NEW YORK : Olympic 100 metres champion Noah Lyles will race NFL wide receiver Tyreek Hill after months of public jabs, the eight-time Pro Bowler confirmed on social media.
Hill, who plays with the Miami Dolphins, challenged Lyles to a 50-yard showdown – using the gridiron game’s preferred metric – days after the American won the blue-riband event in Paris in the most competitive final in Olympic history.
Lyles responded earlier this month after winning his fourth consecutive 60 metres indoor title at the New Balance Grand Prix by tearing his bib off to reveal a scrawled message: “Tyreek Could Never.”
Hill, among the fastest players in the NFL, said on social media that the race was on, writing “Coming to a city near you” with a link to a People magazine article from Thursday evening confirming the meeting.
It was not immediately clear when or where the race would happen, only that it would occur before the U.S. championships in July.
The two have yet to announce what distance they would race, with Hill saying he initially wanted to race 40 metres and Lyles telling the publication that a 100-metres sprint would be a “blowout.”
“We gotta meet in the middle,” said Lyles.
