Noah Lyles

Noah Lyles (born July 18, 1997) is an American professional track and field athlete specializing in the sprints. He holds personal bests of 9.86 seconds for the 100 meters and 19.50 seconds for the 200 meters. Lyles holds the 300-meters indoor world best with a time of 31.87 seconds from the 2017 USA Indoor Championships.

Noah Lyles

Noah Lyles at the 2018 USA Championships
Personal information
Nationality	American
Born	July 18, 1997 Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1]
Weight	154 lb (70 kg)[1]
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Sprints Relays
Club	PURE Athletics[2]
Team	adidas[3]
Turned pro	2016[3]
Coached by	Lance Brauman[4]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m: 9.86 (2019)[5] 150 m: 14.69 (2019)[6] 200 m: 19.50 (2019)[7] Indoor 300 m: 31.87 WB (2017)[8]
Medal record Men's track and field Representing the United States World Championships 2019 Doha 200 m 2019 Doha 4×100 m relay World Relays 2017 Nassau 4×200 m relay 2019 Yokohama 4×100 m relay Diamond League Winner 2017 (Brussels) 200 m Winner 2018 (Zürich) 200 m Winner 2019 (Zürich) 100 m Winner 2019 (Brussels) 200 m World U20 Championships 2016 Bydgoszcz 100 m 2016 Bydgoszcz 4×100 m relay Pan American U20 Championships 2015 Edmonton 200 m 2015 Edmonton 100 m Youth Olympic Games 2014 Nanjing 200 m World Youth Championships 2013 Donetsk Medley relay Representing the Americas Continental Cup 2018 Ostrava 100 m 2018 Ostrava 4×100 m relay

He won a gold medal in the 200 meters during the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.[9] He won gold medals in the 100 m and the 4 × 100-meter relay during the 2016 World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. He won gold medals in the 200 meters and the 4 x 100-meter relay at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha.[10]

Apart from being a world class sprinter, Lyles has also made himself a name as a rapper and has released several singles.

Biography

He was a gymnast as a youth and started track and field at 12 years of age. His parents Keisha Caine and Kevin Lyles competed in track and field at Seton Hall University.[11][12] He attended T. C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia.

Prep

Lyles represented the United States at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games where he won a gold medal in the 200 m.[9][13]

In January 2015, Lyles cleared 2.03 m (6 ft 7 ³⁄₄ in) in the high jump as a high school junior. In November 2015, he was named 2015 high school boys athlete of the year by Track & Field News.

In March 2016, Lyles won the 200 m at the New Balance Nationals Indoor. In April 2016, Lyles won both the 100 m and 200 m at the 2016 Arcadia Invitational, setting new meeting records of 10.17 s and 20.48 s respectively.[14][15] In June 2016, Lyles won the 100 m in 10.08 s at the USA Junior Championships.[16]

In July 2016, Lyles went to the U.S. Olympic Trials to compete for spots on the Olympic team in the 100 m and the 200 m. He failed to advance from his first 100 m heat, but in the 200 m he won his semi-final and then placed fourth in the final with a time of 20.09 s, breaking a 31-year-old national high school record.[17][18][19] Though he didn't qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics, he qualified for the 2016 World U20 Championships where he was a double gold medalist, taking the 100 m and 4 × 100 m relay titles.[20][21]

Professional

Lyles had committed to compete for the Florida Gators at the University of Florida, but in July 2016, Noah and his younger brother Josephus instead turned professional and signed with adidas.[3][22] In November 2016, Lyles was again named high school boys athlete of the year for 2016 by Track & Field News.

Noah Lyles at the 2020 Gyulai Memorial in Szekesfehervar, Hungary

Lyles started 2017 with his first senior national title in the 300 m at the 2017 USA Indoor Championships in the thin air of Albuquerque, New Mexico, improving the indoor world record by one hundredth of a second to 31.87 s.[23][24] He earned a silver medal in the 4 × 200-meter relay with team USA at the 2017 World Relays. Lyles won two meets in the 2017 IAAF Diamond League circuit, winning the final ahead of American champion Ameer Webb and world champion Ramil Guliyev. However, injuries prevented him from competing much of the season and he missed the 2017 World Championships as a result.

