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BUDAPEST. — The departure of Usain Bolt into his well-deserved retirement in 2017 left a gaping hole at the heart of track and field.
The Jamaican sprinter left having won 11 world and eight Olympic golds, but now, six years later, it looks as if a rightful successor has emerged: Noah Lyles.
The American, excitable and increasingly outspoken, is hardly a new face on the blocks — the 26-year-old is currently is in his eighth year as a professional having signed with Adidas the year before Bolt retired.
But after clinching a memorable 100m/200m double plus gold after anchoring the US team to glory in the 4x100m relay at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Lyles looks ready to bring track back into the wider public consciousness.
“I wanted to show I am different. I came out and showed it. I am double champion,” Lyles said.
“Usain Bolt has done it and him saying to me that he sees what I am doing and he respects it, it is amazing.”
Lyles, who became just the fifth sprinter to claim a world sprint double, a feat last claimed by Bolt in 2015, added: “I am ready to transcend the sport.
“I am the guy who wants to move past being track-famous. I want people to see me on the track, but in GQ and my docuseries, and realise I’m a cool guy too.
“Medals are the first step because then people pay attention to you.
“Then you can go into different directions: fashion, music. You can start collaborating with other people, artists and the world.”
The question now is whether Lyles will be able to continue his fine form into next year’s Paris Olympics, the ultimate global championships for the American spectator.
He won bronze in the 200m at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, but to continue garnering attention, in his own words, Lyles needs to keep winning medals.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe described Lyles and his teammate Sha’Carri Richardson, who won a stunning women’s 100m gold in Budapest, as “absolute rock stars”, saying: “They both have come through in the most powerful way.”
He added: “I’ve been optimistic for some years now. We were sitting here three or four years ago, and occasionally I got the question ‘what are you all going to do when Usain Bolt leaves the scene?’
“Usain is Usain,” Coe said, but he urged his audience to be excited about the “ex-traordinary nature of that range of talent that’s now coming through both in track and field”. — AFP
Online Reporter