Noah Lyles has shared invaluable advise with Australian sprint sensation Gout Gout on handling pressure and criticism.
Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles has offered invaluable advice to Australian teen sprint sensation Gout Gout on handling pressure from fans.
Noah Lyles has been at the forefront when it comes to receiving love and hate in equal measure from track and field fans and with time, he has learnt to thrive with that.
At first, the triple world champion revealed that he struggled with the hate but admitted that as time progresses, one just grows thick skin.
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He explained that his mother, Keisha Cane Bishop has also been instrumental in how he has managed to bounce back from critics.
He narrated an instance where he met a fan who requested a photo and after that, he wanted to start an argument concerning the jibe he aimed at the NBA players that had caused a lot of uproar.
Gout Gout has also been a victim of the same, mostly stemming from his comparison to legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
“In terms of pressure with outside people, to be honest you just gotta laugh sometimes, you really do, it’s hilarious,” Noah Lyles said on his Beyond the Records podcast.
“First of all, people don’t know me. People are always just going to make assumptions about you, they don’t know you.
“Now, everyone is going to have their opinion and when you become somebody of a very high standard, everybody is going to have opinions, whether good or bad and they are going to have their preconceived notions.”
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Speaking about his race preparations and pre-race stunts, Noah Lyles revealed that he always has confidence in his training.
He explained that by the time he steps on the starting line, he utilises all the lessons from his previous races.
The three-time world 200m champion further revealed that with everything sorted before the race, he has enough confidence to become an entertainer and get the crowd engaged before getting the job done.
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“Truthfully, everything that I have prepared for is before the line, years out, months out, weeks out and training, all that is done,” Lyles added.
“If I got a bad start, I got a tool for that, I can fix that real quick. If I have to make sure I stay patient, I’ve been in races that have helped me stay patient, all that, so on and so forth and that’s how I keep my head.”
Gout Gout and Noah Lyles both have eyes on the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan later this year with the former expressing confidence about going for Lyles’ ‘spot.’
Noah Lyles, being the defending champion in the 100m and 200m will be keen on defending his titles but with Gout Gout and other sprinters coming up, he has his work cut out.