Lyles returned to Albuquerque to compete at the 2018 USA Indoor Championships, but in the 60-meter dash instead of the 300 m. He made it through his first heat while equaling his personal best time of 6.57 s, but failed to advance through his semi-final. Having failed to make the national team for the 2018 World Indoor Championships, he turned his focus to preparing for the outdoor season. He opened with a win in the 200 m at the IAAF Diamond League Doha meet, setting a new personal best with a time of 19.83 s. A few weeks later he ran the less common 150 m at the adidas Boston Games, winning in a personal best time of 14.77 s.[25] He returned to the 200 m at the IAAF Diamond League in Eugene, winning and improving his personal best time to 19.69 s. This time matched the world leading time set by Clarence Munyai earlier that year.[26][27]

At the 2018 USA Championships he focused on the 100 m instead, matching the world lead of 9.89 s in the semi-final. Mike Rodgers had set the world lead a day before in a separate heat, but he did not start in the semi-finals. This left Lyles' primary rival to be Ronnie Baker, who had run the 100 m in 9.78 s at the Prefontaine Classic earlier that year, but with a wind velocity just over the allowable limit for record purposes (+2.4 m/s).[26] In the final Baker got out a few meters ahead of Lyles out of the blocks, but Lyles started to come back halfway through the race and just passed Baker in the last meter to win in 9.88 s, a new world lead and personal best time for Lyles.[28][29] He became the youngest U.S. champion in the 100 m since Sam Graddy won in 1984.[30]

Lyles world lead in the 100 m would later be beaten by Baker (9.87 s) and then Christian Coleman (9.79 s), but at the Herculis IAAF Diamond League meet in Monaco Lyles set a new 200 m world lead and personal best time in 19.65 s. The time placed him in the top-10 fastest men in the 200 m of all time.[31][32] Before that Lyles equaled his personal best and world lead at the Athletissima IAAF Diamond League meet to win a greatly anticipated showdown against Michael Norman, who had set the indoor world record in the 400-meter dash earlier that year.[27][33][34] Lyles went into the IAAF Diamond League final, the Weltklasse Zürich, as the favorite. He was again matched up against world champion Ramil Guliyev who recently also become European champion, setting a personal best of 19.76 s in the process.[35] The two were placed in adjacent lanes and ran evenly through the bend, but Lyles started to pull away on the straight and finished in 19.67 s.[36] It was his fourth time under 19.70 s in the same season. Only one other individual has been under 19.70 s four times in a career, world record holder Usain Bolt who also did it four times during his record-breaking 2009 season.[37]

In 2019, Lyles opened the season by running 100 meters races, running a 9.86 (+0.9) world leader in Shanghai on May 18. In his first 200-meter race, at the Pietro Mennea Golden Gala meet, he equalled Mennea's long standing 1979 world record time running a 19.72 (+0.7). A month later at Athletissima in Lausanne, he dropped his personal best to 19.50 (−0.1) to move into the number 4 position on the all time list. A week later he ran a 9.92 (+0.3) 100 in Monaco. With the extended schedule in 2019, he ran the US National Championships at the end of July, taking the 200-meter title in 19.78 (−0.7) into a headwind in Des Moines. And in Paris he ran 19.65 (+0.2).

