As a child, Noah Lyles thought that trying to be the fastest man in the world was ‘normal’! Punching his ticket to Paris with a 200m time of 19.53s, Noah Lyles is now the fastest man of 2024. In a recent interview with Kelly Clarkson, Lyles shared where he imbibed his champion’s mentality. He revealed that he grew up around legendary Olympians like Jearl Miles, Joetta Clark, and Hazel Clark. These athletes were trained by JJ Clark, who was himself a legendary athlete.

When Clarkson asked how much pressure this put on Lyles, the US sprinter had a surprising reply: “I just thought it was normal.” Lyles mentioned that his family had a close rapport with the Miles and Clark families. Additionally, his parents were World Champion sprinters, so running fast felt like an everyday chore to him. Talk about a champion’s mentality!

Having sealed his ticket to Paris, Noah Lyles will be America’s best bet to win the 100m and 200m gold. While he has shown significant improvement in the 200m, the 100m still poses challenges for Lyles. His fastest dash in 2024, 9.83 seconds at the US Olympic trials, ranks lower on the list. Oblique Seville, who mimicked Usain Bolt’s gesture at the Racers Grand Prix, edged out Lyles by 0.01 seconds with a time of 9.82 seconds, placing second. The top spot is held by Kishane Thompson at 9.77 seconds. As Lyles aims to dethrone Usain Bolt, improving these stats becomes crucial.

Noah Lyles aiming for quadruple in Paris

Clinching three gold medals at the 2023 World Championships, Noah Lyles made history by becoming the first male athlete since Usain Bolt in 2015 to achieve a World Championship treble. Following this incredible triumph, Lyles, brimming with confidence, announced his goal of winning four gold medals in Paris. While he was expected to compete in the 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m events, Lyles also expressed interest in participating in the 4x400m.

Speaking with L’Equipe, the 2023 World Athletics Male Track Athlete of the Year stated, “Because after what I did at Budapest and seeing what my body can handle, if I train for it, okay, let’s take a shot. It’s the last race, there’s nothing to lose. If I’m in shape for it and I’ve trained for it all year, sure let’s take a crack at it.”  Well, this was not the only goal of Noah Lyles coming into his second Olympics. 

Lyles also vowed to break Usain Bolt’s record as the fastest man in the world. While both of Bolt’s records, 9.58s and 19.19s seem impossible to break, Lyles, with his unique aura, mentioned to NBC,“ I know that I’m going to break 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.”Adding to the intrigue, Usain Bolt himself reflected on the possibility of his records being broken. The Jamaican pointed out that surpassing 9.58 seconds in the 100m would be challenging due to the small margin of error. However, he suggested that the 200m record might fall sooner. With just days until the Paris Olympics, the Noah Lyles situation is keeping everyone on edge. It remains to be seen how well he can back his ambitions and lead America to glory.