The new King of the 100 meters is Noah Lyles, the American who took gold in the final at the Paris Olympics on Sunday with a time of 9”79. A character all to be discovered, born in ’97 in Gainesville (Florida), ready to rewrite the rules of athletics.
Lyles takes the throne in the 100 meters: Noah against the NBA
He had already become a polarizing figure with the docuseries ‘Sprint’ on Netflix, and his victory yesterday has crowned him to the entire world. «I want my technical sponsor to create a shoe with my name, like they did for ‘Air’, I want a sneaker all my own (as was the case for Michael Jordan).
It’s time for athletics to finally become popular in the States».
Lyles continued: «Those who win the NBA title call themselves world champions, but for me that title belongs to the Olympic champions, not to them. Winning here is different; only here do you see flags from all around the world. The United States is not the world; the world is us, here (at the World Athletics Championships, ed.). Here we practically have athletes from all nationalities trying to fight and hold high their flags».
The story of Noah Lyles
Now Noah does not want to stop and aims to replicate his success in the 200 meters and the relay, and why not, also in the 4×400. The comeback of a boy who had to fight against things greater than himself. At six years old he had severe asthma problems and was a victim of bullying at school, also due to his dyslexia issues. That boy is now a man and has shown the world all his talent, sweeping aside the reigning champion Marcell Jacobs. The verdict of the president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, is quite clear and explicit: «Lyles is bringing athletics back to the territory that was Usain Bolt’s: he occupies an empty space; everyone is talking about him».
Son of a champion, Noah’s father won a gold medal at the World Championships in Gothenburg in 1995 in the 4×400 relay. Lyles has athletics in his blood, but before trying it out, he did gymnastics, and at 12 he changed course and began to follow in his father’s footsteps. His career already boasted high-level achievements with 6 gold medals and one silver at the World Championships. In 2023, he won three gold medals in Budapest in the 100, 200, and the 4×100 relay. Now, the gold at the Olympics in Paris.
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