Let’s just say Noah Lyles has “information that people don’t” about his Jamaican competitors thanks to his girlfriend Junelle Bromfield. A Track World News podcast attested to this fact, and as it turns out, the Orlando resident quarter-miler is apparently a wig woman for her teammate, Shericka Jackson.
Lyles started off on a tangent when he said, “It’s like Janelle and Elaine [Thompson-Herah] used to be very close friends like they were training Partners in 2021, very close.” Before Junelle decided to move to Florida, both these athletes would share the same training club, the MVP Track Club. In fact, this was before Herah reached the apex of her career when she won three gold medals in the 100, 200, and 4×100-meter relay races in Tokyo. Elaine announced her departure from the club shortly after, citing that coach and founder Stephen Francis would train them together, which according to her, would be focusing on the “wrong thing.” But moving on.
Addressing how close Junelle is with Shericka, Noah revealed on the
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In the Netflix Docuseries Sprint, nearly 28 minutes into Episode 5 titled The Gold Standard takes viewers to the intimate scenes inside a private room. Shericka is seated as she taps into her phone just an hour before the semi-finals for 100m at Budapest last year. Tension has peaked by then, considering how only two automatic qualifying spots were up for grabs. Enter Junelle Bromfield.
Junelle was heard in the background saying, “Just an hour and a half to become a proper hot girl. Because we’re athletes, we’re sweating so much, so I want to put like four layers of glue, so she don’t run and then you see the wig behind her [laughing].
“To some people, it taps into an alter ego when they put on their wigs, but I don’t think that’s Shericka.” Shericka, who personally doesn’t like colored wigs, decided to trust Junelle’s instinct, and race results only went in favor of Shericka. Shericka responded to the gun better than American favorite Sha’Carri and the rest to win the semi-finals in just 10.79 seconds.
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Is Noah Lyles' girlfriend the secret weapon behind Shericka Jackson's track and field resurgence?
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Come July 26, the Summer Games will finally commence in the City of Love! And speaking of love, the track and field power couple will soon be heading over to compete on the world’s biggest stage! Keeping the USA and Jamaica rivalry aside, Junelle, who registered her career PB in the Jamaican Trials as she bids for her first-ever individual Olympic event at the iconic Stade de France, had more than just Lyles to thank.
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Qualifying for the Olympics is a personal journey, and for Junelle, it was as if a burden had been lifted off her shoulders
After running the 400m to set a new PB of 50.74s in the semi-finals, her performance in the finals saw her doing just enough to climb the ranks to place herself as the 3rd to qualify for the Olympics with 51.24s on the clock. In the post-race interview with Insider Lane, Junelle gave credit to Lyles’ mother. After all, it wasn’t easy to find her lost love for the sport shortly after she lost her mother. Therapy sessions helped her find peace but when it was about supporting Junelle to keep at it, Lyles’ mother was her Miss Consistent.
“For the past couple of years, it’s been very hard mentally because I’ve had a loss in my family, and I’m just recovering. You know running track with love again… I started therapy like two years ago… helped a lot because I feel as if I’ve been suffering with survivals guilt and it was basically laying on my shoulders.
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“I want to big up my boyfriend, I want to big up his mum because you know when I went to Florida I wasn’t driving and she took me to training and back everyday, and it was like 40 minutes drive. So that’s a support that I’m extremely grateful for.”
When Junelle qualified for the Olympics, Noah roared on X in support, “That’s what I’m talking about!!!” For now, the couple is often seen training together and sharing mic-ed-up sessions. Who knows they just might be able to celebrate the biggest wins of their careers with the Olympics which is just 11 days away.
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Is Noah Lyles' girlfriend the secret weapon behind Shericka Jackson's track and field resurgence?