Noah Lyles eyes Usain Bolt’s feats 

EUGENE, Oregon – Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is a legend in the sport of track and field. Bolt became more than a household name after destroying the field in the men’s 100 and 200 meters at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics. He became the face of track and field. 

Bolt didn’t just raise eyebrows by winning the most iconic races in the sport. He also had the nerve and speed to pull off the unthinkable in three straight Olympic Games. 

That’s just simply unheard of. No one else has been able to pull off this feat.     

American runner Noah Lyles believes he has the capabilities to not only match Bolt’s success on the track but that he can exceed them. That’s a tall order of juice to swallow, but Lyles will have a glass of it.  

“I definitely thrive off pressure,” Lyles said after winning the men’s 200 meters at the 2024 U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials. “I thrive off big moments. The bigger the moment, the faster I run. And there’s no moment where I think I’m going to go into that I’m not made for.” 

Given how Lyles has established himself on the world circuit,  he might be barking up the right tree with his bodacious performances. Lyles recorded a double victory at the 2023 World Athletics Championships by winning the 100 and 200 in Budapest. 

Adding credence to those victories, Lyles put on a show at the 2024 U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials, hitting the tape first in both sprints. 

Lyles went 19.53 to win the 200 race. Days earlier at the trials, Lyles smoked the field in the 100 meters, flying to victory in 9.83 seconds.

There hasn’t been anyone quite like Bolt when it comes to running the 200. Lyles is coming close, though. Lyles owns three of the Top 10 marks in the world. His time of 19.31 is No. 4 all-time. Bolt holds the world record at 19.19.   

If Lyles is to catch or break Bolt’s world mark in the 200, he’ll do it out of consistency. Of the top 14 marks ever recorded for the men’s 200, Lyles owns seven of those times. He’s run 19.5 or better all seven times, according to the website Alltime Athletics.      

“You know as I’ve kind of come to the 200 it’s like harder and harder for me to celebrate because I’ve kind of gotten to the streak of winning it so many times that doesn’t mean I’m not trying to take it for granted because it’s my favorite race by far,” Lyles said. 

“But as the times get faster and faster and I’m starting to see 19.5, sometimes I can even say I take 19.5 for granted as well. And sometimes it’s just harder for me to get in that zone of celebratory as soon as I win. It’s like, all right, great, I got the job done. Great, I proved to myself that I’m fast. I’m excited for it. let’s keep going, let’s keep pressing,” he added.   

In winning the 200 at the Olympic trials, Lyles had to gather his traction early before outrunning Kenny Bednarek (second at 19.59) and Erriyon Knighton (third at 19.77) on the second-to-last day of the track meet.    

“I’m like, all right, I’m not worried,” Lyles said. “I’ve been in this position many times. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing and, you know, we’ll keep running faster and faster. Going through, when we came off the 120, slingshotting off, I was like, all right, I see Kenny. I see him fatiguing.” 

“All right, let’s just keep putting power to the ground. Keep going. And I was like, by the time we got to the 80-meter mark, I’m like, all right, yeah, I got this right from the bag. Let’s finish this off. The time, I’m satisfied with the time. It’s right next to what I ran at [the] World Championships last year. 19.5 is pretty much my zip code,” Lyles added.  

All that’s left for Lyles is to duplicate what he managed to do in Budapest and at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials in Paris during the 2024 Summer Olympics. The moment is his to take. Lyles knows it’s his time. 

The bigger the moment, the better he performs. However, Lyles’ bravado didn’t help him win gold at the previous Olympics. He took third in the 200 meters and earned a bronze medal in Tokyo. This is a different time. Lyles is a different runner. 

After being dominant at the world championships and U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials, there is one major obstacle for Lyles to conquer to secure his legacy: winning a couple of gold medals in Paris.