American sprint star Noah Lyles's surprise outdoor season debut comes later than expected — but right on time

I'll admit I felt underwhelmed when I first perused the start list for the men's 200 metres at this Friday's Diamond League track meet in Monaco.

Letsile Tebogo's name and résumé stood out, obviously. He won gold at this distance in Paris last summer, and established this year's world leading time when he ran 19.76 to win the Prefontaine Classic last Saturday. The rest of the field featured world-class performers, but nobody we can count on to run 19.70. It looked less like the type of high-stakes showdown that makes Diamond League streams appointment viewing for track fans, and more like a showcase for Tebogo fresh off his win in Oregon.

So I headed back to Instagram, where I spend too much of my free time and get too much of my news, and learned about an important update. Noah Lyles, the Olympic 100-metre champion, and, if attention is currency, the richest man in track and field, had just signed on to run the 200 in Monaco. Suddenly his recent Instagram posts, featuring him on a therapy table, getting twisted like a pretzel by a medical professional, made much more sense. Lyles was in final tune up mode, ready, at last, to start his 2025 outdoor season.

WATCH | How will Noah Lyles fare in season debut in Monaco?

It qualified as a mild surprise, because, as far as we knew, he was slated to open up July 19 at a Diamond League meet in London. But the timing was impeccable nevertheless.

Besides an outdoor season soft launch at the Tom Jones Invitational, where he ran an open 400 and a leg on the 4x100 relay, we haven't seen Lyles in competition since early February.

In his absence the sport hasn't moved on without him, but it has definitely kept moving.

In the U.S., Kenny Bednarek used Grand Slam Track's aborted season to establish himself as a dual medal threat. Going 6-for-6 in 100 and 200-metre finals. Veteran sprinter Trayvon Bromell appears, yet again, to have bounced back from lower-leg injuries, running 9.84 in June to win Diamond League Rome.

That time held up as the world lead until Jamaican trials in late June, where Kishane Thompson ran 9.80 in the semis, then laid down a 9.75 in the final. That's the fastest 100m clocking since 2015. And in the 200, Tebogo worked through some early-season injuries and delivered that breakout race at Prefontaine.

While his rivals have spent the spring and early summer posting top-tier results, what has Lyles been running?

His mouth, mostly. At least in public.

It's not his fault. In mid May he was scheduled to compete in a 150m race at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, but scratched from that event. He didn't cite a specific injury but explained to NBC's Lewis Johnson that he had a tight ankle, and didn't want to risk further damage. It's the only sensible move to make when your brand is built on footspeed, and your footspeed depends on health.

During his time away from racing, Lyles has kept himself visible in other ways.

Last month he appeared on Cam Newton's podcast, to explain the business of track and field to the retired NFL star, and to gripe about the ways his current deal with Adidas falls short. He returned to a familiar talking point – that the Germany-based company created a signature shoe for NBA star Anthony Edwards but not for Lyles, a 10-time world and Olympic medallist.

WATCH | Could Tyreek Hill challenge Noah Lyles? CBC Sports' Athletics North discusses:

It looks like a glaring double standard until you remember that most people who buy basketball shoes wear them for fashion, and that Edwards is an all-star in mainstream sport, with the predictable visibility that accompanies a defined schedule. Lyles is a marquee performer in a niche sport that has a limited market for its on-field gear. And his competition schedule, as we're seeing this season, is extremely flexible. The setup functions well if you're working through a minor injury, but diminishes your value as a walking advertisement for new mass-market shoes.

Later in June he popped up in Cannes, working the room at Sport Beach, and, as he explained to Sports Business Journal, building his off-the-track brand.

"There's countless things that I want to do," he said. "It's been hard just to do them in the space of track and field."

The idea that two individuals could, over the course of a few weeks, organize a race in Central Park, where logistics, equipment and permits could cost millions of dollars and countless hours, strains credulity. It's fair to wonder how close Lyles and Hill ever were to making this race happen, but the speculation about it served another purpose for the Olympic champ.

It kept his name circulating among mainstream sports fans until it was time to start racing again. Thankfully, that time has arrived.

This isn't to tell Lyles he should just Shut Up And Run, but it's a point of fact that his public profile and off-track brand depend on performance. Friday in Monaco he has a chance to remind us why he's special.

The world is overflowing with people spewing bad takes. Many days, I'm one of them.

But how many people on the planet can run 9.8 and 19.5?

Sometimes the answer is "one" or "two." It's rarely ever three.

Right now, as far as we know, Lyles is on that list.

He'll have a chance to reaffirm his super-elite status at worlds in September, where he's pre-qualified, thanks to his double-gold performance in Budapest in 2023. Those world titles also earned him the privilege of starting the 2025 outdoor season whenever it made sense for him.

Looks like it's Monaco on Friday, later than expected but right on time.