Lyles wants to break world record and win four medals at the Paris Olympics

World Athletes of the Year Noah Lyles won the gold in the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 4x100m relay at the World Championships in Budapest in August, the first man to complete a sprint treble since Usain Bolt. That, though, is where the 26-year-old wants the comparisons with the Jamaican legend to end. ‘I am a very big believer in everybody being their person,’ says Lyles. ‘Comparing somebody to somebody else is the lazy man’s understanding.’

Unperturbed, Mail Sport suggests to Lyles that he is the best thing to happen to athletics since Bolt retired in 2017. ‘That is very nice of you to say, but it is still a Bolt comparison,’ he shoots back. How about, then, the best thing to happen to the sport in the last six years? ‘Thank you – yes I agree with that!’

The American sprint star Noah Lyles spoke to Mail Sport about his ambitions for the Paris 2024 Olympics next year.

 Not that Lyles needed any extra encouragement. This is a sprinter who thinks running fast is only part of his job. ‘Half of it is winning, half of it is being an entertainer,’ he says. ‘People forget that sport is entertainment. That is why they pay us a lot of money.’

And that is also why Lyles has the potential to transcend the sport like few other athletes. He has gained more than 500,000 followers on Instagram and almost 100,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, not just because of his track exploits, but also his rap music, flamboyant clothes, and ever-changing hair and nail styles.

 There were, Lyles points out, plenty of people who did not think he could win the 100m before Budapest. ‘I was recently watching the BBC coverage of my 100m heats, semis and final for the first time,’ he says. ‘They went from hating on me, to hating on me some more. Then I won and they hit me with, “Oh, I knew he could do it the whole time”. It was pretty funny to watch.

 ‘I’ve always known that I’m the fastest man on the planet. But nobody would believe me unless I had the 100m title. That has changed the way people have viewed me outside of the sport.’

In contrast, Lyles has never been more in tune. Now he wants to hit the high notes again at Paris 2024. ‘I’m more hungry than before because I’ve proven that I can do it,’ he says. ‘Another fire has been ignited for next year.’

His first fire, he admits, was fuelled two years ago. That was when he failed to make the USA’s 100m team for Tokyo 2020, then could only claim a bronze in the 200m despite being world champion.

‘Ever since I crossed the line after that 200m final, all I could think about was Paris,’ admits Lyles. ‘I learned very quickly that a world medal does not hold the weight of an Olympic medal. So I am like, “OK, I’ll make sure to get that one”.’

But Lyles is not just thinking of one Olympic medal. He believes he could claim four, teasing the possibility of him competing in the 4x400m relay at the end of the Games. Lyles also reckons he will break Bolt’s 200m world record of 19.19sec. His current personal best is 19.31sec, a US record and the third fastest of all time.

 Asked what will happen in Paris, he says: ‘Everything. World records. Gold medals. Maybe even four. I was talking to a close friend and he was like, “I already know you’re going to win three golds at the Olympics, I want you to win four. I remember when you were in high school, I watched you go from second to last to first in the 4x400m, there’s your fourth medal”.

‘I was like, “I’m not going to say no to that”. It’s the last race, there’s nothing to lose. If I’m in shape for it and I’ve trained for it all year, let’s take a crack at it.

‘People didn’t believe the 100m was realistic, it doesn’t mean you don’t go after it. I am going to put myself in a position where I can do all of it.’

The sky is the limit? ‘And space,’ replies Lyles, a man forever shooting for the stars.