Noah Lyles is a true showman on and off the field. Whether it is about hyping up the crowd before a race or replying to his girlfriend’s haters, Lyles is always a notch ahead. Now then, the Olympic champion has once again shown his sassy side, this time for his favorite League of Legends team. The 27-year-old’s inclination towards esports is well known. Being one of the nerdiest athletes, Lyles has openly expressed his allegiance towards the League of Legends team of 100 Thieves. 

Unfortunately, 100 Thieves’ journey at the 2024 League of Legends World Championship kicked off on a disappointing note as they lost to Movistar R7 in a thrilling series, with a final score of 1-2. Despite winning the first game convincingly, they struggled in the subsequent matches, especially against R7’s strong mid-jungle combo. The series was marked by intense gameplay, resulting in a total of 123 kills across three games.

This loss marks the first time an LLA team has won a series at Worlds, leaving North American fans questioning the team’s performance. While this was a huge setback, netizens requested Lyles to keep supporting the 100 Thieves despite their defeat. In an X post, an account named DR1FTMIMS stated, “Dear @LylesNoah, in behalf of all 100T fans, we’re sorry for this… Keep supporting the Thieves. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.”

Well, Noah Lyles is not the one to withdraw his support so easily. Reacting to the loss, Lyles took to his X account and wrote, “I been here since 2019… One loss ain’t going to stop my faith. As long as you can get back up then you can go after it again!” A fun fact about Noah Lyles: He is an avid gamer! When he is not running and creating records, he can be found engrossed in the League of Legends game on his laptop or PC.

In a recent X post, Lyles shared his love for the game as he wrote, “This bout to be me after the 4x100m.” Unfortunately, the men’s 100m winner could not fulfill his dream of running in 4 events of the Olympics. After his 200-meter run, where he won the bronze medal, Lyles bowed out of the tournament with a major COVID-19 infection.

Ahead of the 2024 LOL World Championships started, Lyles looked all riled up and ready to battle for the gold. Following the League Championship Series Summer Split playoffs final, Lyles saw the 100 Thieves beat Cloud9 3-1. Showing his excitement after his favorite LOL team, 100 Thieves, qualified for the World Championships, Lyles looked ecstatic as he soaked in every bit of the winning feeling as his team ‘took everything like a thief’.

And while his aim of winning gold in the LOL World Championships failed, Lyles’ maturity in avoiding unnecessary drama is quite remarkable. Subject to heavy criticism every now and then, the Olympic gold medalist instead decided to voice out his support for the women participating in the Athlos NYC event, which is the final event of the 2024 season. 

Noah Lyles calls for women’s empowerment in track and field amidst LOL loss

In a bid to secure his daughter’s future as an athlete, Alexis Ohanian has started Athlos. This tournament is aimed at making the women in track and field flourish while getting amply paid. Ohanian announced his special event during the Paris Olympics, and on September 26, the tournament came to fruition.

With a cumulative prize pool of $500,000 and an individual prize of $60k, the first edition of the event in NYC was a huge hit. Appearing as the face of Athlos, 3x Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas, along with 36 other athletes, ran the first lap of revolution in women’s sports. And supporting the initiative wholeheartedly was Noah Lyles.

Despite his heartbreak in the LOL World Championships, Lyles wrote on his X account, “I love these introductions at @athlos I want to hear even more energy when announcing these Women!!! Forget trying to sound professional let’s get loud and extra!” Such a statement coming from a top-tier athlete like Lyles holds significant importance. His words of support will surely impact the event in a positive manner, making the all-female grow in stature in the coming days. 

As for Lyles’ favorite team at the 2024 League of Legends World Championship, with their next match against SoftBank HAWKS on September 28, 100 Thieves must bring their A-game to avoid elimination. After the defeat, they expressed determination to bounce back, stating, “Some first-international nerves, we’ll figure it out and be back for blood.”