Not long after becoming the first man to complete a 100m and 200m double at the World Championships since Usain Bolt, Noah Lyles had already set himself a new goal which goes beyond the athletics track.
‘I think I’ve said a lot of times that I want to transcend the sport,’ he said. ‘I am the guy who wants to move past just being “track famous”.’
And less than a week since he etched his name into the history books – having also prevailed in the 4×100 relays – Lyles is already on his way to becoming an off-track star.
The 26-year-old has had to stir the pot to make his first strides, and quite a big pot at that after claiming his double out in Budapest trumps the majority of titles won in US sport.
Most controversially, he chose to single out the NBA while justifying his argument.
US star Noah Lyles is targeting goals beyond the athletics track after creating history on it
The sprint sensation completed a clean sweep at this year’s World Championships in Budapest
He then followed up by claiming his victories trump titles won in US sports, such as the NBA – which has sparked a fierce backlash in the basketball worldÂ
Kevin Durant responded to Lyles’ comments by posting: ‘Somebody help this brother’
‘What hurts me the most is I have to watch the NBA finals and they have world champion on their heads,’ Lyles said. ‘World champion of what? The United States?Â
‘Don’t get me wrong, I love the US at times. But that ain’t the world.’
His brutal swipe at basketball’s blue-riband league has sparked a fierce backlash among the sport’s players, ex-players and followers. ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith branded him ‘ignorant’, while Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant simply wrote: ‘Somebody help this brother’.
Though more importantly than that, Lyles’ scathing assessment of the NBA has also ignited widespread debate in both the US and across Europe.Â
Should winners of an American championship really be celebrated as ‘world’ champions? Does the league’s dominance as the best on the planet make it fair?
Quite simply, does Lyles have a point or not?Â
The US sprint king, who kept his 200m crown after setting the third-quickest time ever in 2022 (19.31 seconds), perhaps got more tongues wagging by blasting the NBA than he did romping home to success in Budapest.
For an athlete with dreams of raising his profile to superstardom, Lyles has only boosted his chances of doing exactly that ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Whether he is loved or loathed, more eyes will be on him than ever before in the French capital. Following up his memorable feat by taking aim at one of the most popular organization’s in world sport ensures significantly more people will know the name Noah Lyles heading into next summer’s Games.
But for an athlete with aspirations of superstardom that transcends his sport, Lyles has not done himself any harm
He became the first man since Usain Bolt in 2015 to win the 100m and 200m at a Worlds
It is there where he could just break out as not only America’s next sporting icon, but a household name across the globe.
Lyles, born in Gainesville, Florida, turned professional and signed with Adidas at the age of 19 after a superb youth career which saw him claim gold medals and break various records in the process.
Since going pro, he has six golds at the World Championships, with his first pair coming in Doha in 2019.Â
The sprint sensation, who boasts the US record in the 200m event, earned a bronze at his first Olympics in Tokyo a few years back. Next time around he will be desperate to go two better and taste glory on the biggest stage.
While Bolt’s record of three consecutive Olympic doubles in the 100m and 200m is almost certainly out of reach given he recently turned 26, Lyles can bring a level of excitement back to the famous sprint events not seen since the Jamaica legend’s wins in 2016.Â
To boost his profile even further ahead of the Paris Games, Lyles is currently being followed by Netflix cameras for a docuseries about the world of sprinting
Nevertheless, he claims filmmakers were initially slow to focus on him before his incredible 100m and 200m wins at the Paris Diamond League back in June.
Lyles burst onto the scene in 2016 after turning pro and signing a deal with Adidas at 19
The Florida-born athlete has gone on to sweep up six gold medals at the World Championships
‘All I know is they weren’t talking about me at the beginning of that documentary,’ he joked. ‘As soon as I won in Paris they got buddy buddy real quick!
‘I think it went from being a docuseries about the fastest people and then it turned into a docuseries about me.
‘I want people to say “Wow, this isn’t just a fast guy, he’s a well rounded guy with a good personality, and I want to follow him for that”.’
While he may not have reached his desired levels of non-athletics fame just yet, Lyles has already proven himself a compelling and candid character after bravely speaking out on his battle with mental-health issues back in 2021.
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Less than an hour after his bronze medal in Tokyo, the track star opened up on struggling with depression during the Covid-19 pandemic and seeking help in therapy.
‘I knew there was a lot of people out there like me who’s scared to say something or to even start that journey,’ he said. ‘I want you to know that it’s OK to not feel good, and you can go out and talk to somebody professionally, or even get on medication, because this is a serious issue and you don’t want to wake up one day and just think, you know, “I don’t want to be here anymore”.’
After claiming bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, Lyles opened up on his mental-health struggles
To fight back from those traumatic lows and medal in Tokyo speaks volumes about the mental toughness and determination Lyles obtains. Now, with those dark days long behind him, he is a different animal with Paris 2024 in his sights.Â
He went on that day to claim he only ventured into athletics because of his brother, who failed to reach the same heights in the sport despite turning professional at the same time in 2016.
‘This wasn’t even my dream,’ he said as he sobbed. ‘I just wanted to tag along because I loved my brother.’
Yet regardless of his initial ambition, Lyles has already cemented a legacy as one of the fastest men in history by sweeping up golds at the World Championships and setting the third-fastest 200m time in history.
But next, it’s time for the world to truly sit up and take notice.Â
