Paris 2024: Where does Noah Lyles rank among the Top 10 Richest male athletes?

Pulse Sports reveals the Top 10 richest male track and field athletes in the world.

Track and field athletes are celebrated for their speed and endurance, but some have also achieved remarkable financial success.

 These athletes have turned their fame into lucrative careers, earning substantial fortunes through endorsements and business ventures. 

In this article, Pulse Sports reveals the top 10 richest male track and field athletes, showcasing their impressive net worths.

Revealed: The World’s Richest male track and field athletes in 2024

These athletes have not only broken records but also built impressive financial empires. 

Their stories of success, both on and off the track, inspire future generations to dream big.

1. Usain Bolt (Net Worth) – $90 million

Age: 37

Nationality: Jamaica

Source of Wealth: Athletics, Sponsorships & Endorsements, Private-owned businesses

Usain Bolt is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time.

 He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.

Bolt is the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012, and 2016). 

He also won two 4 × 100 relay gold medals.

 He gained worldwide fame for his double sprint victory in world record times at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which made him the first person to hold both records since fully automatic time became mandatory.

An eleven-time World Champion, he won consecutive World Championship 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 metres relay gold medals from 2009 to 2015, with the exception of a 100 m false start in 2011. 

He is the most successful male athlete of the World Championships.

 Bolt is the first athlete to win four World Championship titles in the 200 m and is one of the most successful in the 100 m with three titles.

As of 2024, Usain Bolt is the no.1 richest track and field athlete in the world with a net worth of $90 million.

Bolt co-founded electric scooter company Bolt Mobility in 2018, created in his namesake.

Bolt founded the micromobility company, which provides electric scooters and other yet-to-be released mobility devices, such as the company’s upcoming Bolt Nano. 

Bolt is the highest paid sprinter in the history of athletics.

 In 2016, Bolt earned about $33 million in one year putting him at No. 32 on Forbes list of The World’s Highest-paid Athletes making him the only track and field athlete on the list.

2. Michael Johnson (Net Worth) – $14 million

Age: 56

Nationality: U.S.A

Source of Wealth: Athletics, Media &TV,  Private-owned businesses

Michael Johnson is an American retired sprinter who won four Olympic gold medals and eight World Championships gold medals in the span of his career.

 He held the world and Olympic records in the 200 m and 400 m, as well as the world record in the indoor 400 m. 

He also once held the world’s best time in the 300 m.

 Johnson is generally considered one of the greatest and most consistent sprinters in the history of track and field.

Johnson is the only male athlete to win both the 200 meters and 400 meters events at the same Olympics, a feat he accomplished at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Johnson is also the only man to successfully defend his Olympic title in the 400 m, having done so at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. 

Since retiring from competitive track, Johnson currently works as a television commentator, often for the BBC in the United Kingdom, where he has also written columns for the Daily Telegraph and The Times newspapers. 

In 2007 Johnson opened Michael Johnson Performance, at McKinney, Texas, a training facility for youth athletes aged 9 to 18 and professional athletes in all sports.

 The company works with Olympic teams and football clubs and has operations around the world. Michael Johnson Performance currently works with Arsenal, assisting in the development of young players in their academy.

As of 2024, Michael Johnson is one of the richest track and field athletes in the world with his net worth estimated at $14 million.

3. Carl Lewis (Net Worth) – $8 million

Age: 63

Nationality: U.S.A

Source of Wealth: Athletics

Carl Lewis is a former American track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. 

His career spanned from 1979 to 1996, when he last won the Olympic long jump. 

He is one of only six Olympic athletes who won a gold medal in the same individual event in four consecutive Olympic Games.

 Along with USA discus thrower Al Oerter, he is one of only two Olympians to win a gold medal in the same individual event in athletics in four Olympic Games. 

He is currently the head track and field coach for the University of Houston.

As of 2024, Carl Lewis’ net worth is estimated at $8 million, making him one of the richest track and field athletes in the world.

