Noah Lyles: Straight Talking American Is Star to Beat Ahead of Paris 2024 Olympics

• Noah Lyles' indoor season offers much promise of a better 2024
• The American is angling to win four Olympic gold medals in Paris
• Sports Brief has analysed his Glasgow races with a long-term view

Noah Lyles rarely minces his words. When he boldly says that winning the NBA title doesn't make you a world champion, he says so without batting an eyelid.

When he says he intends to change how track and field is perceived, he follows it up by inking the richest contract the sport has ever seen since the legendary Usain Bolt retired.

So when he says he is going for four gold medals in Paris, well, you see the trend, don't you?

If the early signs are anything to go by, then the American superstar is on course for another record-breaking season. Fresh from winning three gold medals at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Lyles has had a taste of what being in the limelight looks like.

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"A few things I have learned early in my career: being marketable sells. Medals don't bring likeness, and politics is everything."

Noah Lyles plans for Paris 2024 Olympics

Lyles had a decent debut season at the World Indoor Championships, where he claimed two silver medals, one in the 60m and another one in the 4 by 400m relay.

He intends to do the 100m, 200m, 4 by 100m, and 4 by 400m at the Olympics.

The American star has never won an Olympic gold. His only medal at the games was a bronze at the rescheduled Tokyo Games in 2012 in his favourite 200m.

In the 60m in Glasgow, he was beaten by his compatriot, Christian Coleman, but inside details of the race will give him immense hope for the outdoor season. It is no secret that Lyles' greatest flaw in an otherwise impressive career is his start.

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He is on record admitting as much, noting that if he can sort out his start, then everything, including Bolt's imperious world records, won't be off limits. He decided to trial himself out at the 60m against one of the best starters the sport has ever seen - Coleman.

Lyles' 60m splits compared to Coleman

The 60m starts and finishes almost immediately. Within seven seconds at most, the athletes have already gotten to the other end, which doesn't give poor starters like Lyles enough time to exert themselves and reach top speed.

Coleman clocked 6.41 seconds, while Lyles was just three-hundredths of a second behind with 6.44. The 10m splits paint an even more interesting story. The first 10m had Coleman using 1.87 seconds compared to Lyles' 1.93. Over the next 10m, Coleman took 1.02 seconds, while Lyles took 1.03 seconds.

Between 20m to 30m, Coleman registered 0.92 seconds, while Lyles took 0.93 seconds. Then the 2023 triple world champion takes over. Lyles betters Coleman in the next three splits, but the huge gap the 2019 world champion got in the first 10m gives him the advantage to win the race.

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Lyles was rapidly closing him down but just ran out of space. But luckily for him, he will have more space in the 100m.

"I'm so close to him at 60m, and my best part is the next 40m," he told NBC Sports' Lewis Johnson.

This is why Lyles labelled the Indoor Championships as successful.

He might not have gotten his gold medals, but he sets himself up nicely for the outdoor season. Of course, the circumstances won't always be the same, and Coleman won't be the sole competition, but Lyles is a man with a target on his back. He is the person everyone wants to beat.

Lyles and the 4 by 400m relay question

His splits for his third leg in the 4 by 400m relay were even more impressive for a man who has never run competitively in the category. Fred Kerley won't like this, but USATF will have a hard time not picking Lyles for the final Paris team if he ramps up his fitness and chemistry with his teammates.

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Explicit language warning

The 200m remains his playground. And with the world-class sprinters USA has, they are the team to beat in the relays. The four gold medals Lyles dreams of are achievable.

"Y'all got no chance."

Noah Lyles vs Fred Kerley

Sports Brief has also compared the rivalry between Lyles and Fred Kerley after their feud reignited amid the USA's 4 by 400m relay team selection in Glasgow.

The two exchanged words at last year's world championships, and ahead of the Paris Olympics later this year, we could be in for another epic showdown.