You have to test the waters before jumping in. That’s exactly what Noah Lyles is doing before the final lap begins. For the first time, the 27-year-old track and field celebrity is participating in the men’s 100m race at the Olympic Games, and it’s off to a decent start. In the Heat 3 of the men’s 100m first round in Paris, Lyles came in second (10.04 seconds), behind Louie Hinchliffe (9.98) of Britain. However, with this score not nearly as close to his best time in the event, the Florida native thinks his opponents shouldn’t give him a hall pass.

Noah’s stint at the Tokyo Olympics didn’t go as he would have hoped for. A bronze in the 200m is all he could manage three years ago. On top of that, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic also forced the athletes to compete in seclusion, without supporting voices egging them on. However, with things entirely different this year in France, Noah believes his chances of doing better are also quite significant.

Noah Lyles hints at having a few tricks up his sleeve

In the post-race interview, Noah talked about his feelings after getting back to the tracks in Paris. He admitted that he’s excited for what’s the come, and it didn’t seem like Lyles’ latest second-place finish was bothering him as it would others. Along with that, he also said that he didn’t put too much effort into acceleration and yet he thought the first 10 meters went pretty well. With a broad smile on himself, the six-time World Championships gold medalist said he “downplayed” his opponents in the race, a mistake he’s not going to repeat. Hinting that he didn’t even try to go full power, Noah smirked at the reporter, “I’m pretty scared for everybody else right now.”

At the US Olympic Team Trials, the reigning 100m and 200m world champ picked up the top spot in both these races and punched his ticket to the French capital. In the shorter distance, Noah equaled his personal best time in the race (9.81 seconds) and went on to set a meet record and boast the world lead in the longer course (19.53 seconds). Naturally, his first run in Paris didn’t seem to take much out of him, and he too thinks his foes should be concerned.

And Noah exuded confidence. “I’m more excited now that I didn’t win the heat,” stated five-time Diamond League winner boldly in the interview. On top of everything, having his family by his side this time is making a difference in his mental state as well, said the athlete known for his explosive personality. Coupled with the fact that he’s also become a known face thanks to Netflix’s recently released SPRINT, the sprinter seems to be hovering on Cloud 9. “Sprint came out, I walk around, everybody knows who I am, I’m not depressed anymore,” said Lyles with a confident smile that can rival Monroe. The PURE Athletics runner has worked his back off to be where he is right now, and it’s only understandable that he believes he has a fighting chance to make up for the lost opportunities from the last time he was on the grandest stage.

An arduous trek fr him to get to the City of Love

In a YouTube video Noah uploaded earlier yesterday, titled Making of An Icon, Noah talked about the dream he had recently. There, he talked about how dreamt that he had come up with a plan on how to make Tokyo the place where he became an Olympic champ but ultimately decided to go with the flow. He said in the video, that, even subconsciously, he knew that he had to get a reality check in order to push through every obstacle on his way to attaining the absolute top spot in his game. “…if I won that gold medal at Tokyo I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t have broken the American record. I wouldn’t even run faster than 19.5 because I wouldn’t have the same drive, the same determination,” Lyles could be heard saying.

‘ I wouldn’t have put in the same work I wouldn’t have been the same I might have got cocky,” reiterated Lyles noting why it was necessary for him to hit a brick wall in Tokyo in order to understand he needed to become a noteworthy name in the track community. He said failures never define someone, instead it’s the person’s grit and determination to keep going that make them iconic. With Lyles looking to be in a mental state where he fully knows what he can dish out, it remains to be seen how the 100m semifinal race goes first to back up his claims. What do you think fate has in store for the sprinting sensation? Tell us in the comments.