4. Tyson Gay (Net Worth) – $6 million

Age: 41

Nationality: U.S.A

Source of Wealth: Athletics

Tyson Gay is a retired American track and field sprinter who has a net worth of $6 million. 

Tyson Gay holds the American record for the 100m, at 9.69 seconds. That ties him for the second fastest athlete ever,along with Yohan Blake of Jamaica. 

Gay won medals in major international competitions, including three gold medals in the 100 m, 200 m, and 4 X 100 relay at the 2007 Osaka World Championships.

As of 2024, Tyson Gay is one of the richest track and field athletes in the world with his net worth estimated at $6 million.

5. Noah Lyles (Net Worth) – $7 million

Age: 27

Nationality: U.S.A

Source of Wealth: Athletics

Noah Lyles is an American professional track and field sprinter who primarily competes in the 100 meters and 200 meters. 

Lyles holds a personal best of 19.31 seconds in the 200 m, the American record and fourth fastest of all-time.

At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Lyles won a bronze medal in the 200 m. 

Lyles is a six-time World champion, including the 200 m and 4 × 100 m in 2019, the 200 m in 2022, and the 100 m, 200 m, and 4 × 100 m events in 2023, becoming the first man to complete the sprint treble at a World Championships since Usain Bolt in 2015.

Lyles won a gold medal in the 200 m during the 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

Noah Lyles won gold medals for the 100 m and 4 × 100 m relay during the 2016 World U20 Championships.

Noah Lyles is a five-time Diamond League champion, having secured the 100 m/200 m double in 2019.

As of 2024, Noah Lyles is one of the richest track and field athletes in the world with an estimated net worth of $7 million.

Lyles also makes his fortune from lucrative sponsorship and endorsement deals with brands like Adidas, Xfinity, Coca Cola, Visa and Omega.

6. Asafa Powell (Net Worth) – $6.5 million

Age: 41

Nationality: Jamaica

Source of Wealth: Athletics, Sponsorships & Endorsements

Asafa Powell is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialised in the 100 metres. 

He set the 100 metres world record twice, between June 2005 and May 2008 with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds. 

Powell has consistently broken the 10-second barrier in competition, with his personal best of 9.72 s ranking fourth on the all-time list of men’s 100-metre athletes.

Powell has broken the ten-second barrier more times than anyone else—97 times.

 He currently holds the world record for the 100-yard dash with a time of 9.09 s, set on 27 May 2010 in Ostrava, Czech Republic. 

In 2016, he became Olympic champion in the 4 x 100 metres relay.

As of 2024, Asafa Powell is one of the richest track and field athletes in the world with his net worth estimated at $6 million.

Outside the track, Powell had been under contract with Nike since 2004, representing them in all his IAAF races, and agreed to appear in various advertising campaigns for the company. 

Nike designed and built the Zoom Aerofly shoes for him, which were used at the 2008 Beijing Games.

 However, Powell ended his contract with Nike in mid-2010, and signed up with leading Chinese sports brand Li Ning, before signing with Puma in 2015.

GlaxoSmithKline, through its energy drink Lucozade, has sponsored Powell since he first broke the 100 m World Record in 2005.

 They honoured his Beijing achievements in a small function in October 2008.

In January 2006, Powell signed as a global brand spokesperson for Nutrilite.

In January 2009, Amway’s Team Nutrilite ended the sponsorship agreement with Powell.

7. Mo Farah (Net Worth) – $5 million

Age: 41

Nationality: Great Britain

Source of Wealth: Athletics, Sponsorships & Endorsements

Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah is a Somali-born British retired long-distance runner. 

Considered one of the greatest runners of all time, his ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner in the history of the sport, and he is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history.

Mo Farah has won the European Athlete of the Year award and the British Athletics Writers Association British Athlete of the Year award more than any other athlete, three times and six times respectively. 

In 2017, Farah won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Farah was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2013 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to athletics.

