Noah Lyles doubles down on his ambitions to beat Usain Bolt’s legacy

Noah Lyles and Usain Bolt

ATHLETICS Noah Lyles doubles down on his ambitions to beat Usain Bolt’s legacy

Joel Omotto 19:00 - 22.03.2024

American spring king Noah Lyles is keen to become the fastest man in history by lowering Usain Bolts’ 100m and 200m records at Paris 2024 Olympics.

Multiple world champion Noah Lyles’ desire to overtake Usain Bolt as the greatest sprinter in history is very much on after he revealed his ambitions not just to lower the Jamaican legend’s 200m but 100m as well.

Lyles, currently the world’s fastest man, had declared his intensions to break Bolt’s 200m world record of 19.19 at the 2023 World Championships but came short when he clocked 19.52 as he won gold in Budapest, Hungary but he has not given up and wants to try again this year, especially at the Paris Olympics.

Adding onto that is the 100m world record of 9.58 held by Bolt since 2009 which Lyles has also set in his sights on after winning the world title over the distance in Budapest in a time of 9.83.

“He was the fastest man ever to do it and soon, it’ll be me,” Lyles told CNN.

“When it was time to show up, he showed up, he got it done. I’m kind of more the guy who likes to assert his dominance throughout the whole year.”

Breaking Bolt’s records will take something special but Lyles is backing himself up. Lyles, who managed bronze in 200m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, feels his achievements since then have been geared towards a dominant performance at the 2024 Paris Games.

“To be honest, I think these last three years have all been build-ups,” added Lyles, who has won two 200m, one 100m and a 4x100m relay world titles since the delayed Tokyo Games.

“Now, if we look at last year in 2023, it was: ‘Okay, this is the blueprint for 2024.’ We nailed that so well, that now we’re just in an automatic pilot mode.”

The 26-year-old has been working on every detail to ensure he is in good shape to achieve his ambitions this year, which include not just breaking Bolt’s records but challenging on four fronts at the Olympics.

Besides 100m and 200m, Lyles will also be competing in 4x100m and 4x400m relays. To ensure a successful campaign, he has upped his intensity by lifting more weights to make him more aggressive.

“Not to say that I wasn’t lifting already, it’s just that the attitude towards the weight room has increased – more aggression, more weight, a lot more emphasis on that,” he said.

“I’ve done so great everywhere else that this was the last place that we really had to increase it.”

Lyles has been off to a good start to the year, winning silver in 60m and 4x400m relay at the World Indoor Championships. The 60m was to help his progression in 100m and 200m while the relay was to prepare him for a shot at the race in Paris.

Now, with the outdoor season just about to start, Lyles feels he is ready for what awaits him in the French capital.

“After Tokyo, I just had that fire, and it’s increased my drive that much more. Every time I get on the track, every world championship, every race I get into, everybody can see that that wasn’t my goal and that I have way more to give,” he said.

“I’m now going into Paris saying, ‘Hey, not only am I here to prove that race was a fluke, but I’ve got more races, I’ve got more events. And I’m coming after more than just one event.’”

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