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Noah Lyles, who won three golds at the 2023 World Championships, is second behind Usain Bolt in the 200m world standings. But according to him, when he was a teenager, there was an instance when he ran faster than Bolt in the 100m.
Noah Lyles had an opportunity at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he earned the 200m bronze but finished seventh in the 100m at the Olympic Trials. He is a six-time World Champion and achieved great success, surpassing the legendary Michael Johnson's 26-year-long record at the 2022 World Championships by running the 200m in 19.31s.
At the 2009 World Athletics Championships, Usain Bolt etched his name in the history books by running the 100m in 9.58s. This made him the first man to achieve this feat, which has not been broken in 14 years and eight months. His 200m in 19.19s and 4x100m relay lap time stand untouched as well.
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Ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which Bolt was not a part of, Lyles was confident that he would shine. Talking candidly to The Guardian in 2021, he shared a story of his track & field dreams. He ran to his mom once as a teenager, after finishing the 100m in 9.41s, ahead of Bolt's world record.
"And I wasn’t even pushing!” Noah Lyles said confidently.
Since Lyles started his professional track career in 2016 after signing with Adidas, he hasn't had a chance to face Bolt on the track.
Noah Lyles' 100m mindset different than that of 200m
After his impressive performance at the US Olympic trials, Lyles was aiming to finish on the most coveted 100m and 200m podiums at the Tokyo Olympics. But in The Guardian's interview, he shared his story of having a different mindset and working towards his goal accordingly.
"My mindset in the 100 is more towards being aggressive, fast, still loose, there’s actually more thought in the 100, which is funny because it’s a faster race. Going for the 200, I have a few key words going on in my head throughout the race. ‘Get out’, ‘stand tall’, ‘quick and stride’, ‘hold form’, but compared to the 100, it’s a lot different. There’s a lot less thinking in the 200," he said.
Noah Lyles is eyeing gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
