The Fastest Man Alive? Unpacking Noah Lyles’ Estimated 40-Yard Dash Time (and Why It’s Not 4.20)

As of December 2025, the question of Noah Lyles’ 40-yard dash time remains one of the most compelling hypotheticals in sports, pitting the world’s most dominant sprinter against the speed standard of the NFL. While the Olympic champion has never officially run the 40-yard dash, expert analysis and track split data provide a shockingly fast, yet nuanced, answer.

The estimated time for Noah Lyles in the 40-yard dash, factoring in his elite acceleration and subtracting the track-specific reaction time, places him in a realm few athletes have ever touched. His true time is likely to shatter the NFL Combine record, showcasing a level of explosive power that goes far beyond what a football player can achieve.

The Complete Profile: Who is Noah Lyles?

Noah Lyles is an American track and field sprinter widely regarded as the most dominant force in the 200-meter dash in the modern era, and a formidable competitor in the 100-meter event. He is a multiple-time World and Olympic champion whose career has been defined by incredible speed, consistency, and a flair for showmanship.

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• Full Name: Noah Lyles
• Born: July 18, 1997
• Hometown: Gainesville, Florida, USA
• Primary Events: 100 meters, 200 meters, 4x100 meter relay
• Olympic Medals: Bronze (200m, Tokyo 2020)
• World Championships Titles: Eight-time World Champion (including the historic 100m, 200m, and 4x100m treble at the 2023 World Championships)
• Personal Bests:
  • 60m: 6.55 seconds
  • 100m: 9.81 seconds (set in July 2024)
  • 200m: 19.31 seconds (American Record, the third-fastest time in history)
• Key Achievements: Holds the American record in the 200m and is a four-time Diamond League Final winner.

3 Expert Estimates for Noah Lyles' 40-Yard Dash Time

Since the 40-yard dash (approximately 36.58 meters) is not a standard event in professional track and field, Lyles has no official time. However, by analyzing the 40-meter split times from his 100-meter races and applying standard conversion factors, experts have arrived at several compelling estimates.

1. The "Concrete" Split Time: Approximately 4.27 Seconds (40m Split)

During a major 100m final, Lyles’ split time at the 40-meter mark was recorded at 4.67 seconds. While 40 meters is slightly longer than 40 yards, this raw time includes the electronic timing (FAT) start, which begins with the gun, plus Lyles’ reaction time (typically around 0.13 to 0.17 seconds).

To convert a track split time to a comparable 40-yard dash time used in the NFL Combine, you must subtract the reaction time. However, this specific split is for 40 meters, not 40 yards, making it a conservative estimate for the shorter distance. The 4.67s split is a strong indicator of his raw acceleration but is not the final, comparable number.

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2. The "Reaction-Time Adjusted" Estimate: 4.04 Seconds

One of the most aggressive and widely cited estimates involves taking an elite sprinter's 100m split time, converting the distance, and then making a significant adjustment for reaction time. The consensus among some analysts is that to fairly compare a track time to a typical NFL Combine time, you must subtract the average reaction time of about 0.25 seconds.

When this deduction is applied to Lyles’ incredible acceleration phase, the result is a jaw-dropping estimated time of approximately 4.04 seconds. This estimate assumes a perfect, unhindered start on a superior track surface, but it highlights his potential speed without the starting gun delay.

3. The "40-Yard Split" Estimate: Approximately 4.18–4.20 Seconds

Based on his performance at the Olympic Games, an analysis suggested Lyles covered 35 meters in about 4.18 seconds. Since 40 yards is roughly 36.58 meters, his time over the 40-yard distance would be approximately 4.20 seconds. This estimate is generally considered the higher end of his potential range, as it was based on a race where Lyles did not have his best start.

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The Verdict: Lyles’ true, electronically-timed 40-yard dash would most likely fall between 4.08 and 4.15 seconds, placing him firmly in the realm of the fastest human beings ever timed over that distance.

Why Lyles’ Speed is Fundamentally Different from NFL Players

The debate over sprinters versus NFL players in the 40-yard dash is a perennial topic, and Lyles’ estimated time illuminates the massive gap in pure, explosive speed. The key differences lie in the surface, the timing method, and the specific training focus.

The Christian Coleman Benchmark: The Real World Record

The gold standard for a sprinter running the 40-yard dash is held by Lyles' American teammate, Christian Coleman. In 2017, Coleman, a 60m indoor world record holder, ran an electronically-timed 40-yard dash in 4.12 seconds on turf. This time is one-tenth of a second faster than the NFL Combine record of 4.22 seconds, set by Xavier Worthy in 2024.

Coleman’s time is a crucial benchmark for Lyles. Given that Lyles’ personal best in the 100m (9.81s) is only slightly slower than Coleman’s (9.76s), and Lyles is arguably the superior 200m runner, his 40-yard dash time should be extremely close to, if not slightly faster than, Coleman’s 4.12s, especially if run on a professional track with spikes.

The Crucial Difference Between Hand-Timing and Electronic Timing (FAT)

Almost all historical NFL Combine 40-yard dash records were hand-timed, which is notoriously inaccurate and typically 0.1 to 0.25 seconds faster than Fully Automatic Timing (FAT). When comparing Lyles’ track splits (FAT) to a hand-timed NFL record, the track time must be adjusted to the NFL standard, or the NFL time must be converted to FAT.

• Track Times (FAT): Start trigger is the gun. Time includes reaction time.
• NFL Combine Times (Electronic): Start trigger is the athlete's movement. Time does *not* include reaction time.

Even the fastest NFL Combine times, such as Chris Johnson’s 4.24s or Tyreek Hill’s rumored speed, would likely convert to a FAT time closer to 4.40–4.50 seconds. This is why Lyles, even at a conservative 4.15s FAT, is in a completely different class of acceleration and top-end speed.

Lyles vs. Bolt: The Ultimate 40-Yard Comparison

Any discussion of sprinting speed must inevitably include Usain Bolt. The world record holder in the 100m and 200m is known for his superior top-end speed but slower acceleration out of the blocks compared to Lyles or Coleman.

Bolt’s estimated 40-yard dash time, based on his 100m splits, is generally placed in the 4.20–4.24 second range. This is slightly slower than the estimates for Lyles and Coleman, which makes sense because the 40-yard dash is a pure acceleration and drive phase event.

Lyles’ training is highly focused on the first 40–60 meters of the 200m, where he must generate maximum velocity before the curve. This focus on explosive power and drive is what makes his estimated 40-yard time so incredibly fast and why he would comfortably beat nearly every NFL player in a head-to-head race.

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To fully understand the context of Lyles’ speed, it is essential to consider the factors that separate elite sprinters from other athletes:

• Max Velocity: Lyles reaches a higher top speed than nearly any football player.
• Ground Contact Time: Elite sprinters spend a fraction of a second less on the ground per stride, allowing for quicker turnover.
• Acceleration Phase: The first 40 yards is the acceleration phase. Track athletes like Lyles and Coleman are specifically trained to maximize this phase using starting blocks, which provide a mechanical advantage.
• Track Surface: A Mondo track surface and track spikes offer significantly better energy return and grip compared to the turf or field used at the NFL Combine.

In conclusion, while we may never see an official time, the evidence from track splits, conversion methodology, and the Christian Coleman benchmark strongly suggests that Noah Lyles’ 40-yard dash time is a blistering 4.15 seconds or faster, cementing his status as one of the fastest men in history over any distance.