I Spoke With Gold Medal Olympian Noah Lyles After The Paris Games, And Here Are 15 Things I Learned

The 2024 Paris Olympics are in the books, and if you were anything like me, you were glued to the TV for the past two weeks.

Speaking of gold medals, American sprinter Noah Lyles took home the top award in the Men’s 100-meter, officially making him the fastest man in the world.

Off the track, Noah is busy racking up the endorsements.

Noah’s winner mentality is infamous, and his viral interview soundbites often make a wave on social media. I was blessed with the opportunity to speak with the Olympian after the games. Here’s everything we chatted about:

1. Both of your parents competed in track and field in college. Did they train you, or did they have any influence on you?

It was more of something I naturally gravitated toward myself. Me and my brother, we did almost every sport out there before we got to track and field. We were doing basketball, baseball, soccer, gymnastics, swimming, and we were really just enjoying sports as a whole. Track and field was the last sport that we did.

2. How did your parents feel about you choosing their sport last, after trying everything else?

My parents did that purposely. They wanted us to choose track, and not because they did it. But when we did end up running, my dad was my coach for quite a few years, at least from late elementary school to all the way through middle school.

3. What was the first thing you thought when you won the 100-meter race at the Olympics?

Oh my gosh…amazing! Because, there was a point where I didn’t think I won. It was so close, I didn’t even know if I got second or third, I couldn’t see the other guys on the other side.

4. When you were in that moment, not knowing if you won or not, how did that feel?

I literally was moving off of pure instinct and emotion at the time. So when I crossed the line, and we’re waiting, I’m like, “Ah, dang. I think I didn’t lean enough,” or it just wasn’t the right timing. And then I saw my name show up, and I’m like, “Oh my gosh,” not seeing how close I was to my competitors.

5. And you won by, like, 100th of a second, right?

No, it was a 1,000th of a second!

6. What would you tell young aspiring athletes that want to be like you?

I always tell athletes pretty much the same thing. They always come up to me like, “I want to be like you.” And I’m like, “You don’t want to be like me. You want to be like you, because that’s how you become like me.” If you are like you, if you just own who you are, learn who you are, and love yourself and find what you love. That right there is going to carry you so much further in life than anything could truly carry you. You will be leaps and bounds above people.

7. You’ve opened up about your mental health in the past, something that I really admire about you, and Simone Biles has done the same. What advice would you give to other athletes when it comes to their mental health and competing?

I advise you to go jump in some therapy. It is no harm to get a checkup from the neck up. You know, they’ll wonder, why are you so joyful? Why are you so confident? Why you move the way you do, and it’s because you know who you are, you’re confident in yourself, and you love what you do. And because of that, you know you’re going to grow, and you’re going to find, hopefully, other like-minded people like that. And those are the people that you know are going to say, “I’m going to constantly grow in life.” 

8. You ran that last race, the 200-meter, with COVID and you still got a bronze medal. How were you able to push through while being sick, dealing with those chills and those other symptoms?

9. Now, of course, your statements about the NBA a couple of years ago were all over social media. However, I saw some of the USA Men’s Basketball team watching your 100-meter race. So what is your relationship like with those guys? Is everything cool?

I didn’t have a relationship with them then, and I guess I don’t have one now. They talk about me more than I talk about them. I’m very happy that they came to watch because I made a tweet or a post a while ago, and I was addressing people who love me and hate me, and I said, “No matter what, you still watched, didn’t you?” That’s the funny part, because you know, no matter how people see you, they’re still going to watch whether they’re there to watch you fail or watch you succeed.

10. Do you feel like people took your NBA comments out of context?

I feel that it took on a life of itself. The NBA was just an example. The point got lost in translation along the way. The point was supposed to be that the US has so many people with the title of World Champion or Olympic Champion, and we seem to give it to others who don’t actually have the title. Why do that? They’re already great! They are already dignified in that, let’s celebrate the other sports out there who have taken on the world and are coming back and saying, “Hey, we did this for you.” We want to be celebrated just as much.

11. That makes a lot of sense. And I believe you are going to be celebrated at the highest level now. I mean, you killed it. Did you have any heroes growing up, or anyone you look up to now?

No, I wouldn’t say I have any heroes. I’m more of an anime kid!

13. What about that anime really spoke to you?

I’m a sucker for a good, nicely-tied bow at the end of an anime with tragedy and philosophy.

14. What music do you listen to to get yourself amped up for competition? Is there anything specific that gets you in the zone?

Yeah, so I’ve spliced two concerts together. One is Travis Scott. It’s his concert, he performed in Zurich. I think in 2018, when he was on tour for Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. And then a Kanye West concert as well. I can’t remember which concert it was, because he was singing almost everything. I think it was the iHeart Radio concert.  But those two concerts together are what make my finals playlist. Anytime that I’m at a championship, and I’m going into a finals, that is the playlist that I’m listening to.

15. Okay, final question: Give me your Mount Rushmore of greatest athletes.

Greatest athletes of all time, goodness gracious, on the spot, too? [Laughs] Okay, Muhammad Ali. Then, I’m gonna put Usain Bolt in there. Before Usain Bolt there was no track and field athlete that actually doubled more than once at an Olympics. The accomplishments that he’s made are astronomical. Then I think we’d have to put Michael Jordan on there. And I definitely put Serena Williams on there as well.

This interview has been edited for length and/or clarity.