Critics Pile On Noah Lyles After Surprising First-Round 100 Heat At Paris Olympics

American sprint star Noah Lyles made an underwhelming debut at the Paris Olympics on Saturday — and fans let him know it. (Watch the race below.)

Lyles started slowly and was uncomfortably behind for much of his 100-meter heat. He settled for second place in a time of 10.04 seconds to advance to the semifinals. Louie Hinchliffe of Great Britain clocked 9.98 for the victory.

Lyles appeared to exert himself at the end to ensure his passage to the next round.

Lyles, who won bronze in the 200-meter in Tokyo, arrived in Paris as the defending world champion in both the 100- and 200-meter and is entered in both. He had the third-fastest 100 time this season at 9.81.

But he was nowhere near that at Stade de France, prompting some criticism: