- After years of challenging each other, Noah Lyles and Tyreek Hill will officially race each other this spring or summer
- The NFL star and Olympian have exchanged jabs back and forth about who’s faster
- Trash talk has already begun and Hill says everything is on the table except for their “mamas”
It’s the fastest man in the world vs. the fastest man on the gridiron!
After a series of public jabs at one another, Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles and Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill will officially race one another.
“This has been an ongoing thing for, quite some time now, and I mean, everybody’s seen the back and forth on social media,” says Hill, 30, who said in August that he could beat Lyles — the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 100-meter — in a race. “I’ve been very adamant to show people what real, true speed looks like,” Hill tells PEOPLE.
It’s been rumored for months, but plans turned up a notch after Lyles, 27, sported a sign that said “Tyreek could never” after winning his fourth straight 60m final at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on Feb. 2.
“I think it speaks for itself,” Lyles tells PEOPLE of the sign. “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.”
“That’s why I’m the world’s fastest,” Lyles continues. “I did at the Olympics. I do it at world championships. I do it wherever it’s needed to be done. And if I gotta go down and, you know, beat up on Tyreek to prove that I’m the world’s fastest, then it’s gonna be done.”
Hill, who has “a lot of respect” for his upcoming race opponent, says he feels like he’s “got to do this for the guys that play my sport” and showcase that NFL athletes “did run track at some point, and we can come and take over your sport at any moment if we really wanted to.”
And even though Hill and Lyles have never met in person — Lyles says their joint interview with PEOPLE is just the third time they’ve spoken to one another — the trash talk has already begun between the two.
“I mean, as long as we ain’t putting people’s mamas in it, I don’t care,” says Hill. “We can go as far as far can be. We’re here for a good time.”
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Lyles, with equal respect for Hill’s NFL career, feels that it’s more common for track athletes to be “scared to take punches or jabs” when it comes to competition, “But if you gonna talk the talk, you gotta walk the walk,” he says.
As for the race’s distance, Hill playfully says Lyles was “scared” to compete against him in a 40-meter race. “He already knew he was gonna lose that off the jump,” Hill jokes.
“I did that not to embarrass you,” Lyles jabs back. “I mean if it was 100-meters, it’d be a blowout, you know, we gotta meet in the middle.”
Hill hits back, “Hold on, hold on, blowout?! The only thing, the only thing that looks like it’s blowing out is your hair, so you need to chill.”
The race will happen sometime this Spring or Summer before Lyles competes in the U.S. Championships this July. The location is still to be determined.
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