Noah Lyles sparked an international controversy in the sprinting community prior to the Olympics in Paris when he revealed that Junelle Bromfield gives him inside information. His girlfriend of almost two years does not care what the people of Jamaica have to say about their relationship.
She is entirely unbothered.
Bromfield responded to the backlash on TikTok with a message to the haters. The 26-year-old was too busy worrying about herself to worry about everyone else.
All of the reaction toward Bromfield stems from comments made by her boyfriend. Lyles, the fastest man in the world right now, disclosed that he gets “inside information” about the Jamaican team during an appearance on the Track World News podcast. His comments immediately went viral.
Lyles and Bromfield have known each other for about six years. They started dating in August 2022.
Believe it or not, couples talk!
The two Olympic sprinters share information with each other about all aspects of their lives. Their profession, track and field, is one of their topics of discussion. That is an issue for a lot of the fans.
Lyles said that he has “been getting the drama from the Jamaican camp at least five years” and “knows information that other people don’t.” Some of the information is not relevant to his craft, like Shericka Jackson’s wigs. However, some of it directly correlates to the 100- and 200-meter events.
Noah Lyles is in the know!
For example, Lyles was aware about Kishane Thompson’s struggle to stay healthy through Bromfield. He also knew to keep an eye out for Oblique Seville because Bromfield saw her teammate running well in practice and brought that information home to her friend-turned-boyfriend.
The video of Noah Lyles talking about what Junelle Bromfield said that got Jamaican Twitter fuming. pic.twitter.com/lYjX4SIfXc
— Track Spice 🌶️ (@trackspice) July 17, 2024
As could be expected, the Jamaican side — and a large majority of its fanbase — was/are not happy with this new revelation. They do not want their top competition to have any inside information. Noah Lyles is already the most dominant athlete in his sport right now. For him to know anything his on-track opponents provides even the smallest of an advantage. For him to be getting it from Junelle Bromfield, who is on the Jamaican team for Paris, blurs the lines between professional and personal.
In a world where milliseconds are often the difference between a gold medal and missing the podium all together, any additional tidbit of information could make or break a race. Lyles is already fast. To know how his competition is going to run, or that his competition is dealing with a nagging injury, is a leg up— pun intended!
Lyles returned home from Tokyo with only one bronze medal in 200-meter after struggling through his pre-Olympics training for multiple reasons. He expects to win gold in the 100 and 200 in Paris.
The first opportunity for Lyles to prove that he is not only back, but better, comes in the 100 on August 3rd and 4th. The 200 begins on the 5th and continues through the final on the 8th.
Perhaps the 27-year-old superstar sprinter can put what he learned from Bromfield to get ahead of his competition. Perhaps it won’t even be relevant because Lyles is already so much faster.
Either way, the rivalry between United States and Jamaican sprinters is very real. Tensions are heightened even more than usual after Noah Lyles recently revealed his inside source.