The Mysteries of the World’s Fastest Man, Noah Lyles

Noah Lyles has ICON tattooed on his abdomen and is open about his plans for 2024. “We’re going after everything,” the sprinter declares, his voice confident. “We’re aiming for the triple.” Going for the world record as well. “I’m confident I can do it.”

He won gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4×100 meter relay at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, completing a triple. Lyles’ feet move him quicker than the majority of people on the earth. His quads have gotten him to the finish line in 9.83 seconds and 19.31 seconds. The latter is an American record, whilst the former was the greatest in the world in 2023. His hamstrings and calves have helped him win five Diamond League titles and six World Championships.

At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the five-foot-eleven 26-year-old will be chasing lightning, sprinting for the rarefied air of Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, and Usain Bolt—icons who accomplished the triple on track and field’s biggest stage. Lyles loves that company, and he recently made a sensation by stating on Instagram that he will run 9.65 in the 100 and 19.10 in the 200. That incredible 0.21-second loss in the 200 would be just over the length of a stride for him—an extra 8.5 feet. (His stride length is 7.74 feet.)

The stats may sound like technobabble, but Lyles obsesses with muscular minutiae. “I’m a student of my craft,” he explains.

Despite being the son of two collegiate sprinters, he does not rely solely on genetics, training with energy and attention. In-season practice focuses on starting, acceleration, and sensation at high speed. Off-season, the glute/ham machine, back and front squats, leg presses, and single-leg Romanian deadlifts form the cornerstone of his training. Prior to jogging, he practices glute and calf activation activities with a physiotherapist who comes in from Australia on a regular basis. Lyles also receives massages on a weekly basis, and he sees a chiropractor every other week. His self-care regimen also includes Normatec leg compression wraps and a hot tub. “If I don’t work on each individual piece to the fullest ability, I leave variables out,” he said. “And I want constants.”

One persistent source of difficulty for him is his start, which is his weakest link in his sprint game. A strong start might help him break Bolt’s record. Ralph Mann, Lyles’ biomechanist, employs force plates and slow-motion film to assist him refine his form. Mann works on Lyles’ ankle angles so that the 300 pounds he puts into the blocks drives him forward. Mann aims to optimize the physics of Lyles’ horizontal forces in the first two steps out of the blocks. The combination of tauter angle tilts and a suitable center of gravity might result in possibly record-breaking speed.

Meanwhile, Lyles’ physiotherapist goes granular—”into the extreme minute details,” he adds, pointing to an imbalance discovered in his beginnings. While his left ankle and calf muscles fire, driving his foot into the block to propel him forward, his right teres minor—part of the shoulder’s rotator cuff—should likewise activate, bringing his right elbow and arm behind him, mirroring the left leg. However, this does not always occur—yet.

Lyles’ training is ruled by complexities. “Why was one start better than another?” that’s what he wonders. “Was it really that good, or was it just me being fast that day?” “I need to be aware of all the variables.” Everything is done for speed.