On Saturday, June 3rd, an enamored majority Jamaican audience was treated to the return of the Racers Grand Prix at the Jamaican National Stadium. A silver stop on the World Athletics Continental Tour marked its return after a 3-year hiatus with a series of outstanding performances from athletes around the world and a show-stopping finale headlined by a dominant Noah Lyles run in the 200m finals, which felt like an official changing of the guard.
Just the day before, Florida native Lyles admitted to pre-event butterflies. “I am not going to lie, I am a little nervous, an American stepping onto Jamaican soil. When we were kids, we were very well informed about Jamaica and the crowd and so we know that they can be very enthusiastic themselves cheering on or booing people, so I am preparing myself for both,” he shared with the Jamaican Observer.
If he was nervous, it didn’t show. Lyles smashed the meet record with a time of 19.67 seconds, handily beating runner-up Britain’s Zharnel Hughes who ran 20.14, and Jamaica’s Rasheed Dyer who finished with a season-best 20.53.
After the race, the 25-year-old sprint phenom was embraced by racing royalty Usain Bolt, illustrating the kind of respect that transcends national lines. Lyles later revealed what Bolt told him — to keep bringing his personality to the sport. As much an ambassador off the track as he is a speedster on it, Lyles spends seemingly every waking moment promoting athletics. He retweets other athletes’ accomplishments and milestones elevating them with his rising profile. His Youtube presence is robust, regularly dropping well-produced mini-documentaries showing the behind-the-scenes at each event.
“We have a meeting every two weeks, we discuss what we’re trying to get out of it, who we’re trying to reach, [etc.],” he explained.
“My goal wasn’t to be a world record holder, grab as many World Championships or Olympic medals… my goal was to transcend the sport and take it to a place that it’s never been, that it’s never seen,” Lyles explained to the hosts of ‘The On Track & Field Podcast!’ “I want to leave a book of, ‘Oh, we don’t have to just do it this way – we can go way further than what’s presented to us.”
A superstar on and off the track
It’s not enough to shatter records, Lyles wants to shatter expectations. Diagnosed with dyslexia and depression as a teenager, mental health has always been a focus for the world champion. Alongside his brother Josephus, an accomplished sprinter in his own right, Noah Lyles founded the Lyles Brothers Sports Foundation. It’s a simple mission, “empowering youth through health and wellness.” Lyles himself shares a similar mantra, “I learned to keep my loved ones close and my therapist closer.”
The activism doesn’t stop there. Lyles has spoken on the intersection between mental health and racial biases. “There’s still a myth that black humans can take on more pain and we don’t feel perceived pain the same way, whether that’s emotional or physical,” he starts. “That is a myth and it’s inaccurate. We all feel and perceive pain the same way. And because of those stereotypes and those stigmas, it is believed that a lot of African American males do not speak up about the struggles that they go through.”
After finishing the race in Jamaica, the audience was ravenous. “The crowd was electrifying and I didn’t know what kind of reception I would receive based on the social media comments,” said Lyles, noting the online banter that precedes a meeting between eternal sprint rivals the USA and Jamaica. It’s a testimony to Lyles’ star power and likability that he has been able to bridge that gap across national lines.
Noah Lyles is a three-time world champion, four-time diamond league final winner, a world championship silver medalist, and an Olympic bronze medalist. He is the all-time American 200-meter record holder and the third fastest all-time over that same distance, only behind Jamaica’s Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake.
