Noah Lyles (Gainesville, Florida, 1997) is officially the fastest man in the world since last Sunday, when he was proclaimed World 100m champion in Budapest.
So much for the cold, statistical facts about a man who aspires to reign supreme in sprinting with the same vehemence he used to devour Dragon Ball episodes as a child.
In the Hungarian capital he aspires to the triple – 100, 200 and 4×100 – but on his radar are the Paris 2024 Games and, above all, Usain Bolt‘s untouchable records.
He is going straight ahead and does not intend to slow down. And whoever doesn’t move aside will end up being run over…
Give us a summary of your experience of the 100m as a whole
I don’t think I could have asked for a better script. In the heats, I didn’t like running in lane 9, but maybe that’s what I needed to focus on myself. [Ferdinand] Omanyala was running in lane 4 and I knew he was going to run fast so that was a motivation for me because I had travelled to Budapest to win every one of my races.
I was very happy with my debut and already in the semi-finals I faced a race very similar to the series, with the difference that I was going down a better lane (lane 4) and my competitive ability was sharpened and ready to attack. Besides, my start was perfect, just as I had been training for the last few months, and I especially liked that because training it is not the same as competing. The tension is very different.
After 60 metres I knew that the race was ‘over’ for me, because Omanyala was suffering and couldn’t keep up with me. At that point I got excited and thought of all the times the Kenyan greets his competitors as he passes them but I made sure that this time it didn’t happen and that he knew it. In the end I went in relaxed and slowing down, despite which I ran 9.87, just one-hundredth of a second off my personal best. I was excited and ready for the final because I felt so good. I think all of that, the two previous races, was reflected in my mood and how I approached the last one, because I felt very strong, almost invincible.
Everyone says that the most important thing at a Championships is the medal, but you have other challenges in the 200m. What do you think about that?
It’s true, I have a lot of challenges in the 200 metres. Among other things, because I think it is possible to beat Bolt’s record (19.19). What’s more, I haven’t been hiding in the last few days and I’ve said I’m going for that record.
In the 100m, on the other hand, you are still far away from Bolt’s 9.58. The Jamaican seems to be able to sleep easy in this case.
I wasn’t too worried. I mean, I never said I was going after the 100m world record… yet.
Maybe in the 100m you lack a little explosiveness?
[Lyles looks sideways at the reporter] I’m explosive, just in a different way. The 100m is a lot more than that explosiveness you’re talking about. As you saw in Sunday’s final, the most explosive is not always the winner.
Who are your most dangerous rivals for the Paris 2024 Games?
I’m not going to tell you any names but I have beaten them all and they are going to be hungrier because they didn’t get what they wanted and I did. I don’t know what the rest did, if they were ready and trained enough but what is clear is that I was ready for this challenge. What’s more, next year I’m going to work at a higher level than ever.
You are an African-American athlete and in Sunday’s final, an African (Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo) won a world medal in the 100m for the first time in history. Were you happy about that?
Well, I was happy for him and it’s always nice to see the growth of our sport, because for a long time the medals have always gone to the United States, Jamaica and sometimes Canada. This makes us more international and it’s good for everybody.
Is the battle of egos with Fred Kerley, gold medallist in the 100m at Eugene 2022, likely to take its toll on the US 4×100?
No, that has never been the issue. The fundamental reason is that we have too many good people in the United States and it’s very difficult to decide who’s going to be on that relay, especially when you’re pushing so hard to get into the big championships that you’re often on the verge of injury. So we can practice with the same people, but as soon as someone gets injured, you have to start from scratch with another athlete. And they might not be ready because they haven’t trained with that relay. In short, you never know who you’re really going to use and that has taken its toll on us, it’s true.
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