Why Olympic sprinter Noah Lyles matters

During every Olympic Games, little-known professional athletes become overnight stars. Usually, they have to win a medal. Other times, their personality alone is enough to build a fan base. Noah Lyles is hoping to gain recognition for both during this summer’s Paris Olympics.

If you don’t follow athletics, you may not be familiar with Lyles – although his name will soon become a topic of conversation. Netflix’s new documentary sprint,around 2023 World Championships in Athletics At the Budapest event, Lyles received even more attention. The six-part series follows track and field’s biggest stars in the 100m and 200m sprints, including the fastest woman on the planet, Shakari Richardson, Jamaican gold medalist Sherika Jackson and British record holder in the 100m and 200m, Zanel Hughes. Despite the star attention, the main attraction of the series is Lyles, whose ambition to surpass retired legend Usain Bolt has made him Some feathers.

Lyles’s many remarks sprint already Perception go through audience As arrogant. In one scene, he says that to be a successful athlete, “You have to have a God mentality.” “I firmly believe that this moment is not bigger than me, and this moment is meant for me,” he says in another. Compare that attitude to that of Shirley Jackson. When asked off-camera about her being the best in the sport, she declined to comment. Meanwhile, others seemed confused by Lyles’ claim to be the “fastest man alive” while Bolt was still alive. Still, like RichardsonHis bravery, personal style and penchant for trash-talking give Americans something to bet on in the upcoming Olympics.

Currently, Lyles is the fastest man in the world, having won the 100m and 200m (also known as the sprint double) at last year’s world championships. (He ran 9.83 seconds in the 100m and 19.52 seconds in the 200m.) That’s six world titles in total. He also won bronze in the 200m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a disappointing result that inspired him to aim high for this year’s competition. Not only does he want to break Bolt’s record, he plans to bring home four gold medals.

Whether he can actually pull off that feat remains to be seen. Regardless, it looks like he accomplished another career goal at this year’s Olympics — getting everyone talking about him.

When we think of star athletes whose fame extends beyond their sport, sprinters aren’t the first to come to mind. While Bolt has become almost synonymous with running, it’s fair to say that the sport doesn’t offer athletes the same level of fame that the NBA, for example, affords even the most obscure of players. Drug testing scandal — Tests showed she had used marijuana, not performance-enhancing drugs — and was subsequently banned from the Tokyo Olympics, making Richardson a national talking point and the current favorite underdog.

Lyles hopes to change that. “Other athletes are stars, rock stars, and are popular wherever they go,” he said in the first episode of the show. sprint“The same needs to happen in athletics.”

The 26-year-old is certainly doing his part to draw attention to the sport, or maybe just to himself. While he doesn’t represent the most attention-grabbing style in track and field right now — that probably belongs to Richardson, who occasionally dyes her hair flaming red, has lots of tattoos and Flo Jo-esque acrylics — he often shows up at races in a sleek designer look, like F1 champion Lewis Hamilton or one of a handful of NBA stars. Also in the spirit of ’80s icon Florence Griffith Joyner, he even likes Gorgeous manicureHis achievements have also landed him on the covers of several magazines so far, most recently timeand an extremely lucrative contract for a track and field star with Adidas.

On social media, he posts high-quality, fashion-forward content that is no different from mainstream influencers. sprinthe calls himself an “art director.” ) On his Instagram (@nojo18), he has nearly a million followers, and you are just as likely to see high-definition photos of him going crazy before a game, as well as Snoop DoggAnd wardrobe choices inspired by His favorite anime Because you are the track-related content. He also posted a video of him playing with his girlfriend, Fellow runner Junell Blomfieldthe two seem to be becoming a power couple.

Yet on his way to becoming America’s favorite track star, Lyles has irritated some sports fans. In an interview after winning the world championship last year, he questioned why the NBA Finals champions were called “world champions.” “What world champions?” he asked in a postgame conference call. “America?” soon followed. A bunch of responses NBA players including Kevin Durant, Aaron Gordon and Devin Booker condemned his comments. Toronto Raptors supporter Drake even joined in, mocking Lyles. Others, such as Ghanaian sports journalist Gary Al Smithsaid Lyles was simply observing a larger problem with American exceptionalism in basketball.

Ironically, Lyles has been accused of displaying the same sense of superiority. Culturally Americanized His attitude in his sport. In Episode 4 sprintIn the documentary, Lyles discussed the backlash he received after posting his projected 100m and 200m times on Instagram at last year’s world championships, and although he ultimately won gold, he fell short of his goals. “What do I say my goals have to do with you?” he asked in one interview. It’s a good question, because every athlete’s goal is to perform at their best and beat their opponents, whether they’re as loud as Lyles or not. The negative fan reaction to this behavior also confused Richardson, who said in the documentary that the sport should “talk more trash.”

The muted response online can be explained at least in part by the intense rivalry between American and Jamaican sprinters, which has been 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Bolt won gold medals in the 100m and 200m, setting records in both sprints. Jamaican track stars Shirley-Ann Fraser and Veronica Campbell-Brown also won the 100m and 200m, respectively. However, in track-dominated Jamaica, Bolt has become a national symbol and icon, more than any other athlete. Announcing plans to overthrow him, as Lyles has done, will predictably have some repercussions.

Since the United States currently has the fastest men and women in the world, it is conceivable that even more American viewers will tune in to track and field this year, which is crucial to Lyles’ reputation.

The Olympics have historically been a challenging arena for runners. In 2020, fans witnessed the emotional strain that training and competing for the Olympics put on Lyles, and how he dealt with disappointment when he fell short of his goals. After finishing third in the 200m at the Tokyo Olympics, Lyles Post-conference interview The Washington Post. He began to tear up when talking about his brother, Josephus Lyles, also a professional sprinter who failed to qualify for the Olympics that year. He spoke about his mental health and taking antidepressants before the Olympics, his experience marching with his brother during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, and the pressures he feels as a black athlete and black male in the United States.

“I know there are a lot of people who are like me, who are afraid to say something, who are afraid to start this journey,” he said. “I want them to know, if you see me, I want you to know that it’s OK to not feel OK, you can go out and talk to someone about it … This is a serious issue.”

Now, after winning the double sprint title at the World Championships, Lyles is more confident than ever. The Tonight ShowLyles took the opportunity to tell the nation about his plans in Paris. First, he wanted to beat Bolt, who twice finished first in the 100-meter dash in 9.63 and 9.69 seconds. But he also wanted to bring home four gold medals. “It’s not enough to just run faster,” Lyles told Fallon. “You have to win medals, too.”

In addition to winning the 100 and 200 meters, Lyles wants to win gold in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. This wouldn’t be the first time an American sprinter has won four gold medals in a single Olympics. Jesse Owens, Alvin Krenzlein and Carl Lewis, for example, all won four. Their triumphs included the long jump, though; Lyles would make history with those four sprint golds. Beyond the medals that are likely, the energy around him and Richardson feels like a new era for American track stars, one defined by attitude and momentum. If Lyles can impress the world with his personality, he’ll be at least halfway there.