Noah Lyles aspires to be the next biggest star in track and field. Sprinting certainly needs a showman like Usain Bolt. Lyles can attract attention with his style, demeanor and immense self-confidence. A year ago in Budapest, he caused a storm with his words related to NBA.
There is a new Olympic champion in the 100 meters
Three years ago in Tokyo sensationally, Marcell Jacobs from Italy became the Olympic champion. In Paris, he ran in finalbut he was not the favorite. The fight was to be decided between two Americans – Noah Lyles and Fred Kerley. They could be hindered by runners from Africa and Jamaica.
Kerley had the best starting reaction, almost border false start. But he wasn't the one leading after the first 20-30 meters. In front was Kishane Thompson, who was able to accelerate immediately. Lyles was in last place at this stage. In Paris, he has weaker starts, which was visible in the qualifying and semi-finals. However, he was able to make up for the losses on the distance.
Lyles had the highest measured speed of anyone after 50 meters, caught up with the rest of the field chasing Thompson and Kerley, and then joined the leading pair. The reigning world champion began to pull a tiny lead.
Everyone crossed the finish line at almost the same time. Lyles was the one who was the most forward, with a time of 9.79 seconds. Thompson had the same time. There is no way that both could have tied for first place. They had to decide on thousandths of a second. After checking those fractions of a second, it was announced that Lyles was the Olympic champion. He beat the Jamaican by just five thousandths! That was his personal best. Kerley won the bronze with a time of 9.81, his best result of the season. Defending champion Jacobs finished fifth with a time of 9.85.
Lyles, celebrating his gold, unpinned his nametag from his jersey, held it up and showed it to the crowd so they could remember his name. The 27-year-old wants to be the new sprint king and one of the best of all time. He shouted to the camera afterward: “America, I told you so. I got this!”
It was a very close final, as the difference at the finish line between the first Lyles and the last Obliqui Seville from Jamaica was only 0.12 seconds. It would have been smaller if not for the fact that Seville gave up the finish, knowing a few meters before the finish line that the medal had slipped out of his hands.
Noah Lyles has won six World Championship gold medals – two at Doha 2019 (200 meters and relay 4×100 m), one from Eugene 2022 (200 m) and three from Budapest 2023 (100 m, 200 m and 4×100 m relay).
His name was remembered more by fans during the championship in the capital of Hungary, when he stuck a pin into NBA players.
– Do you know what hurts me the most? That I'm watching the NBA Finals and I see the words above their heads: world champions. World champions of what? The United States? Don't get me wrong. I love the United States – but it's not the whole world. We (here in Budapest – ed.) are the world. Every country fights here, presents itself and hangs its flag to show that it represents its homeland. There are no flags in the NBA – he said in August 2023. His statement went viral. Although there was a lot of truth in his words, NBA players mocked him in their responses.
Noah Lyles will also compete in the 200 meters and the sprint relay. His goal is to win a full set of three gold medals, like Usain Bolt in Rio de Janeiro and London. The famous Jamaican also had three golds in Beijing, but years later he lost the relay title due to doping by one of his teammates.