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Noah Lyles needs to do one thing in Tokyo that no American sprinter has performed on the Olympics since 2004 — win the gold medal on the 200m.
Lyles, 24, posted the very best remaining time of 2021 when he gained the 200m remaining on the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in June with a time of 19.74 seconds.
Lyles will be part of Kenny Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton in Tokyo because the three U.S. runners for the 200m occasion. Of the three American speedsters, Lyles is the favourite to win the gold in his 200m sprint. If he wins, he’d be the primary American to seize gold on the occasion since Shawn Crawford in 2004.
Lyles has one shot at Olympic gold in Tokyo
Whereas Lyles is thought for excelling on the 200m, he additionally ran within the 100m occasion on the Olympic Trials. It didn’t go practically in addition to deliberate. Competing with the likes of Trayvon Bromell and Ronnie Baker, Lyles had his work minimize out for him.
What individuals didn’t count on was to see Lyles finish seventh out of eight runners in the final, with a time of 10.05. He had run underneath 10 seconds in each the primary spherical and the semifinal, however put up his worst efficiency in probably the most essential spot. Lyles shifted his focus and left little doubt within the 200m remaining, and that shall be his important focus in Tokyo.
He was 0.09 seconds away from making Workforce USA in 2016
Monitor really is a recreation of seconds. Lyles impressed within the 200m occasion on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. He had the quickest day trip of any runner through the preliminary spherical, got here in first in his semifinal warmth and was in a primary place to complete as one of many prime three runners and punch his ticket to Rio.
Nonetheless, Lyles barely missed out on making his first Olympics proper out of highschool. Within the remaining spherical of the qualifiers, Ameer Webb beat out Lyles for the third and remaining 200m spot, ending with a time of 20.00 whereas Lyles got here in at 20.09.
Lyles turned professional as an alternative of working on the College of Florida
Lyles may have been one of many prime observe athletes on the NCAA stage. He dedicated to Florida in 2015 along with his youthful brother, Josephus. The brothers would have been part of one of many prime observe lessons the Gators had ever seen, because it additionally included Grant Holloway — the identical Holloway who shall be touring to Tokyo to compete within the 110m hurdles.
As an alternative of attending faculty, Noah and Josephus determined to go professional. The two brothers signed with Adidas in 2016, changing into what’s believed to be the primary pair of male sprinters to leap over the collegiate stage and head straight to the skilled stage.
In the course of the bustling Worldwide Broadcast Middle sits what appears like somewhat home embellished with Japanese flowers. It’s known as “Ikebana,” and right here’s what it’s used for.
Lyles paid homage to Tommie Smith and John Carlos throughout qualifiers
Usually it’s Lyles’ ft that make him stand out. However this time it was his fist.
Earlier than the 100m remaining eventually month’s trials, Lyles rose his first to the air whereas sporting a black glove, the exact same gesture from Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the 1968 Olympics. Lyles has been competing with a again glove on his hand since August as he needs to deliver concerning the situation of social injustice within the U.S. He posted an image with the raised fist on his Instagram, with the caption, “As athletes it’s arduous to indicate that you just love your nation and likewise say that change is required. That is my means of claiming this nation is nice however it may be higher.”
Lyles has additionally proven his assist for the Black Lives Matter motion in quite a few methods, together with releasing a track titled, “A Black Life.” Count on to see Lyles proceed to make use of his platform to unfold consciousness about social injustice in America.
Meet the celebs of Workforce USA’s observe and discipline crew for Tokyo 2020.
Monitor and discipline runs within the Lyles household
It was inevitable that Lyles would find yourself specializing in a profession in observe. Each of his mother and father ran observe at Seton Corridor College in New Jersey, the place every had been convention champions. His father, Kevin, additionally gained gold medals with the US within the 4x400m relay on the 1993 Summer season Universiade and the 1995 World Championships in Athletics.
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