“Had Depression”: Noah Lyles Recalls Hitting Track & Field Career’s Rock Bottom at Olympic Trials

Just because you’re one of the favorites to haul gold on the biggest stage, doesn’t mean you’re prone to mental adversities. With the 2024 Olympic Games only a few weeks away, Noah Lyles is letting no opportunity slide in search of his maiden gold at the big rumble. And it isn’t just about a place on the podium either.

Mental health has long been a thing that has shed dark shadows on athletes’ performances over the years. While it has become less stigmatized in recent days, the Olympics remain as unforgiving as always. With that in mind, Lyles is eager to show critics how overcoming challenges is just another day at the office for him under any circumstances.

Right after Noah’s bronze medal win at the Tokyo Games, the track star admitted that depression got the better of him for quite some time. But now, as another Games approaches, Noah is determined to enjoy what he does best: leave everyone else in the dust. “Since I had depression, it’s been a long time,” Lyles was heard saying moments via the Peacock streaming service after his blazing 9.92 seconds victory in the men’s 100m Heats in Eugene at the ongoing US Olympic Track and Field Team Trials.

“I’m just glad to be happy, I’m just happy to be out here, glad to be racing, I feel like myself,” Noah was heard saying in the post-race interview after securing his place in the men’s 100m semi-finals scheduled for tomorrow. For the upcoming Paris Games, Noah has big hopes. Aiming to bring in gold in four events (100m, 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m), the reigning world champion is determined to compensate for his lost opportunities in Tokyo three years ago, and he’s on the right track so far.

Noah’s race from hours ago started off with a glitch as one of his colleagues was disqualified by the officials owing to his mistake ahead of the starting gun. But Noah retained his composure and responded to national teammate Kyree King’s jeers from yesterday. Hopefully, mental health will cease to be a recurring trouble as the Road to Paris opens up more broadly in the coming days in Oregon.

Noah Lyles’ battle with depression

Noah’s tryst with depression was sparked thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic that pushed the 2020 Olympics by an entire year. Isolated from his friends and family, as well as away from the attention of the fans, Noah was cast deep into a pit of bleakness that seemed impossible to get out of. And now, as he gears up to set the records straight as to who is the best sprinter in the world right now, Noah even finds it difficult to recognize himself from three years ago. In a YouTube video uploaded by Lyles a year ago, he also told a fan that “…all of 2021, I was never at the point where I thought I should be,” highlighting just how troublesome things got for the Olympian.

However, things are looking up. “I’m not depressed, for sure. The pills are in the past…Thankfully, I’m not coming off antidepressants [this time],” Noah was heard saying earlier this month in an interview with NBC Washington. Now, as another trial awaits the country’s top runners tomorrow in a bid to secure their spots in the national team for the Paris Olympics, it remains to be seen if Noah’s dark days are indeed behind him, or if they lie dormant in the shadows and waiting to pounce at the first chance.