As of 2024, Mo Farah is one of the richest track and field athletes in the world with his net worth estimated at $5 million.

8.  Yohan Blake (Net Worth) – $5 million

Age: 34

Nationality: Jamaica

Source of Wealth: Athletics

Yohan Blake is a Jamaican sprinter specialising in the 100-metre and 200-metre sprint races. 

He won gold at the 100m at the 2011 World Athletics Championships as the youngest 100m world champion ever, and a silver medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the 100m and 200m races for the Jamaican team behind Usain Bolt. 

His times of 9.75 in 100m and 19.44 in 200m are the fastest 100m and 200m Olympic sprints in history to not win the gold medal.

Blake is the second fastest man ever in both 100 m and 200 m. Together with Tyson Gay, he is the joint second fastest man ever over 100 m.

As of 2024, Yohan Blake is one of the richest track and field athletes in the world with his net worth estimated at $5 million.

9. Sergey Bubka (Net Worth) – $5 million

Age: 60

Nationality: Ukraine

Source of Wealth: Athletics

Sergey Bubka is a former Ukrainian pole vaulter.

Widely regarded as ‘the greatest pole vaulter of all time’, Bubka represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. 

Bubka was twice named Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News, and in 2012 was one of 24 athletes inducted as inaugural members of the International Association of Athletics Federations Hall of Fame.

Bubka won six consecutive IAAF World Championships, an Olympic gold medal, and broke the world record for men’s pole vault 35 times.

He was the first pole vaulter to clear 6.0 meters and 6.10 meters.

He held the indoor world record of 6.15 meters, set on 21 February 1993 in Donetsk, Ukraine for almost 21 years until France’s Renaud Lavillenie cleared 6.16 meters on February 15, 2014, at the same meet in the same arena.

Bubka held the outdoor world record at 6.14 meters between July 31, 1994, and September 17, 2020.

Bubka is Senior Vice President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), serving since 2007, and served as President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine from 2005 to November 2022.

 He is also an Honorary Member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), having been involved since 1996.

As of 2024, Sergey Bubka is one of the richest track and field athletes in the world with his net worth estimated at $5 million.

10. Justin Gatlin (Net Worth) – $3 million

Age: 42

Nationality: U.S.A

Source of Wealth: Athletics

Justin Alexander Gatlin is a retired American sprinter who competed in the 60 meters, 100 meters, and 200 meters.

He is the 2004 Olympic Champion in the 100 meters, the 2005 and 2017 World Champion in the 100 meters, the 2005 World Champion in the 200 meters, and the 2019 World Champion in the 4 x 100 meters relay. 

In addition, Gatlin is the 2003 and 2012 World Indoor Champion in the 60 meters. 

He is a 5-time Olympic medalist and a 12-time World Championship medalist. 

At the World Athletics Relays, Gatlin won two gold medals in the 4 x 100 meters relay in 2015 and 2017. 

Gatlin is also a record 3-time Diamond League Champion in the 100 meters.

 He won the Diamond League trophy in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Gatlin announced his retirement from the sport in 2022 on his 40th birthday.

In 2011, on the Japanese TV show Kasupe!, Gatlin ran 100 meters in 9.45 seconds (+20 m/s)—faster than Usain Bolt’s 9.58 seconds record—assisted by large wind machines blowing at speeds over 25 meters per second. 

He received 2 million yen (approximately US$25,000) for appearing on the program.

As of 2024, Justin Gatlin is one of the richest track and field athletes in the world with his net worth estimated at $3 million.

METHODOLOGY

The Pulse Sports ranking of the world’s richest female track and field athletes reflects the combined total of estimated on-field earnings for 2024, including base salaries, bonuses, and off-field estimates that reflect annual cash from endorsements, sponsorships, social media revenue, and the players’ own businesses. 

The athletes net worth and figures were obtained from publicly accessible databases, including Celebrity Net Worth and Athletics Weekly.

All figures used in this article are converted to U.S. dollars using the current exchange rate.