Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics
He has the medals, he has the appeal, and the new fastest man in the world’s best years may be ahead of him.
There are plenty of track competitors who are stars within the sport and national heroes in their respective countries—Karsten Warholm of Norway, Femke Bol of The Netherlands, Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, and Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, to name a few. It’s also evident and understandable that there has been a global superstar void since Usain Bolt retired in 2017.
Enter Noah Lyles, the new fastest man in the world and the most dominant 200-meter runner of the post-Bolt era. The 26-year-old American already is one of track’s most colorful personalities and greatest competitors, but at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary he affirmed himself as a true dual-threat in the sprints.
Rarefied air in the 200
Lyles’ latest 200-meter world title on Friday puts him alongside Bolt as the only men to claim 200-meter world championship gold at least three times.
He’s a perfect 3-for-3 at Worlds, with his signature performance coming at last year’s Worlds in Oregon, where he broke Michael Johnson’s 26-year-old American record and became the third-fastest in history with a time of 19.31 seconds.
His sprint double gold is the first on the men’s side at a major global championships since Bolt at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the first American male since Tyson Gay at the 2007 Worlds. One of Noah’s stated goals this year was to break Bolt’s longstanding world record of 19.19, and while at 19.51 seconds he couldn’t reach that goal on this occasion, he has time on his side to do what looked unthinkable since Bolt set the record in 2009. A Bolt record Lyles did break this summer was the most sub-20 second clockings in the 200, and he has only extended that mark in Budapest.
A breakthrough in the 100
While Lyles was a multi-time 100-meter champion as a youth, and would anchor the US to a relay gold medal at the 2019 Worlds in Doha, his professional exploits have largely concentrated on the 200. Two prior attempts (one of them as a teenager) to qualify for a Team USA senior roster in the 100 meters fell short, but the third time was the charm in 2023. Lyles, who contracted Covid just prior to the USATF Championships in Oregon, finished in the 3rd and final qualifying spot for the Worlds.
In his first senior 100-meter global final, Lyles displayed his otherworldly closing speed in a personal best 9.83 seconds to conquer a stacked field that included 2019 world champion Christian Coleman, British champion Zharnel Hughes, and young Botswana sensation Letsile Tebogo.
“They said I wasn’t the one,” Lyles said after his win. “But I thank god that I am.”
Always competing
Whether it’s the European-heavy Diamond League global outdoor series, or a makeshift 150-meter track in Downtown Atlanta, or an indoor 60-meter meet in Boston, Lyles is always racing during track season regardless of the event’s magnitude. It’s a benefit to event organizers and fans alike when the star athletes are consistently active outside of major championships. Better visibility for athletes within the US market is, of course, a vastly different and complicated story.
Potential long-term rivalries brewing
Lyles may sit atop the sprinting throne for now, but there are two serious threats to his crown. The aforementioned Letsile Tebogo is only 20 years old and snagged silver and bronze in the 100 and 200 respectively. His extraordinarily fast times (and showboating celebrations) for his age have drawn not-so-hyperbolic Usain Bolt comparisons. American phenom Erriyon Knighton may not run the 100, but at 200 the 19-year-old has already run an astonishing 19.49 seconds as a personal best. With a bronze and now a silver in his first two Worlds, he’s quickly established himself amongst the elite.
Paris 2024 can cement his greatness, elevate his profile
Even with all of America’s dominance in track and field, the Olympics is really the only time the nation pays close attention to the sport. For Lyles, his Olympic debut did not go according to plan. Lyles had to settle for bronze in the 200 behind countryman Kenny Bednarek and Canadian gold medalist Andre De Grasse. It was only his second (and most recent) 200-meter loss for his entire pro career. A gold through the 4x100m relay team didn’t materialize when the US failed to get out of the qualifying heats (which he didn’t participate in).
It was at those Olympics, held with no fans due to pandemic restrictions, that Lyles tearfully opened up about his mental health, including his experiences with anxiety and depression during the pandemic.
“I knew there was a lot of people out there like me who’s scared to say something or to even start that journey,” he said in Tokyo. “I want you to know that it’s OK to not feel good, and you can go out and talk to somebody professionally, or even get on medication, because this is a serious issue and you don’t want to wake up one day and just think, you know, ‘I don’t want to be here anymore.’”
Unlike in Tokyo, there will be a full house of fans in Paris. The time zone is much more favorable for an American audience to watch Lyles live. There is no question that NBC, especially with the new docuseries Untitled: The Noah Lyles Project, is eager to make Lyles one of the faces of Team USA in 2024. If the Olympics often showcase human interest stories to casual/non-traditional sports fans, Lyles’ life story is as compelling and as engaging as can be. As a child he was diagnosed with ADD, dyslexia, and severe asthma. His tight-knit relationships with his brother Josephus and his mother Keisha Caine (who’s often a fixture Noah’s races) have frequently been highlighted. If you’re an Anime fan, you’ll tip your cap to Lyles’ Anime-themed post-race celebrations and how he draws inspiration from series such as Dragon Ball Z.
Lyles’ epic performances at the Worlds have set the stage for him to be one of the top Olympic storylines next summer. If he can deliver the golds in Paris, his legacy as an all-time great would be secure, and his superstar status within his sport could be elevated into the mainstream. It’s not easy to follow in the footsteps of a figurative and literal giant like Bolt, but if anyone can do it, Lyles is the one.
