“Gosh That Was Hard”: Noah Lyles and Lance Brauman Share Heartwarming Moment After Paris Olympic Gold

“I told you America, I got this!” Noah Lyles told the press about his historic track and field achievement for Team USA. It’s been a few hours since the 27-year-old became the new King of the 100m. However, the Olympic gold medalist’s excitement is still at its peak. After dedicating the win to a late high school coach, the track icon posted a wholesome video with the man who put him atop the podium in Paris.

Noah Lyles, in the caption of his Instagram post, wrote: ‘The World’s Fastest Man and his Coach.”  The video showed the euphoric champion returning to base when he spots Lance Brauman. Lyles immediately became emotionally overwhelmed at the sight of his head coach and ran to hug him. As the two men embraced each other, Lyles screamed, “Gosh, that was hard!” while his coach congratulated him.

Although the video abruptly cuts off, the coach and his pupil continue their conversation off-camera. The PURE Athletics co-founded gave fans another glimpse on his Instagram handle. The image shows a close-up of Lyles and Brauman embracing one another. “Congratulations to Noah Lyles @nojo18 on being the 2024 100m Olympic Champion!” Brauman wrote.

However, Noah Lyles had good reason to be so overwhelmed at the sight of his coach. After watching Oblique Seville beat his charge in the semis, the Adidas team coach found a flaw. So before the defending 100m world champion stepped on the purple tracks of Stade de France, Brauman told him to make one adjustment.

Lyles’s coach told him to run more aggressively between the 30 and 50m mark and continue to build on that momentum. The 21x Olympic medal-winning coach’s advice was spot on. Despite being the slowest off the line, the 27-year-old was nearly level with the field when he crossed the 65m mark. The final push and lean sealed the 0.005-second victory. Yet, there was another piece to the gold medal-winning puzzle.

Noah Lyles’ sports psychologist gave him some crucial advice

Diana McNab, who has worked with the 2x Olympic medalist for years, called him the night before the final. While Lance Brauman took care of the technicalities, McNab was in charge of helping Lyles in the zone. During the session, the sports psychologist made Lyles practice breathing, accompanied by her Zen chimes, as the sprinter contemplated his coach’s last-minute advice.

They spoke once more, leading up to the biggest race of Noah Lyles’ life. McNab knew the pressure would be immense, but she advised him to loosen up. Maybe that’s why the world got to see the American being the showman ahead of the race, hyping up the crowd and himself.

While the world witnessed an edge-of-the-seat thriller that concluded in a photo finish, they didn’t see everyone behind Lyles’ historic victory. Thankfully, the man who ended Team USA’s 20-year wait for 100m gold always remembers to thank those who made him an Olympic champion.