Even though he competes in the sprints \u2014 one of the few events in track and field that has never suffered a shortage of outspoken personalities \u2014 Noah\u00a0Lyles\u00a0stands out as someone who is probably the brashest of his generation.<\/p>\n
He enters the track with flamboyant pre-race routines and\u00a0Yu-Gi-Oh\u00a0cards, wins races wearing fingernail polish, a glitzy, multicoloured chain-link necklace and\u00a0Dragon Ball Z<\/i>\u00a0socks, and celebrates victories by cheekily calling out giant American domestic sports leagues for their claims of being \u2018world\u2019 champions.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the\u00a0Bajaj\u00a0Life\u00a0Pune\u00a0Marathon on Sunday which he flagged off,\u00a0Lyles\u00a0spoke to\u00a0Sportstar<\/i>\u00a0about how he views his legacy, the accomplishments that mean the most to him, and the vulnerabilities his brash personality hides.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s something you realised this year that has meant a lot to you?<\/b><\/p>\n
Watching the growth of the 200m as a competition. It\u2019s made me very emotional. When I first came into the sport, Bolt had just left. [Justin]\u00a0Gatlin\u00a0was on his way out.\u00a0Yohan\u00a0[Blake] was up and down. We had this drought in my favourite event. Then I started to see the times drop, the averages drop. We\u2019ve had the fastest semifinal times at a World Championships. We\u2019ve had the fastest Olympic finals we\u2019ve ever seen in this event. That has been very enjoyable to watch.<\/p>\n
You were nominated for another World Athlete of the Year award, but\u00a0Mondo\u00a0[Duplantis] won it. Do you think it\u2019s harder for you to win these awards because you need to do well in more events?<\/b><\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think\u00a0Mondo\u00a0doesn\u2019t deserve Athlete of the Year…he breaks the world record every year. But the World Athlete of the Year thing is kind of redundant. Melissa (Jefferson-Wooden, who swept gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m at the 2025 Worlds) wasn\u2019t even nominated. At this point, the award is kind of a joke.<\/p>\n
How much of what we see of you on social media or TV is a dialled-up-to-10 version of you?<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s maybe a dialled-up-to-12 version of me. When I\u2019m in my safe space, it\u2019s a pretty heavy dial-down. Some people are shocked at how relaxed I can be, especially in my own home. I\u2019m pretty quiet there. I might be playing video games. I might be laughing with friends. I don\u2019t have to be a 10 there.<\/p>\n
At practice, though, I\u2019m very driven. I might not even talk a lot because I\u2019m hyper-focused on getting everything out of practice to make it better. Then, when we get to the races, I get to be the showman. I get to let out that personality, that excitement I\u2019ve been building up.<\/p>\n
You are just 28 but are you already thinking about your legacy?<\/b><\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think my legacy is going to stop at any point just on the track. I\u2019m still going to be involved. I\u2019m still going to be pushing for new avenues and new spaces for track to reside in, and trying to create new opportunities for the athletes coming behind me. I think that will add to the legacy I created while I was on the track.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n