‘If he wants to call himself the king, he’s got to do it’: Shirvo amps up pressure on USA ‘champ’
Australian sprinting legend Matt Shirvington has amped up the pressure on USA’s Noah Lyles, after the American declared himself ‘the champ’ before hitting the Olympic track in Paris.
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Australian sprinting legend Matt Shirvington has turned up the heat on Noah Lyles ahead of the blue-riband 100 metres, declaring if he wants to call himself the King he simply has to win Olympic gold at Stade de France.
Lyles will begin his quest for sprinting immortality on Saturday night (AEST) as the favourite for the 100 metres, having walked into a United States press conference in Paris this week and promptly declared himself “the champ”.
The proof will be in the sprinting though as Lyles prepares to take on a handful of flying Jamaicans and some rising stars, most notably Britain flyer Louie Hinchliffe, who is coached by sprinting icon Carl Lewis.
Shirvington, the third fastest Australian sprinter of all time, says it is Lyles race to lose.
”It’s Lyles’ time,” Shirvington said.
“He’ll become the new Sprint King. He’s a big time performer yet to prove it at Olympic level.
“ I think this year is the year. I think this is the time. If he wants to call himself the king, he’s got to do it.
“This is his moment. He’s got to take it. You can’t win World Championship after world championship and say that you are the new King without an Olympic gold medal around your neck.
“So this has to be the time for him.”
Lyles enters the Games as the most hyped athlete in the field but he isn’t even the fastest man in the world this year.
That honour belongs to Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, who fired a shot across Lyles’ bow when he ran 9.77s at the Jamaican championships in Kingston last month.
The pair have only met once and the American walked away with the chocolates, although both were upstaged by Christian Coleman at the Prefontaine Classic late last year.
Coleman, who is also on Paris, relegated Lyles to second with Thompson in fourth.
“Every race he runs a PB, and to win or come second or third,” Thompson’s coach Paul Francis said recently.
“I’m in no position to predict what anyone else will do. It appears he is as good as he was during the national championships, so we will see.
”I don’t see any pressure, it’s about speed. So it has nothing to do with experience or mental pressure or whatever.
“He just has to be able to execute as well as he can… he ran 9.82, 9.84, and 9.77, not even Usain Bolt has ever had that in a series in a championship.”
Thompson looks like he has more in the tank. He managed to produce the fastest time in the world this year despite being slow out of the blocks and then taking his foot off the accelerator when he knew he was home.
One of his scalps in that race was Oblique Seville, who has run 9.82s this year. Shirvington, however, feels that Seville is more of a threat to Lyles.
“I believe Seville is the better of the Jamaicans in terms of temperament at a big meet,” Shirvington said.
“I don’t know if you remember a guy called a Asada Powell? Power was a world record holder before Usain Bolt kind of came and he just couldn’t win a big mate.
“He just couldn’t make it happen. This kid Kishane Thompson, who won the trials in Jamaica, he’s not a proven performer. So I dunno if I would put my money on him. So there’s a few wobbles in the Jamaican camp.”
Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala has also gone low - 9.79s while Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs - the defending champion - has struggled with injuries and form but appears to be hitting his strap sat the right time after running 9.92s only a month or so ago.
The most intriguing prospect in Paris may be Hinchliffe, who aspired to be a professional golfer and was scouted by Manchester City before opting to concentrate on sprinting as a 17-year-old.
He has come from the clouds this year thanks to the influence of the legendary Lewis. Hinchliffe wrote to Lewis asking for advice and the American liked what he saw.
He offered Hinchliffe the chance to work with him at the University of Houston and his times have been on the slide ever since.
Paris may be too soon, although Lewis - a bloke who knows a thing or two about the 100 metres - won’t rule out something special.
“If he runs his best, he will make the Olympic final,” Lewis told BBC recently.
“Once you’re in the final, you’re in with a shot. The limit [for Louie]? Thank goodness we don’t know. It means we can always strive to get it.
“My goal is for him to get to the Olympic final. If you get there, anybody has a chance.”
No one in Shirvington’s eyes has a better chance than Lyles though. Time to take the crown.
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