sergeant Bilko in Saturday’s Stewards Cup at 16/1 with Hills.
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