Statistics

• Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[38]

Personal bests

Event	Mark	Location	Date	Notes
100 m	9.86	Shanghai, China	May 18, 2019	(+0.9 m/s wind)[5]
150 m	14.69	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.	June 16, 2019	(−0.2 m/s wind) #4 all-time[6][39]
200 m	19.50	Lausanne, Switzerland	July 5, 2019	(−0.1 m/s wind) WL, #4 all-time
400 m	47.04	Forestville, Maryland, U.S.	April 23, 2016
4×100 m relay	37.10	Doha, Qatar	October 5, 2019	WL, NR, #2 all-time
4×200 m relay	1:19.88	Nassau, Bahamas	April 23, 2017
60 m indoor	6.57	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.	February 10, 2018
200 m indoor	20.63	New York, New York, U.S.	March 13, 2016
300 m indoor	31.87 A	Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.	March 4, 2017	Altitude-assisted, WB
High jump indoor	2.03 m	Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.	January 31, 2015

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Time	Wind	Notes
Representing the United States and the Americas (Continental Cup only)
2013	World Youth Championships	Donetsk, Ukraine	9th	200 m	21.58	−2.5	[40]
			2nd	Medley relay	1:50.14	N/A	PB
2014	Youth Olympic Games	Nanjing, China	1st	200 m	20.80	+0.3
2015	Pan American U20 Championships	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	2nd	100 m	10.18	+0.4
			1st	200 m	20.27	+1.3
2016	World U20 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	1st	100 m	10.17	−0.2	SB
			1st	4×100 m relay	38.93	N/A	PB
2017	World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	2nd	4×200 m relay	1:19.88	N/A	PB
2018	Continental Cup	Ostrava, Czech Republic	1st	100 m	10.01	0.0
			1st	4×100 m relay	38.05	N/A	PB
2019	World Relays	Yokohama, Japan	2nd	4×100 m relay	38.07	N/A
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	1st	200 m	19.83	+0.3
			1st	4×100 m relay	37.10	N/A	WL, NR, #3 all-time performance

200 m

• Diamond League
  • Overall winner: 2017, 2018, 2019
  • Shanghai: 2017
  • Brussels: 2017, 2019
  • Doha: 2018
  • Eugene: 2018
  • Lausanne: 2018, 2019
  • Monaco: 2018
  • Zürich: 2018
  • Paris: 2019

100 m

• Diamond League
  • Overall winner: 2019
  • Shanghai: 2019[5]
  • Zürich: 2019

National championships

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Time	Wind (m/s)	Notes
2013	U.S. World Youth Trials	Edwardsville, Illinois	3rd	200 m	21.62	−3.9
2015	U.S. U20 Championships	Eugene, Oregon	1st	100 m	10.14	+2.0	PB
			1st	100 m	20.18	+1.8	PB
2016	U.S. U20 Championships	Clovis, California	1st	100 m	10.08 w	+2.2	Wind-assisted
	U.S. Olympic Trials	Eugene, Oregon	22nd	100 m	10.16	+1.8	SB[41]
			4th	200 m	20.09	+1.6	PB
2017	U.S. Indoor Championships	Albuquerque, New Mexico	1st	300 m	31.87 A	N/A	Altitude assisted, WB
	U.S. Championships	Sacramento, California	4th (heats)	200 m	20.54	−2.5	Q[note 1]
2018	U.S. Indoor Championships	Albuquerque, New Mexico	9th	60 m	6.59 A	N/A	Altitude-assisted[43]
	U.S. Championships	Des Moines, Iowa	1st	100 m	9.88	+1.1	WL, PB
2019	U.S. Championships	Des Moines, Iowa	1st	200 m	19.78	−0.7

Season's bests

• World rank from World Athletics' Season Top Lists.[44][45]

100 m w = wind-assisted (more than +2.0 m/s) Year Time Wind (m/s) Venue World rank 2020 9.93 w +4.0 Montverde, Florida, U.S. N/A 2019 9.86 +0.9 Shanghai, China 2 2018 9.88 +1.1 Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. 3 9.86 w +4.1 Gainesville, Florida, U.S. N/A 2017 9.95 w +4.3 Clermont, Florida, U.S. N/A 2016 10.16 +1.8 Eugene, Oregon, U.S. >100 10.08 w +2.2 Clovis, California, U.S. N/A 2015 10.14 +2.0 Eugene, Oregon, U.S. 82 10.07 w +4.3 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada N/A 2014 10.45 +1.0 Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. >100 2013 10.86 −1.5 Newport News, Virginia, U.S. >100 2012 11.27 −1.8 Newport News, Virginia, U.S. >100

