After Noah Lyles retained his world 200m title in a time so stunning it broke Michael Johnson’s US record from the 1996 Olympics, he ripped open his vest like the Incredible Hulk. Then he set his sight on a new goal: becoming a global influencer to help propel track and field into the mainstream.
If anyone can do it, it is Lyles. Not only did he run 19.31sec to become the third-fastest athlete over the 200m in history, he then showed again that he has the personality to also transcend his sport.
As the 25-year-old crossed the line, the clock initially flashed up as 19.32, the same time as Johnson’s from the 1996 Olympics. “I didn’t want it to say 19.32,” said Lyles. “I wanted my own time. Nobody wants to share a record. I was just begging it to change, like: ‘Come on, don’t do this to me.’
“And then I heard the crowd just go into uproar. I looked up at the big screen and it said 19.31 and I just went ballistic.”
One of the first people to congratulate Lyles was Johnson, who is commentating for the BBC in Eugene. “When Michael congratulated me, I was shocked,” said Lyles. “We have chatted on Twitter but I have never interacted. I felt like it was one generation meeting another generation.”
Lyles, who had been devastated to win only Olympic bronze in Tokyo, led home a US 1-2-3 with Kenny Bednarek (19.77) and 18-year-old Erriyon Knighton (19.80) battling it out for silver and bronze.
It was the second clean sweep for US men in Eugene after Fred Kerley, Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell swept the 100m. And afterwards, when talk turned to whether such results could help save the sport, Lyles set out his plan.
“Lately I have gone to the Met gala, gone to the US Open, done collaborations and walked runways at Paris fashion week,” he replied. “I don’t need to be seen as a track and field athlete. I think I need to be an influencer.”
He also reminded other athletes that promoting the sport would also help their wallets too. “Shoe companies are encouraging people to get their social media game up,” he said. “Every time you sign a contract, they say post this to social media. Originally I thought my job was to run. No, your job is to sell shoes. And the more you do it, the more they will pay you.”
The result capped a remarkable turnaround from the Olympics a year ago when the American men left without any individual track golds. Lyles said he had undergone a transformation as well, learning to love the sport again after going through Tokyo with “a huge target” on his back.
“It was like I found my groove, I was enjoying track again,” he said. “I was happy every day just to be running.”
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Lyles was also open about his own struggles with depression and mental health after his victory. Speaking about why got a tattoo on his torso that says “Icon” he added: “When I got that tattoo I said: ‘I want people to be able to say Noah Lyles is an icon,’ and of course that comes with running fast but at the same time that comes with trials and tribulations, too.
“Tokyo was a trial and I had to get through it. Talking about mental health in that moment, now makes this moment also great because it shows that you can go through a dark storm and come out a bit better than you were before. Stronger than you were before. We all go through problems and we all get better.”
