Olympian Noah Lyles Reveals Cryptic Reason Behind Cancellation of Highly Anticipated Race Against NFL Star Tyreek Hill

Published: June 17, 2025

Noah Lyles, 27, has finally broken his silence on the cancellation of his highly anticipated race against NFL star Tyreek Hill, citing "complications" and "personal reasons" as the reasons behind the cancellation.

Lyles revealed the details during an appearance at Sport Beach in Cannes, France, on Monday, June 16. "We were very deep into creating the event. In fact, it was supposed to happen this weekend," Lyles shared, as seen in a video shared by the New York Post.

"Unfortunately, there were some things, complications, personal reasons that it just didn't come to pass, but we were full on," Lyles added.

The Olympic track star said the plan was to "shut down" Times Square in New York City for the "big event," complete with "all the billboards," said Lyles. "It was going to be a lot of fun."

In February, Lyles sported a sign that said "Tyreek could never" after winning his fourth straight 60-m final at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on Feb. 2. "Everybody says that they're gonna be the world's fastest, but when it comes down to it, you gotta be the winner every time, each and every time, and every time I show up to the biggest moments, I win," Lyles said at the time, calling himself "the world's fastest."

Hill, meanwhile, told PEOPLE in February that he felt like he had to race Lyles "to do this for the guys that play my sport" and show track-and-field runners that football players "can come and take over your sport at any moment if we really wanted to."

The axed event was going to be full of trash talk, Lyles and Hill said at the time. "I mean, as long as we ain't putting people's mamas in it, I don't care," said Hill. "We can go as far as far can be. We're here for a good time."

In April, Hill was involved in an alleged domestic dispute with his wife, Keeta Hill, who filed for divorce following the incident. Keeta, 29, filed for a dissolution of marriage and other relief on Tuesday, April 8 in Miami-Dade County, Fla. She listed their separation date as Monday, April 7.

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