'I knew one day I'll be on top of the podium' - Noah Lyles opens up on what drove him to rule Paris Olympics 100m

'I knew one day I'll be on top of the podium' - Noah Lyles opens up on what drove him to rule Paris Olympics 100m

Evans Ousuru 18:14 - 28.10.2024

The 27-year-old completed a sprint treble by winning gold medals in 100m, 200m and 4x100m at the 2023 World Championships

Paris Olympics 100m champion Noah Lyles has said the hard work behind the scenes in the build up to the US Olympic trials made him believe that he would make the podium in France.

The 200m American record holder has had a remarkable turnaround in fortunes, with the Olympics gold medal probably the highlight of his illustrious career so far.

In pinpointing the defining moments that shape his legacy, Lyles said mental fortitude played a part in his achievements considering how tough the US trials for the Olympics always were. "It is not a situation that you can bypass but you have to be very intentional towards what you want to achieve. It doesn't matter who is going to help you or know the way but winning gets it done," he said as revealed in The final chapter of Noah Lyles' "The Unseen Journey" series on YouTube on the Making of an Icon film.

Lyles won the Olympic 100m gold in photo finish in Paris with Jamaica's Kishane Thompson and compatriot Fred Kerley bagging silver and bronze respectively. Akani Simbine, Marcel Jacobs and Letsile Tebogo were fourth, fifth and sixth in that order.

"If it's first enough, if it's not first enough...it's only you who can decide how much you can give to the desired extreme," he noted.  "I knew one day I will be on top of the podium and people think it's easy."

Leyles is a three-time 200m World Champion. The 27-year-old completed a sprint treble by winning gold medals in 100m, 200m and 4x100m at the 2023 World Championships.

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