Noah Lyles has opened up about a pivotal loss in his career that transformed his perspective and fueled his rise to become one of the top 200m sprinters globally.
In a YouTube video titled “The Fastest Man in the World,” Lyles reflected on his bronze medal finish at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which he saw as a turning point. This disappointment motivated him to rewrite his story at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where he redeemed himself with a gold medal in the 200m.
His victory in Budapest was part of an outstanding season where he also secured the 100m title and helped the U.S. 4x100m relay team win gold.
“It was the last sport that we did,” Lyles revealed, acknowledging that track and field wasn’t always his primary focus. He continued to impress in 2022, clocking 19.31 seconds to win the 200m at the World Championships. Lyles has now claimed three world titles in the 200m, with the Olympic gold being the elusive prize.
“After that loss, my drive was never the same. I became a different person, I brought in people that I needed to have closer and I excused people who didn’t need to be so close,” Lyles shared, describing how the defeat shaped him personally and professionally.
Lyles also addressed the challenges of being a sprinter, pointing out that the public only sees the glamorous side of success, not the struggles behind it.
“Being an athlete is a kind of a coin, I would say, you know, one side heads—you see what TV shows you and you see the glitz, the glamour, the medals, the celebration, the fast running, the fans yelling, screaming for you—but if you flip to the other side, it’s tails. I’d say you would see the hard work, the pain, the failures, the sacrifices,” he explained.
Despite his goal of winning triple gold at the recent Olympics, Lyles had to settle for a 100m gold and a 200m bronze after contracting COVID-19.
