Noah Lyles: "Usain Bolt is the fastest man to ever do it and soon it'll be me"

By Muskan Sharma

Modified Mar 22, 2024 04:23 GMT

American athlete Noah Lyles recently made a striking statement on taking away Usain Bolt’s ‘fastest man ever’ title. He has been chasing Bolt’s 100m and 200m records for a long time and he believes that he will soon surpass the Olympic legend.

Lyles is currently ruling as the 100m and 200m world champion. He is also the third fastest 200m runner in the all-time list. He clocked impressive times of 9.83s in the 100m and 19.52s in the 200m race at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

The 26-year-old athlete’s next goal is to shatter Bolt’s world records that the Jamaican achieved in 2009 in Berlin. During a recent interview with CNN, Lyles shed light on his preparation for the upcoming Paris Olympics in July.

During that conversation, he was asked about Bolt, to which he replied:

“He [Usain Bolt] is the fastest man to ever do it and soon it’ll be me.”

Lyles also spoke on how much he has picked up from Bolt as a legendary athlete.

"Not much. Because I’m a guy who believes in everybody has their own path and just like him, he has his own way of doing things."

Lyles explained that there was a difference between him and the Jamaican sprinter as the former likes to serve his “dominance throughout the whole year.”

"He [Usain Bolt] loved to go out there and loved to run and he disappeared. But when it was time to show up, he showed up. He got it done. I am kinda more of guy who likes to serve my dominance throughout the whole year," said Noah Lyles.

Bolt currently holds the 100m and 200m world records, clocking 9.58 seconds and 19.19 seconds, respectively, at the 2009 World Athletic Championships in Berlin.

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Noah Lyles surpassed Usain Bolt’s long-standing record last year

Noah Lyles at World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 2024 - Day Three

During the London Diamond League in July 2023, Noah Lyles clinched a remarkable achievement by shattering one of Usain Bolt’s long-standing records.

Lyles broke the legend’s record for the most 200m race wins under 20 seconds. He surpassed Bolt’s record of 34 races, with his 35th win coming at the London Diamond League event.

The athlete clocked a commendable 19.47s, which was the third-best time of his career. Later on, Lyles went on to add up four more 200m race wins under the 20s mark, taking his total up to 39.

After the London Diamond League, Lyles disclosed his audacious goal to surpass Bolt’s unbeatable 100m and 200m record. He said that he would break the Jamaican's 200m world record by clocking 19.10s at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

However, Lyles had to settle with a time of 19.52s in Budapest along with his third consecutive world championship gold medal in the event.