SAINT-DENIS, France — His boasting may alienate some people. His calculated theatricality and desire for attention may make him seem less than pious. His arrogance may turn some people against him.
But in the world of jokes, the priority is always to back it up: arrogance is easier to accept when it is justified.
Noah Lyles' mouth wrote the check; his feet just cashed it.
In the most hard-fought and arguably most epic final in Olympic history, Lyles won in a photo finish by half a second, the closest race since Athens 2004.
Lyles said this moment was made for him. It was a monster moment. There was big drama in Paris. Jamaica's Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville looked formidable in the semifinals, and Seville beat Lyles in the semifinals. But it brought out the best in Noah.
His time of 9.784 seconds in the 100 meters was his personal best and earned the United States its first gold medal in 20 years. He is just the third American to achieve this feat this century, after Justin Gatlin and Maurice Greene. He now has his sights set on Carl Lewis.
Thompson won the silver medal with a score of 9.789, while American Fred Curley won the bronze medal with a score of 9.81.
The first step of Lyles' ambitious plan to win Olympic gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters is complete. The hardest part of that vaunted double is complete. Having conquered the 100, he will tackle the 200 on Monday. Lewis was the last American to win gold in both events, in 1984. The last sprint double was won by Michael Johnson, who won the 200 and 400 meters in Atlanta in 1996.
(Photo: Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images)
The 200m is his main event. He is the best in the world at it and has been for the entire duration of the Olympics. The best chance to shut him up was the 100m, but the world just couldn't do it. Given the circumstances, this is pretty incredible.
He stumbled in the first 100m race on Saturday. He finished second to Great Britain's Louis Hinchliffe, raising questions about his preparation for the big stage, but that was just what he was: a stumble. A stumble. Lyles said he'll never underestimate a competitor again. He tried his best, and just like at the 2023 World Championships featured in the Netflix documentary “Sprint,” no one could beat him.
What is often overlooked in all of this is that what Noah accomplished to become a world-class sprinter is a testament to his immense talent, and he decided to move on and challenge that talent in another field where he had great talent of his own.
Lyles placed seventh in the 100m final at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, missing out on qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics in the event. He and his coach, Lance Brauman, have worked hard to mold him into an elite short-distance sprinter.
Three years later, he was the undisputed fastest man in the world. He'd said he wanted to do it. He'd predicted he'd do it. And he did. A kid from the Washington, D.C. area had followed in Marlo's footsteps and conquered another realm.
Regardless of how you like your athlete's personality, you have to admit this kind of elite behavior — and after all that chatter, he's now the champion of athletics' most prestigious event — we might as well prepare for more noise from Lyles.
Must Read
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
