Coming to you from Eugene, Oregon at the 2022 USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships, I had the pleasure of connecting with Noah Lyles for some Real Talk.
Hailing from Alexandria, Virginia, Noah has been earning medals for nearly a decade, first bringing home a silver medal at the 2013 World Youth Championships. Since then, he just kept finding the podium. Notably, he came charging into the US and World conversation at the 2016 USA Olympic Trials, where he made the final and missed a podium finish in the 200 meters by less than a tenth of a second, running 20.09 seconds and breaking a 31-year old national high school record. Since then, the rest, as we say, is history. Lyles has been a mainstay at the top of the sprinting world, earning both World Championship and Olympic Medals.
At this year’s USA Championships, Noah earned a spot World Championships team in the 200 meters, winning gold by improving his marks in every round. Lyles came into the weekend as a solid contender to represent Team USA in Eugene for Worlds, with only 18-year-old Erriyon Knighton having run faster at the distance this season (Lyles comes in with a 19.61 season best to Knighton’s 19.49). Noah proved himself to be the USA’s best at the distance, by edging Knighton out at line in the finals, 19.67 to 19.69. Fred Kerley rounded out the top-3 to earn their spot to Worlds.
We talked about IT ALL! Give the full episode a listen below, and make sure to follow along with me on Instagram @_realtallk for more in depth interviews, and follow along for some of the best mixed-zone coverage from USAs and the upcoming World Championships.