200 m Year Time Wind (m/s) Venue World rank 2019 19.50 −0.1 Lausanne, Switzerland 1 2018 19.65 +0.9 Monaco 1 2017 19.90 −0.4 Shanghai, China 4 2016 20.09 +1.6 Eugene, Oregon, U.S. 17 20.04 w +3.3 N/A 2015 20.18 +1.8 Eugene, Oregon, U.S. 28 2014 20.71 −0.4 Nanjing, China >100 2013 21.28 −0.6 Donetsk, Ukraine >100 2012 21.82 +0.1 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. >100

Notes

1. Qualified for the semis, but did not start (DNS).[42]

References

1. "Noah Lyles". teamusa.org. USOC. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
2. Eder, Larry (December 28, 2017). "PURE Athletics, some thoughts on what is behind the great races". runblogrun.com. RunBlogRun. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
3. Maese, Rick (July 22, 2016). "Teenage track stars Noah, Josephus Lyles turn pro, sign with Adidas". washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
4. Dennehy, Cathal (December 15, 2018). "Lyles' Doha ambition: 'I want to be world champion before I go to the Olympics'". iaaf.org. IAAF. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
5. Mulvenney, Nick; Sarkar, Pritha (May 18, 2019). "Athletics: Lyles pips Coleman in Shanghai sprint photo finish". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
6. Cherry, Gene (June 16, 2019). "Athletics: Lyles Gets Break From Uncalled False Start to Run Fast 150". nytimes.com. Reuters. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
7. Dunbar, Graham (Associated Press) (July 5, 2019). "Noah Lyles runs 19.50 in 200 meters, 4th best time ever". washingtontimes.com. The Washington Times. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
8. Cherry, Gene; Both, Andrew (March 5, 2017). "Lyles and Berry set world indoor bests at U.S. champs". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
9. "Athletics Results Book" (PDF). 2014 Summer Youth Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
10. "World Athletics Championships: Noah Lyles wins 200m gold with Adam Gemili fourth". October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
11. "Noah LYLES". Inside Athletics. Season 4. Episode 11. IAAF. November 8, 2016. Event occurs at 5:10. Retrieved April 15, 2019 – via YouTube.
12. "Traditions – Seton Hall Athletics". shupirates.com. Seton Hall Pirates. July 10, 2016. Archived from the original on February 14, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
13. Zaccardi, Nick (August 25, 2014). "U.S. wins two Youth Olympic track and field gold medals". nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
14. Rohrbach, Ben (April 13, 2016). "Michael Norman, Josephus Lyles clock nation's two fastest 400 times in same race". usatodayhss.com. USA Today. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
15. Bellino, Meg (April 10, 2016). "Michael Norman, Noah Lyles and Top Preps Shine at Arcadia". flotrack.org. FloTrack. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
16. Roth, Dan (June 27, 2016). "Kate Murphy, Noah Lyles lead local contingent into Olympic track trials". washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
17. Caple, Jim (July 9, 2016). "Three high-schoolers make waves at track trials". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
18. Dutch, Taylor (July 9, 2016). "Noah Lyles Breaks High School National Record at Olympic Trials". flotrack.org. FloTrack. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
19. "2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field – Results". usatf.org. USATF. July 10, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
20. "Noah Lyles wins 100m gold at World U20 Championships". athleticsweekly.com. Athletics Weekly. July 20, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
21. Ramsak, Bob (July 23, 2016). "REPORT: MEN'S 4X100M – IAAF WORLD U20 CHAMPIONSHIPS BYDGOSZCZ 2016". iaaf.org. IAAF. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
22. "What a Day for High School Sprint Stars: Michael Norman Wins World Juniors 200m and Lyles Brothers Turn Pro". letsrun.com. LetsRun.com. July 22, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
23. "Noah Lyles Breaks World Record, Paul Chelimo Dominates, Houlihan Gets USATF Title No. 1, Okolo vs Wilson, Brazier vs Loxsom, & Murphy vs Wheating vs Andrews Finals Set – 2017 USA Indoor Day 1 Recap". letsrun.com. LetsRun.com. March 4, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
