1 month ago
92
US sprinter Noah Lyles walks a fine line between confident and arrogant. The winner of the men’s 100m final on Sunday night by five-thousandths of a second ahead of Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, he’s extremely confident, with the talent to back it up.
Lyles called himself the “fastest man in the world” after he finished first in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at the Athletics World Championships last year.
It caused uproar in the track world, but he backed it up at the Paris Olympics, albeit by only 0.005 of a second.
Lyles has stated his aspirations of claiming the triple crown of the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Thompson and Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala had run faster times this year and Jamaica’s Oblique Seville beat him in a race in Jamaica.
But while everyone else doubted, the self-assured Lyles never wavered in his belief.
Lyles started the Paris Olympics slowly, placing second in his heat, defeated by Great Britain’s Louie Hinchliffe before again finishing second in his semifinal, behind Seville.
Noah Lyles of Team USA crosses the finish line to win the men’s 100m final on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on 4 August 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo: Michael Steele / Getty Images)
A tight race
Lyles is known for his showmanship. A massive leap and toe touch is his pre-race signature move. During the US Olympic trials, he flashed Yu-Gi-Oh! cards — from the Japanese manga comics – in front of the camera.
He also took up most of the screen time in Netflix’s newly released running documentary Sprint.
He is an entertainer who reserves his best performance for the biggest stage.
In the 100m final, when the attention of the world was on the straight at the Stade de France, Lyles held his nerve for exactly 9.784 seconds (rounded up to 9.79).
It was scripted beautifully, with Lyles shifted to Lane Seven after shaky earlier runs.
Thompson, at front and centre in Lane Four, took the early lead and held it for the first 50m.
But from the back of the pack, Lyles emerged and took the lead for the first time with his very last step in the race — if the track was 99m, Thompson would be Olympic champion.
Confidence is key
The 100m event isn’t even Lyles’ best event — it’s in the 200m that he has no peers. Since taking the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, Lyles has not lost a 200m race
When asked how he felt about his chances in the half-lap event at Paris, Lyles was initially unassertive — at least by his standards.
“Pretty confident, I can’t lie,” he said, before touting teammate Kenny Bednarek, who claimed silver in Tokyo.
“Kenny [Bednarek] put up a fast time at trials and that definitely woke me up,” Lyles added. “I was very proud of him and he’s definitely not going to take how he did here, in the 100m, laying down.”
After being probed to answer honestly by teammate Fred Kerley sitting next to him in the press conference, Lyles said without hesitation: “That man ain’t winning, none of them [is] winning. When I come off the turn, they will be depressed.”
In the 4x100m relay, anything less than a gold medal will be deemed a failure for the team that had three out of its four runners in the final of the men’s 100m.
‘World champion of what?’
Lyles is chasing the records of Usain Bolt, an eight-time Olympic gold medallist, the only sprinter to win the 100m and 200m at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012 and 2016). Bolt is also the only sprinter to win three gold medals at two consecutive Olympics (2012 and 2016).
The Jamaican’s showboating was perhaps even more extensive than that of Lyles.
He would start celebrating halfway through his races, raising his arms and beating his chest.
However, Bolt was widely admired, whereas not everyone is enamoured of Lyles. His comments about the National Basketball Association (NBA) after his triple championship win in Budapest last year certainly didn’t help.
“The thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA finals and they have ‘World champion’ on their heads,” said Lyles.
“World champion of what? The United States? Don’t get me wrong, I love the US — at times — but that ain’t the world.
“That is not the world, we [athletes] are the world. We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show that they are represented.”
His comments did not go down well with NBA fans and players.
Those disagreeing with Lyles’ statement couldn’t wait for him to fall short on the biggest stage in Paris. But that’s where Lyles thrives — when the lights are brightest, he’s the biggest star. DM
Read more: Olympic Games Paris 2024
