Noah Lyles reveals "anime reference" behind his nail design

American sprinting sensation Noah Lyles recently opened up about the inspiration behind his nail design.

The six-time outdoor world champion Lyles opened his 2024 Athletics season by participating in various indoor track events. He notably won two silver medals at the World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024 in the men’s 60m, and 4x400m relay events.

Recently, he appeared in an episode of the World Athletics' Inside Track Podcast with Sanya Richards-Ross and Richard Kilty. On the podcast, Kilty asked him about the inspiration behind his nail design, to which Lyles responded:

“This is an anime reference. It's from Naruto. So, there's a character named Itachi and he has this ability that he can call upon black flames. It's called Amaterasu and the black flames do not extinguish until they kill its target."

He added:

"So I put the same black flames because I'm out here, I have targets. They do not extinguish until the target is taken care of.”

Noah Lyles compared his objectives to the black flames of Itachi's Amaterasu, whereby the black flames don't extinguish until they kill its target. Just like the black flames persist until their goal is fulfilled, Lyles is focused on pursuing his goals until he accomplishes them.

The five-time Diamond League champion Lyles has bigger aspirations for the Olympic season as he aims to win four gold medals — in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m and 4x400m races at the Paris Olympics 2024.

At the World Athletics Championships 2023, Lyles achieved a treble by winning gold medals at the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay events, becoming the first sprinter since Usain Bolt (in 2015) to accomplish this feat.

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Usain Bolt on Noah Lyles’ statement about his chances of breaking the 200m world record of 19.19s

Noah Lyles celebrates winning gold in the Men's 200m Final on day seven of the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Usain Bolt recently talked about Noah Lyles’ chances of breaking the 200m world record, which the Jamaican presently holds with a time of 19.19s, in an interview with Citius Mag. He stated:

“It's not gonna be easy. I think Noah will feel like it's easy running both events. It was never easy. I've said it, I've always said it. It's not easy running back-to-back events and then going for the record because your body runs out of energy."

Bolt added:

“But I think the possibility is there because he came close at the World Championships. I feel like if he corrects a few things, I won’t say, he could get better."

Noah Lyles presently owns the American record in the 200m, registering a best time of 19.31s in 2022. He also boasts a personal best of 9.83s in the 100m race.