Noah Lyles is on fire this year! Month after month, he’s been breaking personal records and rewriting the record books. Now, the moment he’s been waiting for has finally arrived: the Paris Olympics, where he was set to make history by breaking Usain Bolt’s record. True to his personality, Noah remains as outspoken as ever, and his boldness is just as captivating as his athletic prowess. And that’s what he did today as well! At the opening ceremony, a reporter asked Noah Lyles about his mental game approach to the Olympics.

Without missing a beat, Noah let it all hang out: “I’m bringing in a new PR. I did bring it last week. I’m bringing in new energy, and I can definitely say I’m getting faster by the week. The energy is not stopping. Again, I’m excited; I’m ready to make a moment and shoot. I hope everybody is ready to watch because the more you cheer, the faster I get.” This time, he didn’t mention his long-standing goal of breaking Usain Bolt’s world records, which he’s been discussing for months.

Earlier, Lyles had set his sights on shattering Bolt’s legendary 200m record of 19.19 seconds and the 100m record of 9.58 seconds—marks that Lyles has openly aimed to surpass this season. But is it possible?

Lyles has expressed his ambition to surpass Usain Bolt’s iconic world records, stating, “He was the fastest man ever to do it,” and adding confidently, “Soon, it’ll be me.” Even though Lyles is determined to break Bolt’s legendary 200m record, a feat Bolt himself once highlighted by saying, “I have dedicated my life to the 200m; I really love the 200m a lot.” To Lyles, breaking world records is an inevitable milestone; as he puts it, “World records are meant to be broken. It’s just another goal to check off the list, and it’s always fun to go after the top.” The question remains: can he truly achieve this goal?

Is Noah Lyles on the brink of making history again?

Lyles World Championships in Budapest made him the star as well as the fastest man of 2023 in 100m. He secured gold in both the 100m and 200m in 2023. Now his ambitious goal for Paris 2024 is to claim four gold medals, surpassing Usain Bolt’s sprint triple feats from London 2012 and Rio 2016. Lyles shared, “Why four? Well, there have been multiple doubles, not a lot, but there have been plenty. I can grab three but Bolt has done that. I can do two Olympics in a row, but Bolt has done that too.” While his personal best in 100m was 9.83 at that time but not for so long!

Earlier this week, Noah Lyles’s outstanding performance in the Diamond London crowd was wow! He clocked a personal best of 9.81 seconds. Although it was a mere two-hundredths of a second improvement, it was enough to propel him to third-fastest in the world this year, behind Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala (9.79) and Jamaican Kishane Thompson (9.77). After his impressive performance, Lyles, known for his candid demeanor, confidently declared that he was improving each week. “I’m going to win; it’s what I always do. I’m getting faster every week,” he stated, with his sights set firmly on Olympic gold.

Given his current trajectory, do you think Noah Lyles has the potential to break Usain Bolt’s record, despite his best 200m time of 19.31 seconds?