"How much my mental health journey has affected them” - Noah Lyles opens up on his influence as he weighs in on giving back to the community

Olympic champion Noah Lyles has been a staunch advocate for mental health and recently opened up about giving back to his community. The sprinter spoke about his influence while also discussing the Lyles Brothers Sports Foundation.

For Lyles, 2024 has been an immensely successful year. He began his season competing indoors, where he was crowned the national champion in the 60m, before finishing second at the World Indoor Championships in the same distance.

The 26-year-old had a similar outdoor season, winning both the 100m and 200m races at the U.S Olympic Trials. Later, at the Paris Olympics, Lyles claimed gold in the 100m and settled for bronze in the 200m.

Most recently, the sprinter spoke about his impact on his community, while outlining the goals of the Lyles Brothers Sports Foundation, a non-profit organization he co-founded with his family.

“I'd say the biggest impact that I've personally seen is that parents and children come up to me and say how much my mental health journey has affected them. Sometimes I'll just be speaking to the kids but the parents will come and say, ‘I never thought of it that way’, and they'll think about their own children and say ‘maybe I should be doing it in this format instead of the way I've previously been doing it’,” he said in the video on the non-profit’s Instagram page.

Noah Lyles on the importance of mental health

Noah Lyles on mental health (Image Source: Getty)

Noah Lyles has always been vocal about his struggles with mental health and began the Lyles Brothers Sports Foundation in 2021 as a way to give back to the community. The nonprofit's mission is to ‘empower youth through the advancement of health & wellness in the community’ and is run by Lyles, his brother Josephus, and his mother Keisha Bishop.

In 2021, in an LBSF event, the sprinter spoke on his intentions when starting with his own non-profit, saying,

“I have this platform and I want to invoke change. I want to invoke a good message, a positive way that people can see themselves or even move forward.”

Lyles went on to share a piece of advice for people struggling with their own mental health.

“Speak up, tell somebody. Nobody can help you if you’re not saying anything. Seek professional help. Of course your friends and family are great, but none of them are trained to actually get you through this. Find a therapist that really works for you, not every therapist is for each person so find one that you resonate with. Be open to the ideas, because whatever you have been doing has not been working.”

Noah Lyles has repeatedly shared his struggles with mental health and has been vocal about his depression and anxiety diagnosis. In 2021, the American shared that he was briefly on medication to deal with his mental health.