Tokyo Olympics Countdown: Know your athlete – Noah Lyles | Tokyo Olympics News – Times of India

In our countdown to the Tokyo Olympics we will regularly profile some of the biggest medal contenders at the upcoming quadrennial event. Today we feature a young and rising sprinter from the USA – Noah Lyles.
Name: Noah Lyles (Athletics)
Date of Birth: July 18, 1997
Age: 23
Born: Gainesville, Florida, United States
Sport/Event(s): Track and Field – 100m, 200m, 4x100m Relay
Major Achievements:
*2014 Youth Olympics Gold medal in 200m
*2015 Pan American U-20 Championship Gold medal in 200m and Silver in 100m.
*2016: World U-20 Championship Gold medals in 100m and 4x100m relay respectively
*2019: Doha 2019 World Championship Gold medals in 100m and 4x100m relay respectively
* Diamond League Gold medals in 200m in 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively
Lyles is a young and dynamic sprinter who is best known for his achievements at the Diamond League, Doha World Championship and in various other international events.
The sprinter who was born in Gainesville, Florida and attended High school in Virginia, represents the United States Athletics team and is one of the finest young talents that the world has witnessed in recent times. While he runs both the 100m and 200m sprints, the 200m seems to be his favourite race.
The 23-year-old sprinter’s confidence received a huge shot in the arm when he won the gold medal in the 200m at the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing. Later in 2015 he won a gold and a silver at the Pan American U-20 Championship in the 200m and 100m sprints respectively.

Noah Lyles (Photo credit: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
At the senior level, Lyles made his name and presence felt on the world stage after he won two gold medals at the Doha 2019 World Championship in the 200m and 4x100m relay respectively.
He had also sprinted to three successive gold medals in the 200m race at the Diamond League in 2017, 2018 and 2019 editions respectively.
“There are tons of people who have gotten where I am but to be the great I got to do things which most people haven’t. You have to win a gold medal more than once, you have to win it three times in a row,” said Lyles, who wants to be the best in the game.
In the list of potential athletes who could be a worthy successor to Usain Bolt, Lyles’s name features regularly (along with Christian Coleman in the 100m dash), especially in the 200m race, in which he has led the pack consistently since 2017.
Interestingly, Lyles, who stands at 5 feet 11 inches, started out as a gymnast and only took to track and field when he was 12.
His personal best in the 100m race is 9.86 seconds, which he clocked in 2019. The world record for this race stands at 9.58 (Usain Bolt). While in the 200m dash, Lyle’s personal best has been clocked at 19.50. The world record in this men’s race stands at 19.19 (Usain Bolt).
Watch out for Lyles in both the 100m and 200m men’s sprints in Tokyo.