24. Associated Press (March 4, 2017). "Gwen Berry, Noah Lyles big winners at U.S. Indoor Championships". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
25. Gault, Jonathan (May 20, 2018). "adidas Boost Boston Games Day 2: Shaunae Miller-Uibo Breaks 150m WR; Tori Bowie (11.05 100m) & Noah Lyles (14.77 150m) Grab Wins". letsrun.com. LetsRun.com. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
26. M. Reid, Scott (May 26, 2018). "Noah Lyles, Ronnie Baker steal show at Prefontaine Classic". ocregister.com. Orange County Register. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
27. "Noah Lyles looking to break Clarence Munyai's record at Monaco Diamond League". foxsportsafrica.com. Fox Sports Africa. July 20, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
28. Goodwin, Cody (June 22, 2018). "Noah Lyles wins men's 100-meter dash with the world's fastest time this year". desmoinesregister.com. The Des Moines Register. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
29. Meredith, Luke (June 22, 2018). "Noah Lyles, Aleia Hobbs claim 100 titles at US outdoors". apnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
30. Jordan, Roy (June 23, 2018). "LYLES CLOCKS 9.88 WORLD LEAD TO TAKE US 100M TITLE". iaaf.org. IAAF. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
31. Zaccardi, Nick (July 20, 2018). "Beatrice Chepkoech crushes steeplechase world record". nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
32. "10 Crazy Stats from Absolutely Bonkers Monaco Diamond League Meet". letsrun.com. LetsRun.com. July 20, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
33. Chavez, Chris (July 5, 2018). "Watch: Noah Lyles Runs 19.69 To Beat Michael Norman In Epic 200 Meter Clash". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
34. Zaccardi, Nick (July 3, 2018). "Noah Lyles, Michael Norman finally meet again; Diamond League preview". nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
35. "Gold for Guliyev at Euros, Hurdler Herman Ends German Hopes". usnews.com. U.S. News & World Report. August 9, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
36. Henderson, Jason (August 30, 2018). "Noah Lyles among Diamond League winners in Zurich". athleticsweekly.com. Athletics Weekly. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
37. Zaccardi, Nick (August 30, 2018). "Noah Lyles matches Usain Bolt feat in Speed Racer socks". nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
38. "ATHLETE PROFILE Noah LYLES". worldathletics.org. World Athletics. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
39. "adidas Boost Boston Games – Men's 150m". adidasboostbostongames.com. adidas. June 16, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
40. "200 Metres Boys - Semi-Final" (PDF). iaaf.org. International Association of Athletics Federations. July 13, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
41. "2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field - 6/30/2016 to 7/10/2016 - Eugene, Oregon - Results". usatf.org. USA Track & Field. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
42. "2017 USATF Championships - 6/22/2017 to 6/25/2017 - Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, Calif. - Results". usatf.org. USA Track & Field. June 25, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
43. "2018 USATF Indoor Championships". usatf.org. USA Track & Field. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
44. "Senior Outdoor 2012 100 Metres Men". worldathletics.org. World Athletics. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
45. "Senior Outdoor 2012 200 Metres Men". worldathletics.org. World Athletics. Retrieved March 5, 2020.

External links

• Noah Lyles at World Athletics
• Noah Lyles on Twitter

Videos

• Noah Lyles Sprints to 200m Gold | World Athletics Championships 2019 | Doha Moments via World Athletics on YouTube
• Noah Lyles breaks Usain Bolt's meeting record over 200m in Lausanne – IAAF Diamond League 2019 via the Diamond League on YouTube
• Noah Lyles catches Christian Coleman at the line in the 100m at Shanghai – IAAF Diamond League 2019 via the Diamond League on YouTube
• Noah Lyles Wins 100-Meter National Championship via Team USA on YouTube