Olympic champion Noah Lyles is wondering what could have been had he picked up on this one key training insight early on in the season.
Olympic champion Noah Lyles has revealed a critical training adjustment he wishes he had implemented earlier in the season, one he believes could have unlocked even faster performances in 2024.
Lyles, who concluded his season with a gold medal in the 100m and a bronze in the 200m at the Paris Olympics, discussed how addressing a technical issue in his running form helped improve his speed.
“That’s a good one right there. That’s the one I need though. That’s what’s going to keep that knee from drifting to the outside,” Lyles said in training video in regards to an exercise.
“I hated that I learned that it was doing that so late in the season. I didn’t start realizing that until we got right before London.”
This revelation came just before a pivotal race in London Diamond League in July, where Lyles faced an elite lineup that included Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and Britain’s Zharnel Hughes.
Lyles delivered ran a blistering 9.81 seconds in that race, showcasing the immediate impact of his adjustment.
At the Paris Olympics, Lyles continued his dominance in the 100m, clocking an electrifying 9.79 seconds to narrowly edge out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson. In the 200m, he secured a hard-fought bronze medal with a time of 19.70 seconds.
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For a revolutionary track and field event, potentially missing two of the sports biggest names in Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson could prove
catastrophic.
Looking ahead to 2025, Lyles is optimistic about refining his technique further and chasing even faster times.
With the issue of his knee drift addressed, the American sprinter is poised to continue his reign as one of the world’s fastest men.
