30 American athletes to watch at the 2024 Paris Olympics
By Nick Villano
6. Noah Lyles
Track and Field
The current No. 2 sprinter in the world, and the number one 200m sprinter, Noah Lyles is ready to perform at the end of this month. Lyles is the three-time defending World Champion in the 200 meter. He broke the record for the Olympic trials, hitting 19.53 seconds in the 200m. Not only did that allow him to qualify for Paris, but it has him as by far the odds-on favorite to win the race.
Then there’s the 100 meter race. Lyles finished the Olympic Trials in first, too. He ran the race in 9.83 seconds. Lyles will need to get just a little bit faster if he’s going to come away with the gold. Even removing Usain Bolt, who might be the fastest man in world history, the winner at the Tokyo Games was Lamont Marcell Jacobs, who ran a 9.80. However, he admits he might have let up at the end, knowing an Olympic spot was in hand. That won’t happen in Paris.
Lyles actually finished seventh when he was shooting for the 100m in 2021. That caused him to change his training routine, and he found himself running in more 60-meter races so he could teach himself to hit top speed even faster.
We expect to see a better finish from Lyles, who has one individual bronze to his name and no other Olympic medal. If he’s looking for something a little more expensive, then he can’t let up this time around. Hit full speed and stay there throughout the 100 and 200.