Noah Lyles doesn’t just step into the spotlight, he seizes it and makes it his own. Either with his performance or controversial statements With Paris, just days away, his confidence is sky-high. “All the Olympic medals. I don’t care who wants it. It’s mine,” Lyles declared earlier this year, his words are full of unshakable self-belief. This confidence didn’t come easily; it was earned through hard-fought battles that helped him recognize his true worth.

Look at him now: He’s the front-runner for the 100m in Paris, carrying the hopes of USA. Yet, beneath his bravado lies a more vulnerable side. Remember his last Olympics? At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he was expected to shine, but he at that time faced a personal storm. “I was depressed,” Lyles admitted, revealing the emotional struggles he grappled with behind the scenes.

Tokyo wasn’t Lyles’s first brush with adversity. Since he was 10, he’s had to weather a storm of challenges. It started with being bullied at school for yellow teeth caused by medication, as he had asthma and dyslexia during childhood. But his mental health hit rock bottom in 2020, a perfect storm of the Covid pandemic. It brought the uncertainty and postponement of the Olympics.

But then in 2021, when the Tokyo Games finally rolled around, Lyles could only claim a bronze in the 200m, despite having been on top of the world in 2019. In the 100m, he didn’t even make the US team, highlighting just how much he was struggling behind the scenes. It was a turning point for self-reflection.

Noah Lyles reached out to his long-time therapist and sports performance consultant, Diana McNab, with whom he had worked since high school. Seeking therapy and starting antidepressant medication brought immediate relief. “I remember the first day of taking it. I felt like a huge boulder was just rolled off my chest,” Lyles recalled. “I’m finally seeing the Noah I wanted to see for months.”

Three years have passed, and Lyles’s three world titles prove he’s not only back on top but reaching new heights. He also notes a significant improvement in his mental health. “It’s a completely different year from 2021,” Lyles remarked. “I mean, one, I’m not depressed. Well, he is not and it is visible since that! Remember his standout performance in 2023? In Budapest, he became the first man since Usain Bolt to complete the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay sprint treble at a World Championships. With a blazing 9.81 in the 100m, he clocked the fastest time of the year.

Lyles even himself acknowledges the dramatic shift in his mental health, stating, “The Noah leading up to Tokyo was depressed. This Noah is not- and that’s a dangerous Noah.” The change in his mindset is clear as day, and as of 2024, his journey shows he’s not only bouncing back but hitting his stride with new motivation. This version of Lyles isn’t settling for anything less than the top of the podium; he’s aiming to match or even outshine, Usain Bolt’s lightning speed. But can he really break Usain Bolt’s record after his recent personal best?

Is Noah Lyles’ new personal best key to Olympic record breakthroughs?

Just six days before the Olympics, on July 20th, Noah Lyles hit his stride like never before. At the Diamond League meet in London, he delivered a personal best in the 100 meters, clocking 9.81 seconds. This standout performance, in the final major meet before the Games, showcased Lyles’s lightning speed. Despite a sluggish start, he found his second wind and powered through the final 50 meters, leaving South Africa’s Akani Simbine (9.86) and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (9.88) trailing in his wake. With all top five finishers breaking the 10-second mark, it was a race for the history books.

Lyles was upfront about his performance, admitting, “I could have had a better start. I’ve been having a lot better starts in practice.” Still, he’s taking the result in stride, adding, “I wanted to drop under 9.80, but I’ll take a PR every day of the week.” His previous best of 9.83 seconds, set at last year’s World Championships in Budapest and matched at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month, shows his consistency.

What will be worth watching is whether Lyles can break Usain Bolt’s 100m and 200m world records—9.58 and 19.19 seconds, respectively. Lyles’s personal best in the 200m is 19.31 seconds. We are all keeping our fingers crossed to see him chase these records while staying on top of his mental game and in peak physical shape.