With a spectacular victory in the 100 meters on Sunday, Noah Lyles three-time world champion and one of track and field’s most promising US ambassadors, grabbed the title of world’s fastest man and set his sights on next year’s Paris Olympics. became the main attraction at the World Championships in Budapest.
Lyles, the undisputed 200-meter king, ran the 100-meter dash in 9.83 seconds, the quickest time of his career and the fastest time in the world this year. Noah Lyles holds the American record in the 200 meters and has always run the 100 as a hobby. He is now the world champion in the sport’s glamour event, and his victory on Sunday gives an on-ramp to the superstardom he has long desired outside of the exclusive track world.
“They said I wasn’t the one,” Lyles stated into the camera once the results were confirmed. “But I thank God for that.”
The 26-year-old relied on his unrivaled top-end speed to defeat fellow American Christian Coleman, the 2019 world champion still regarded as the world’s finest starter. Coleman finished fifth in 9.92 seconds as Lyles overcame Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and Great Britain’s Darnell Hughes, who earned silver and bronze in 9.88 seconds, respectively.
Since establishing himself as a potential star at Northern Virginia KTC. Noah Lyles has won gold at Williams High School while attempting to enhance the popularity of track and field. With the 2024 Paris Games less than a year away, Lyles has gone from being one of the faces of American track and field to possibly becoming the face of these Olympics in the United States. Lyles’ domination was prolonged after Sidney McLaughlin-Leveron withdrew from the world championships with a “minor” knee injury.
He will now attempt to break Usain Bolt’s 200m world record. Lyles surpassed Michael Johnson’s American 200-meter record by 0.01 seconds at last year’s world championships in Eugene, Ore. When asked subsequently if he could challenge Bolt’s record, Lyles responded confidently, “19.1.”
Bolt’s 19.19, formerly thought to be world-beating, now appears to be weakened by Lyles’ performance during the last year. It would be a mistake to miss the 200-meter final on Friday at 3:50 p.m. Eastern.
In the pre-race news conference, Lyles played up expectations and expectations for his 100-meter performance. He and the reigning world champion, Fred Kerley, sat on the same Team USA dice, with Kerley announcing his title and remarking, “No matter what time Lyles ran, Kerley crossed the line first.”
“That’s what they all say,” Lyles responded quickly, “before they get killed.” Kerley did not advance to the finals; he ran 10.02 seconds in the semifinals to finish ninth in qualifying, one spot shy of the podium.
Lyles’ entry into the 100 comes after a career in which he attempted, but failed, to break into the event’s elite. He did not make the United States Olympic squad for the 100-meter dash in Tokyo, finishing seventh in the 2021 trials. He referred to the 100 meters as his “side chick” in comparison to his “wife’s” 200. (She went on to win bronze in Tokyo.) Lyles earned silver in the 4×100 relay at the World Championships in Eugene last summer, but she relied on her speed to make the most of her start in this race. could take up, which was a weaker aspect of his repertory.
Lyles, on the other hand, has converted that relative weakness into a strength during the last year. On Sunday, he exploded out of the blocks, trailing only Tebogo and Coleman. When Lyles caught up to them, a group of five runners in the middle lanes battled neck and neck for the rest of the race. No one can beat Lyles in any event race with runners running full sprints.
He demonstrated it once more. He leaned forward on the line, obviously victorious but so near he wanted confirmation. Lyles knelt and slapped the track with both hands after the public address declared his triumph.
Noah Lyles has always been a showman, much like a racecar driver. Lyles advertised a new streaming documentary on his life a day before the World Championships began. A scene from a recent meeting in Jamaica, where Lyles won the 200 meters and was greeted by Bolt at the finish line, is included in the film. Bolt hugged him and whispered something into Lyles’ ear.
“Let me say something,” Bolt instructed. “Keep going, bro. The game requires it—“
Noah Lyles wants to meet with Bolt again this week. It will not be on a track but in the sacred pages of history. It will take a great performance, but Lyles showed on Sunday that he can provide anything expected of him – and the unexpected.
