The Paris Olympics has already given Noah Lyles a great start to his quest of earning podium finishes.
After a handful of heats where he barely made it to the qualifiers, his jaw-dropping speed during the finals convinced the apprehensive fans. The gold medal for his 100m sprint was proof of all the bold claims he made about his Olympic run.
The Men’s 100m sprint witnessed one of the most dramatic finishes across the Paris Olympics, where a photo finish report determined the winner. Lyles and his Jamaican rival, Kishane Thompson, were super close and clocked in five-thousandths of a second away from each other.
But that wasn’t all! From the winner, Lyles, to the participant at the eighth place, Oblique Seville – all finished in under ten seconds! With a difference of 0.12s between the winner and the sprinter who stood eighth, the 100m sprint presented a lot of potential for future races.
Now that the 200m sprint comes next, Lyles is gearing up for a speedy finish and another potential gold. His previous win seems to have instilled a lot of confidence in himself, as he boldly proclaimed that he was bound to win.
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“My job is to make sure that…I’ll just leave it there. I’ll be winning.”
Not only did he guarantee his victory at the 200m finals, but he also wanted fans to know that his win wasn’t going to make a lot of people happy. Painting a picture, he revealed that his winning moment would be quite evident even before he finished.
“When I come off the turn, they will be depressed.”
Lyles’ confidence before and after races is not unfamiliar among fans since he has always been unabashed about his opinions. Be it making a bold statement through his words or clothes, he makes sure that the world sees, hears, and knows him for who he truly is.
Lyles comes with a serious goal
Lyles is popular for manifesting his wins before his important events, and his bold proclamations are a testament to that. Fans have both admired and criticized this personality that is often perceived as arrogance.
But for Lyles, the method works well, and his win at the 100m sprint finals was proof of how his words hit hard. The Paris Olympics look promising for the 27-year-old who entered the French capital with one goal in particular.
After he qualified at the Olympic trials, he knew he wanted to participate in both short and long-distance sprints.
However, with claims of favoritism surfacing in the media, he remained calm and declared that he had his eyes on four Olympic golds – 100m, 200m, 4x100m, and a potential 4x400m. He’s already one step towards his goal, with three more steps to go.
