PARIS: Noah Lyles will look to banish his Tokyo demons when he takes to the Olympic track in Paris in his continuing bid to fill the void left by Usain Bolt.
Lyles took a major step towards that dream by winning treble gold (100, 200 and 4x100m relay) at last year’s world championships in Budapest.
It led to World Athletics president Sebastian Coe dubbing Lyles, whose contract renewal with Adidas this season was described as the biggest since Bolt’s with Puma, an “absolute rock star”.
Dread-locked rapper more than rock star, the 27-year-old American’s efforts in the Hungarian capital were captured in Netflix’s docuseries entitled “Sprint”.
It firmly shone the spotlight on the self-assured Lyles, who looks more than ready to bring track back into the wider public consciousness and whose brashness was clear for all to hear in a litany of quotable soundbites.
‘Mindset of a god’
“You have to have the mindset of a god,” Lyles said of being a top sprinter in “Sprint”. “I’m a true believer in that the moment isn’t bigger than me, the moment was made for me.”
While many pundits insist that such an outlook is hardly rare for elite athletes, there is no doubt his brazen approach rubs many other people up the wrong way, not least legions of NBA basketball players – and their fans – after Lyles had questioned their claim to be real “world champions”.
Either way, the cameras will again be on Lyles in Paris as he seeks to improve on his Tokyo Games showing, where he came away with a bronze in the 200m.
“That bronze still burns a hole in my chest,” Lyles said last weekend after winning the 100m in a personal best of 9.81 seconds into a slight headwind at the London Diamond League.
“I will be carrying it around during Paris just to remind me that this is not the colour we are coming back with.”
His victory in London, however, left Lyles in buoyant mood, and in no fear of Jamaican Kishane Thompson, the fastest man of the year after his 9.77sec in Kingston last month.
“I beat everyone that I touch,” he said. “I don’t see why the Jamaicans are any different. This is what I pray for, this is what I live for and I back myself up, don’t I?”
Lyles, who suffered from chronic asthma as a child, added: “I know exactly where I am ahead of Paris.
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“The more eyes on me, the better I perform, or at least that’s what my therapist says. When the TV cameras are on me and people are there, I am not losing.”
Fame on and off track
The American is still hoping to complete an audacious bid for medals in four events in Paris, adding the 4x400m relay to his repertoire.
He ruffled feathers in the world indoors in Glasgow in March when, after claiming 60m silver behind teammate Christian Coleman, he was selected for the 4x400m relay squad that also won silver.
“Let’s just say a lot of people in the US were very, very, very upset that I ran the 4x400 and to that I would say, ‘run faster, push me out!’,” Lyles said.
Bolt retired from the sport in 2017 having won 11 world and eight Olympic golds.
Lyles, whose Budapest sprint double was the first since Bolt’s at the Beijing worlds in 2015, said: “Usain Bolt has done it and him saying to me that he sees what I am doing and he respects it, it is amazing.
“I am the guy who wants to move past being track-famous. I want people to see me on the track, but in GQ and my docu-series, and realise I’m a cool guy too.
“Medals are the first step because then people pay attention to you.
“Then you can go into different directions: fashion, music. You can start collaborating with other people, artists and the world.”
Lyles needs to continue his fine form into the Paris Olympics – the ultimate global championships for the American spectator – simply because to continue garnering attention, he needs to keep winning medals.
That was the go-to strength and allure of Bolt: his ability to dominate and win multiple gold medals at global championships. Paris podiums beckon for Lyles.
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