PA Media/DPA
Paris
Double world sprint champion Noah Lyles admits he is struggling to find his own space as one of the most recognizable faces in the Olympic Village, but underlined his star quality by naming himself clear favourite for his races.
The American has not shied away from courting attention, declaring his intent on the recent Netflix documentary Sprint - which also features British rival Zharnel Hughes - to become the face of his sport and exponentially elevate athletics’ appeal in the process.
That screen time, combined with his success on the track since collecting bronze three years ago in Tokyo, has catapulted the 27-year-old into a new echelon of fame that has made him one of the most in-demand athletes in Paris, even among his fellow Olympians.
"I’ve become kind of popular in the village,” said Lyles, who will take on the 100 metres and 200m in Paris, and is desperately advocating to feature in the relay quartet.
"Unfortunately, that has come with its own set of challenges in being able to find my own space whether that’s eating or training in the gym.
"I know some athletes like to leave the village and have their own hotels but I like to enjoy the whole Olympic event, being with other athletes and stuff like that, but it has come with its own challenge of, you know, finding my own safe place.
"It’s been kind of hard for me to find that within the village and I don’t want to leave. It’s definitely something I feel like after this Olympics, I’m gonna have to have conversations higher up than me, and whoever is in charge of that, making that more available or just more aware, because I’m not even the most popular person in the village.
Lyles flew to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with the 2019 world 200m title under his belt, the favourite to become the first American to claim gold in that event since 2004.
Instead, in the echoing near-empty stadium as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Lyles finished third.
After collecting his medal, the Floridian opened up about his lifelong battle with anxiety and depression and the difficulty of balancing the benefits of antidepressant medication with side effects that led to weight gain.
Lyles freely admits he is a showman who performs better in front of a full house, remembering the moment on the start line in Tokyo when he would usually say to himself "it’s showtime”, but instead found himself thinking "this is not it. This is not fun. This is not cool. This is not what I wanted.”
Lyles now employs a sports therapist, an "everyday” therapist and one specialising in grief, and has thrown himself into the "lion’s den” to get "comfortable with the uncomfortable.”
Lyles admits "the line between confidence and cocky can be so blurred” but brushes off anyone who might not fully understand his "vision”, his signature bravado mitigated by memories of being the dyslexic kid with asthma, who struggled in school and was told he would never achieve his athletic ambitions.
Earlier this month, Lyles lowered his 100m personal best to 9.81 at the Diamond League meeting in London.
He added: "I get to finally say, I’m showing up to an Olympic Games not depressed and it feels amazing. It’s a lot of joy, a lot of joy, even though there’s hard times in the moment I can always think back to the last Olympics and be like, ‘no, this one is not the same’.
This one is way better and I’m ready to show it.
"If I lose this time, it’s not going to be because I beat myself, it’s just gonna be that they had to be that much better.
"But to be honest, when Noah Lyles is being Noah Lyles - nobody (can).”