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- Noah Lyles is going for four gold medals at the Paris Olympics.
- After winning bronze in Tokyo, Lyles won gold in three sprints at the 2023 World Championships.
- Lyles holds the title of the fastest man in the world and wants to unseat Usain Bolt.
Noah Lyles is back at the Olympics chasing more medals.
The 5-foot-11, 27-year-old sprinter from Alexandria, Virginia, made his Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games, securing a bronze medal in the men’s 200-meter.
In 2023, Lyles defended his World Championship title — which he secured in 2019 and 2022 — and earned the title of the fastest man in the world, winning gold in the men’s 100-meter, 200-meter, and 4×100 meter relay. He was the first man to win gold in three sprints since Usain Bolt did it in 2015. Lyles hopes to someday unseat Bolt’s record in the men’s 100-meter and 200-meter.
Lyels is looking to win four gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics by running the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4×100 meter relay, and the 4×400 meter relay.
Noah Lyles’s early career and personal life
After dabbling in youth gymnastics, Lyles began his track career at the age of 12 and quickly made a name for himself. He won gold in the 200-meter race at the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China, and won silver at the U18 World Championships.
Lyles attended T.C. Williams High School, now referred to as Alexandria City High School, in Alexandria, Virginia. He didn’t attend college, instead focusing on his professional track and field ambitions. It’s paid off as he secured a sponsorship deal with Adidas reported to be worth millions, though Lyles’ exact net worth is unclear.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lyles hails from a family of athletes. Both of his parents ran track and field in college, and his younger brother, Josephus, is also a professional sprinter.
His love life is also on the fast track. Lyles is dating Jamaican sprinter Junelle Bromfield, who won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games in the women’s 4×400 meter relay.
Lyles lives in Florida, where he trains under coach Lance Brauman at PURE Athletics in Clermont.
Lyles quest to unseat Usain Bolt
Being among the fastest men in the world isn’t good enough for Lyles. He wants to be the fastest.
He said he hopes to unseat Bolt, his idol, as the fastest man in the 100-meter and 200-meter races.
Bolt set the all-time record for the 200-meter in 2009, completing it in 19.19 seconds. Lyles is the third fastest man of all time with a record of 19.31 seconds, which he achieved in 2022 World Championships.
Lyles has more ground to cover to beat Bolt’s 100-meter record of 9.58 seconds. Ranked with the all-time fastest times, Lyles sits at 15th compared to Bolt’s 1st place.
Even so, he remains confident.
“The hundred will be a lot closer once I get the first 10 meters down, so I’d say we’re still quite a few years away from that one,” he told Olympics.com in 2023. “But the 200? Two years max.”