Noah Lyles: The Fastest Man on Earth
When most people think of Track & Field, usually the first person that comes to mind is Usain Bolt. Despite retiring over six years ago, Bolt’s legacy as the fastest human ever still dominates the mainstream conception of Track & Field. All three of his official world records still stand to this day and have not been nearly threatened since he hung up his spikes in 2017. Because of his dominance, Bolt has left a legacy that has yet to be filled.
However, there is one man whose entire purpose in this sport is to fill Bolt’s big shoes, ultimately surpassing him as the greatest track athlete ever. Noah Lyles, a 26-year-old professional sprinter from Gainesville, Florida, is arguably the most promising talent since Bolt.
Following the 2023 World Athletics championships, which concluded this past Sunday, Lyles undoubtedly earned the title of the world’s fastest man. Lyles started his campaign this past week by becoming the World Champion in the 100m. How did he celebrate? By also becoming the world champion in the 200m and then anchoring Team USA to gold in the 4x100m relay. For perspective, the last time an athlete became a triple world champion was back in 2015 by, you guessed it, Bolt.
However, to match Bolt’s legacy, being just fast will not cut it. Bolt is remembered not entirely for his speed but also for being a great showman. Before and after almost every race, he would interact with the crowd by posing and dancing. Almost everyone knows him by his famous “To the World” pose, where he kneels, bends one arm back, and points with both hands to the sky. Then, when Bolt wins, he lets the crowd know. Bolt took the victory lap to the next level.
Lyles clearly took notes because he arguably blows Usain out of the water in terms of working the crowd. Lyles, with help from his agent, arrives at every meet dressed to the nines and plans a walk into the stadium where the fans can bask in his arrival. Then, when he gets called onto the track, he unleashes a chilling scream that shakes the stands. While the other athletes attempt to maintain their composure and go through their warmups, Lyles is dancing to the stadium music. Once the race concludes, even in the rare case he gets defeated, Lyles continues to celebrate with the crowd, sign autographs, and take photos with all the fans until security must pull him off the track.
While Bolt’s records still stand, his legacy as the sole greatest track athlete is under fire this very day. As it stands, Lyles is only 0.13 seconds off Bolt’s 200m world record of 19.19, which is Lyles’s signature event. While a difference of 0.13 seconds is years in the world of sprinting, he is not afraid of letting us know that it’s his to claim.
Lyles is currently the star of a just-released docu-series on Peacock that is called “Untitled: The Noah Lyles Proj- ect.” The docu-series breaks down his chase for greatness.