Noah Lyles has emerged as the successor to sprint great Usain Bolt in Paris, as the American superstar secured the coveted 100-meter gold medal in a photo finish in the Stade de France on Sunday.
Lyles took the title in a personal best time of 9.79, winning by just five-thousandths of a second, and now turns his attention to his strongest event.
The 26-year-old speedster will go for his second Olympic gold in the 200-meter this week hoping to add to his medal collection and secure a place in track and field history.
On Monday, Lyles was back on the track in the first round of the event, cruising through to the semi-final on Wednesday, with the final set for Thursday.
Last summer, Lyles became the first man since Bolt to secure a sprint triple at the World Championships in Budapest, a glorious, gilded confirmation of the potential that the American had long shown.
The 26-year-old had proved himself as the world’s best over 200m twice previously but it was his victory in the blue riband sprint that shot him into the stratosphere.
Lyles had traveled to Hungary as an outsider, third at the US trials and in the shadow of compatriot Christian Coleman as the two settled into their blocks on the startline. Coleman, as is the wont of the best starter in the world, flew out but slowed up; Lyles surged through, past Letsile Tebogo and Zharnel Hughes and into the history books.
Days later, Lyles and Coleman were both part of the fearsome American quartet that proved too quick for the rest in the 4x100m relay, completing Lyles’ clean sweep of the male sprinting titles. Not since Bolt in 2015 had the feat been achieved.
But it not the limit of Lyles’ ambitions. “He was the fastest man ever to do it,” Lyles said to CNN about Bolt earlier this year. “And soon, it’ll be me.”
It was a bold declaration from a man who seems to carry the calm and confidence required to be a prolific winner on the track. Born in Gainesville, Florida, Lyles was a gymnast in his youth and picked up sprinting more seriously as a teenager, representing the USA at the Youth Olympic Games in 2014.
The youngster very nearly made the Olympics proper while still at school, smashing records to finish fourth at the US trials before Rio 2016, and turning professional soon after. Almost immediately, Noah and his younger brother Josephus were inked to lucrative deals with Adidas.
It is a relationship still going strong. In February, Lyles recommitted to a long-term deal encompassing the next two Summer Olympics believed to be the largest track and field sponsorship agreement since Bolt’s retirement. “When I first signed with Adidas in 2016 along with my brother, Josephus, that was like a dream come true for us,” said Lyles. “And today is just a continuation of that childhood dream.
“Adidas is not only taking care of me and my family at a level I could only imagine, but they understand me and my vision – not only do I want to achieve all I can in this sport both on and off the track, but I want to make real change and improvements in the sport and how it’s run for the generations that come after me. That is what drives me.”
Lyles has used his high-profile status as a sprinter to speak out on social issues.
Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Lyles was vocal about racial injustice in the United States.
He even spoke out on social media, saying “It is disheartening to know that my people are being killed while I go out and win medals for them to try and make the US look good”.
At races, the charismatic sprinter has worn a black glove on his hand as a tribute to US athletes John Carlos and Tommie Smith, who gave a black power salute on the podium at the 1968 Olympics.
Before the 100m final at the US trials in 2021, Lyles raised his fist in a fingerless black glove, before finishing seventh and missing out on the event at Tokyo.
Lyles was born in Gainesville, Florida, but after his parents split-up he grew up with his mother in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside Washington DC, and went to TC Williams High School.
His younger brother, Josephus, is also an elite sprinter, and his parents competed in track and field at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.
The 5ft 11 sprinter committed to run at the University of Florida but in June 2016 he and Josephus turned professional and signed their deals with Adidas.
In addition to being a world-class sprinter, Lyles also has musical flair and has recorded a song called Souvenir with pole voter Sandi Morris and a Swiss band called Baba Shrimp.
And in 2020 he released his debut album A Human’s Journey.
He is also a keen artist and has a room at his home where he draws and paints, and is also a fan of manga and anime.
“At 8 years old, Noah was drawing Spider-Man in a cityscape,” his father Kevin Lyles told The Undefeated. “Spatial visualization, he’s always been great with that.”
Having won his first world title over 200m in 2019, Lyles returned from Tokyo 2020 disappointed to take home only a bronze over the distance.
In preparation for Paris, he put more time into the indoor scene and the 60m distance at which teammate Coleman excels, pushing him close in Glasgow earlier this year to take his first indoor medal.
Lyles subsequently showed himself to be a true team player by making a surprise appearance in the United States 4x400m quartet for the final at the World Indoors, picking up a second silver of the Championships.
2024 could be the year he ascends to true global stardom. Before the chase for three golds on the track in Paris this summer, Lyles has been one of the stars of a six-part Netflix documentary tracking some of the world’s top sprinters. He hopes it will allow athletics to thrive again as a globally-relevant sport.
