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After jabbering about it since 2023, Tyreek Hill and Noah Lyles announced they are going to race, but the speed freaks can’t say where and can’t say when. The NFL wide receiver and U.S. Olympic sprinter can’t even say how long the race will be, just that it’ll be shorter than 100 yards or meters and longer than 40.
The shorter the better for Hill, who in nine seasons with the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs has accumulated 11,098 yards on 798 receptions, an average of 13.9 yards per catch.
The longer the better for Lyles, who won gold in the 100 meters at the Paris Olympics, holds the American record in the 200 meters and has won the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix 60-meter dash four times.
It’s not even clear how the distance will be measured. All we know is that the race won’t last long: Lyles’ personal best in the 100 meters is 9.81 seconds; Hill’s personal best in the 40-yard dash is 4.29 seconds.
Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill scoffed at Noah Lyles’ assertion that U.S. sports titles shouldn’t be called world championships. He challenged the Olympian to a race.
And we can also be fairly certain that both athletes will continue to run off at the mouth before they run on the track. They’ve been trash talking since Lyles made an offhand comment about American sports leagues calling their annual winners “world champions” when it’s a big ol’ world.
Hill took the bait when Kay Adams mentioned Lyles’ comment on the “Up & Adams Show” during Dolphins preseason camp in August, saying he’d beat Lyles in a race.
And the needles haven’t stopped, including during a Thursday conference call with People.
“Everybody says they’re gonna be the world’s fastest, but when it comes down to it, you gotta be the winner every time, each and every time, and every time I show up to the biggest moments, I win,” Lyles said. “That’s why I’m the world’s fastest. I did at the Olympics. I do it at world championships. I do it wherever it’s needed to be done.
“And if I gotta go down and, you know, beat up on Tyreek to prove that I’m the world’s fastest, then it’s gonna be done.”
American Noah Lyles, who long bragged he was the world’s fastest man, won the men’s 100-meter final in a photo finish at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
Hill was quick to respond with a money quote: “I mean, as long as we ain’t putting people’s mamas in it, I don’t care. We can go as far as far can be. We’re here for a good time.”
Ah, the truth emerges. This will be a fun run.
In that light-hearted spirit, Lyles went to the written word Feb. 2 immediately after winning the 60 at the Indoor Grand Prix, holding a scrap of paper in front of his face that read, “Tyreek could never.”
Hill responded by taking the challenge, saying he’s “got to do this for the guys that play my sport,” reminding folks that most NFL receivers “did run track at some point.” He waited a beat, then delivered the dagger: “And we can come and take over your sport at any moment if we really wanted to.”
The time for talk eventually will end, and the race presumably will be scheduled during Lyles’ ramp-up to the USA outdoor track and field championships July 31.
The Dolphins condemned the actions of the Miami-Dade police officers who pulled Tyreek Hill out of his car, pushed him to the ground and handcuffed him before Sunday’s game.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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