Golden sneaker 2026: Lyles and Gout fought for the sprinter of the year

Ostrava once again lived with world-class athletics. The jubilee 65th year of the Golden Shoe also brought a battle between the two leading sprinters on the planet – the American Noah Lyles and the Australian Gout Gout.

Even though they presented themselves on a non-traditional 150-meter track, their fight has been talked about for a long time. What Lyles promised, he finally fulfilled – the American created world record with a time of 14.67 seconds.

Running 150 meters is in the background in the athletics world, as it is not an Olympic discipline.

For sprinters, however, it is a test that combines explosiveness with endurance speed. The key factor is the transition from the corner to the home straight.

In Ostrava, it was run on a standard oval with a turn. Although the legendary Usain Bolt ran a time of 14.35 seconds in 2009, he did it on a flat track in the center of Manchester.

VIDEO: Noah Lyles after the race at Zlatá tretra in Ostrava

Who wouldn’t love a record?

Lyles did not hide his guts after the finish. “It was about time. The world record was quite slow. The feeling of being the fastest in the world is not new,” he told Sportnet after the race.

He admitted that the turn did not go according to his expectations. Although these runs are used by sprinters in training, the difference was in the start. “We run without starting blocks in training. But overall I think it was really good. If I want to be the best, I have to be myself. That’s all it takes. But who wouldn’t like a world record?” added the star American.

18-year-old Gout Gout was also happy, finishing third in a new personal and national record of 14.96 s.

“I’m definitely happy with the time, I wanted to go under 15 seconds and I did it in a race where the world record fell,” he mentioned.

He is at the top

Lyles entered the 2026 season as the world number one in the sprint rankings. In Ostrava, he was proud of a special belt that he symbolically got back after the victory in Rome:

“The belt belongs to me now because I won it after Jordan took it from me in the lobby. Now it stays with me and travels the world.”

Lyles opened his outdoor season already in April in Florida with a time of 19.91 s for 200 m. Analysis of his performance shows that he is currently at the top.

He admitted that he is taking it more easy this year, which is why he opted for experiments such as the 150-meter run. He considers these sections in training to be an indicator of his form.

“One of my training sessions is three sections of 150 m, all under 14.8 s, sometimes even between 14.2 and 14.6 s,” he explained.

Lyles relies not only on physical preparation, but also on the psychology of the crowd. “If the fans are excited and their energy is high, it gets me through anything. Even if I have a bad warm-up or feel tired, the noise of the crowd gives me a lot of energy,” he highlighted.

Dissuasion and motivation

If Lyles is considered the present of world sprinting, 18-year-old Australian Gout Gout is its future. He came into the limelight again in April of this year, when he broke the under-20 world record for 200 m with a time of 19.67 s.

Although he is sometimes boldly spoken of as the successor to Usain Bolt, experts have already begun to look for weaknesses in him.

His debut in the Diamond League in Oslo did not go well, finishing sixth with a time of 20.60s due to a bad start – he was the second slowest of the entire field in the opening 20 meters.

Gout’s approach is humble. He talks about training and fights with Lyles with great respect. “It means a lot to me. We had some really good training together in the USA and I got valuable advice from him,” he highlighted.

But Gout also faces warnings not to rush into the senior ranks. He also heard one of them from the Olympic winner from Paris, Letsile Tebog.

Gout’s main goal for 2026 remains the U20 World Cup, where he wants to show that he is the best.

Not to rush into anything, however, Lyles has a different opinion. During the press conference before the event, he motivated him to do what he feels like doing.

“You get used to competing with the best by competing with them. How are you going to improve if you never throw yourself into the fire? If you want to run a time under 20 seconds, go for it.

But trust your plan, keep moving forward and don’t worry about what others say. The people who criticize you are usually the ones who wasted their chance,” said the American.

Who will be the sprinter of the year?

This year, after a long time, there are no World Championships or Olympic Games. Therefore, the question remains who will become the sprinter of the year.

Lyles confirmed on the non-Olympic track that he belongs to the best, but the battle of the best is coming at the ultimate WC in Budapest, which is held in September. It will be an event where the best of the best will meet.

The biggest rival of Lyles in the smooth 100 is the Nigerian Kayinsola Ajayi, who holds the first place in the season’s maximum (9.84 s).

The world champion from Tokyo Oblique Seville, who has run a time of 9.96 seconds so far this year, can also join the game.

In theory, Kishane Thompson, the silver medalist from the Paris Olympics, could also enter the fight for the sprint king, but he is currently struggling with injuries that will probably prevent him from starting at the national qualification and threatens to miss the entire remaining part of the season.

As for the double track, Lyles has several opponents there. The current leader of the world charts is Jaiden Reid from the Cayman Islands (19.63 s), the second is Gout with a performance of 19.67 s.

Before Lyles, who is currently in tenth place, there are also, for example, Kenneth Bednarek from the USA and Tebogo.

The Royal Hundred is also run in Paris, Monaco, London, Chorzów and Brussels as part of the Diamond League. The culmination can be precisely the ultimate World Cup, which is on the program from September 11 to 13.