Jentezen Smith, Sports Editor
The global track icon Usain Bolt is far removed from his running career, but the legends charisma and accomplishments will live on forever. Anytime he touched the track, his persona and blazing speed captured the attention of not only the stadium, but the world watching. Bolt brought life to track & field through his record-breaking performances and iconic celebrations, always lighting up the track. Those moments and records have been untouchable since he retired in 2017, but sprinter Noah Lyles from the USA is making a splash in the track world.
In his 2023 season, Lyles broke Usain Bolt’s record for the most sub-20 second 200-meter races at London Diamond League in July, running the world lead, 19.47, his 35th sub-20 second run to surpass Bolt. Later, Lyles went on to win both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, completing the sprint double gold feat to join elite company. According to latimes.com, only four other men have done the same at the World Championships, including Americans Maurice Green (1999), Justin Gatlin (2005), Tyson Gay (2007) and Usain Bolt, who did it three times (2009, 2013, 2015) as he is the last to complete it. Along with the gold medals in the 100 & 200, Lyles also added a third anchoring the 4×100 USA relay that secured gold. The three first place finishes added to the resume of Lyles, making him a six-time world champion along with a 2021 Olympic bronze medal.
It is not only what Noah Lyles is doing, but how he’s doing it that resembles Bolt. Whether it’s through his pre-meet entrances in designer clothes, doing major interviews, trash talking competitors, putting his crazy expectations on social media or his flamboyant celebrations, Lyles is drawing eyes to the sport of track & field. The 26-year-old American sprinter possesses an aura and if he continues to pair it with stellar performances he could become as big of a megastar as Bolt or even surpass him. Bolt, an eight-time Olympic champion and 11-time world champion, holds the world record in the 100 at 9.58 and in the 200 at 19.19, both set back in 2009.
Lyles ran the fastest 100 in the world in 2023 with a 9.83, a personal best. At the World Championships in 2022, he broke the great Michael Johnson’s 26-year-old American record of 19.32 in the 200-meter dash by running 19.31. That’s the third fastest 200 time ever, behind only Bolt and fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake (19.26). When Lyles captured the American record, it turned heads and put the world record in question for the first time since Bolt. Then to turn around from that historic performance in 2022 and complete the sprint double gold in 2023, shows Noah Lyles holds all the potential in the world to break the 200-meter record. He’ll get his chance to do it on the biggest stage in the 2024 Olympic Games at Paris, with the entire world watching he could cement his name in the history books and become the next track icon across the world.
