Noah Lyles finally reached the summit he missed in Tokyo, winning the men’s 100m Olympic gold medal. In a stacked field, the American sprinter took home the win in a photo finish, with Kishane Thompson.
Speaking at the post-event press conference, the 27-year-old looked ahead at his possible future and shared his goals. Wanting to join the list of some of the most elite athletes across the globe and in history, Lyles has his eyes on his own sneakers.
He explained that the spiked shoes that runners wear, were of no interest to him, as there wasn’t much money in them. Thus, his focus remained on sneakers.
“I want my own shoe….I want a sneaker, there ain’t no money in spikes.”
Referring to the great Michael Johnson, Lyles claimed how he “didn’t have his own sneaker“- such has been the history of American sprinters. Talking about the number of medals they bring in from various competitions, Lyles felt the American sprinters go unnoticed in terms of their brand image.
Thus, the Gainesville native hopes to become the first American sprinter to have a sneaker named after him. And given his latest accomplishment, he has good reason. Lyles’s journey to the Olympics, however, has not been without its challenges.
History finally shook hands with Lyles
The Tokyo Olympics in 2021 ended in heartbreak for the 27-year-old as he had to settle for bronze. Ever since then, only one goal stood in front of his eyes, and that was to become the Olympic champion. But a 6-foot hurdle by the name of Kishane Thompson stood in the way.
I Told You America I Got This! #OlympicChampion pic.twitter.com/boBOZv3650
— Noah Lyles, OLY (@LylesNoah) August 4, 2024
In the build-up for the Paris Olympics, Thompson was the fastest man of 2024 and was the favorite to win the gold. But Lyles was having none of it. Showing shaky form in the heats and the semi-finals, the 27-year-old gathered himself when it mattered most.
Running neck to neck, both Lyles and Thompson crossed the finish line at exactly 9.79 seconds. But Lyles was five-thousandths of a second faster, which helped him become the first American 100m champion in over two decades.
