Without rivalries, a sport can seldom become exciting. From baseball to basketball and soccer, fierce rivalries between teams and individual athletes define the sports and can even break friendships. With Noah Lyles being one of the most electrifying track and field stars in the world today, it’s not surprising that a long list of colleagues see him as their top rival. But it was one such rivalry that might have fueled the Fastest Man in The World‘s Olympic success.

Leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympics, Noah Lyles was one of the favorites to win both the men’s 100m and 200m titles. His incredible performance at tournaments in the months before the Games also underscored the Virginia native’s determination to establish himself as a track elite. But it was a familiar face from Jamaica that helped him really tap into his true potential.

Lyles recently revealed how the Jamaican running sensation Kishane Thompson got the former to bring out his best in the City of Love last summer. In a YouTube upload by Beyond The Records Podcast from January 16, Noah said Thompson’s antics before the 100m dash final made him go all out. Recalling the moments before the race, the American sprinter said “…he usually comes out and gives you Dragon Ball Z power-up roar. And he did it before I came out. I was like ‘Oh oh! It’s going to be like that? Okay, cool cool cool cool.” But that little stunt might be the reason that cost Thompson his gold.

“You can have that. You can have that. I got something better,” Noah said how watching Kishane’s entry to the Stade de France made him truly feel like embracing his coach’s pre-race pep talk. Iterating to himself how his coach Lance Brauman told him to control the crowd to win races, Lyles went out to do so, while also adding his own flair to it. “Nobody knows how to control a crowd like me. So I’m like, ‘If you want to go out and yell, that’s cool.’ So I’m coming out, I’m doing the walk out and the cameraman is trying to keep me in one spot and I’m like, ‘You need to get out the way cuz I’m not here for you. I’m here for the crowd,” he said about Thompson making him look beyond their rivalry and set his sight on the bigger picture.

During the conversation, Lyles also said that the audience is one of his biggest sources of energy and sounded curious as to why don’t more athletes try to reach out to the fans at events to feel motivated. “Why stay back there when you have this amazing energy right here?” he sounded dumbfounded about it. Nonetheless, considering how Kishane was flexing his muscles in the days before the Paris Olympics, one would be hard-pressed to think that Noah was pressured into showing his true worth on the grand stage.

Noah Lyles and his Jamaican colleague were at each other’s necks

2024 was a pretty good year for the eccentric sprinter. From the USATF Championships to the World Indoor Championships and the World Relays, there weren’t many competitions where Noah didn’t win gold. And he was doing it in both the 100m and 200m events. Naturally, fans were eager to see if he could clinch the coveted double gold at the Games. Even Lyles was feeling it in himself. Despite British sprinter Zharnel Hughe’s recent success in the 200m, the American claimed that he wasn’t much of a competition. Calling Hughes “cute“, he remained focused on following up on his promise of taking the high throne of Usain Bolt with four gold medals at the Olympics.

But Kishane Thompson wasn’t sitting idly either. Just days after Lyles put on a stunning 9.83-second display at the Team Trials, Thompson went out and posted an even more scintillating 9.77 seconds at the Jamaican Trials. The stakes were high. However, at the Olympics, both athletes crossed the finishing line in 9.79, with Lyles only winning by a photo finish and claiming the top spot on the podium.

In the 200m though, Lyles couldn’t replicate his earlier success. Running with COVID-19, a piece of news that was revealed later, he had to settle for bronze, while national teammate Kenny Bednarek hauled silver in the final race of the longer course. Overall, two Olympic gold and multiple international accolades were enough for Noah to call it a good day at the office. But what’s next for the emphatic track sensation? Tell us what new challenges you’d like to see him take on next in the comments!