worldchampion Noah Lyles has opened up on one of the most emotional moments of his career that he eventually came out of on top.
Olympic and world champion Noah Lyles recently opened up about the hardest decision he ever had to make in his career—a choice that ultimately set him on the path to greatness.
Speaking on the Beyond the Records podcast, Lyles reflected on a pivotal moment in 2017 when he faced an agonizing dilemma at the U.S. Championships.
Having just run his first-ever 19-second 200m race, clocking 19.90 seconds, he was dealing with a two-centimeter muscle tear sustained during the run.
“I had to go to Dr. Mueller, who is essentially the magic man for healing people, and thankfully, he’s very good at his job. I never had to go back again, and I’ve never had an injury since,” Lyles recalled.
However, at the U.S. Championships, he was still not fully healed.
Lyles was forced to make a critical decision on whether he should push through the pain and risk worsening the injury to make the World Championship team, or should he step back and prioritize his long-term career?
“I had to decide whether to run through the pain and potentially get hurt or run through the pain, make the team, and hope my leg wasn’t too messed up by the time I got to London a month and a half later,” Lyles said.
“In the end, I decided not to run.”
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The decision was heartbreaking. Lyles admitted that he cried that day—the first time he ever shed tears over track and field.
At just 19 years old, he knew he had the potential to be one of the youngest world champions in history.
“I knew I could go to the World Championships. I knew I could win. I wanted to show the world that I was the best. I didn’t want to be labeled as the ‘next Usain Bolt’—I wanted to be the first Noah Lyles,” he said.
“But I was faced with a choice, go all in for one moment and risk it being my only championship ever, or miss this one and potentially never be injured again and win every championship after.”
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Looking back, Lyles believes it was the best decision he ever made. Fast forward to today, and he has six world titles to his name, including being the reigning 100m and 200m world champion.
“That was definitely the hardest decision I’ve had to ever make but it was I felt the best decision I’ve probably we ever made,” he concluded.
His strategic patience in 2017 allowed him to build a career of sustained dominance rather than risking it all for a fleeting moment.
