“Tokyo Was Not An Olympics”: Noah Lyles Looks Back At The Tough Times Of 2020 Mega-Games

Noah Lyles is a confident athlete and never shies away from proclamations of his grand plans. At the start of 2023, he envisioned a blueprint for the entire season that culminated with him winning three gold medals. Now, that he steps into the Olympic year the track legend has vowed total dominance once more.

Noah Lyles’ trophy closet anticipates gilded additions of Olympic glory. The shelf now boasts of a sole bronze which he brought home after the 2020 Tokyo Games. This brazen hardware is in stark contrast to his colorful personality and he means to cancel out the past with a new array of achievements in Paris.

Noah Lyles aims to redefine legacy with Paris Olympic triumph

As the men’s track athlete of the Year in 2023, Noah Lyles stands at the cusp of making history. If he can surpass Usain Bolt’s record, he will bring back the crown of the “World’s Fastest Man at the Olympics” to America after 20 years. Lyles is at his athletic peak and may yet overcome the 0.12s difference between his personal best and Bolt’s record in Paris. Calling himself “the guy” to root for, he has elicited paeans of praise from the track and field community. But his world titles are insufficient to elevate him in the broader world’s estimation. He means to use Paris 2024 as his succession saga and tear out the blotched pages of his career from 2021. In an exclusive interview with the Washington Post, Noah Lyles has chosen to erase the Tokyo Olympics chapter from his biography.

Lyles believes that the Paris Olympics will be his debut at the big games. To support his belief, Lyles said, “I’ve talked to a lot of other athletes who Tokyo was their first Olympics. We’ve all agreed that Tokyo was not an Olympics. There was no fans. There was no environment. There was no fun activities”. With the chance of redemption looming in the distance, the double champion has added one more hardware to the basket.

Lyles sets a quadruple gold ambition for Paris Olympics

Noah Lyles is set to become the first American 100-200 double champion since Carl Lewis in 1984. With similar glory earned at the World Championships, he is the best proponent to bring home the honor. However, the Olympics is another ball game where each athlete fervently chases down their golden aspirations.

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While he has yet to “mastered the 100”, Noah Lyles teased his ambition to go for the quadruple gold by adding the 4x400m relay to his Paris agenda. Notwithstanding how his competition schedule unfolds, Noah Lyles is gearing for total dominance in the French metropolis. With his level of confidence and his speed to boot, there is a high chance of victory for the U.S.

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