Botswana’s Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo once remarked that he could not see himself as “an arrogant or loud person like Noah” when asked about his American rival following the Paris 2024 Games. The comment sparked curiosity about their contrasting personalities, setting the stage for one of track and field’s most compelling rivalries. That contrast, first framed in Paris when Tebogo denied Noah Lyles a second Olympic gold, has grown sharper with every subsequent meeting.

The rivalry found new life this July in Monaco. Lyles, returning to the 200 meters for the first time since the Olympics after managing an ankle injury, lined up against Tebogo at the Diamond League meeting on July 11, 2025. Tebogo arrived with the season’s leading time, while Lyles had not contested the distance

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