After a strong showing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Noah Lyles won gold in the 100-meter and got bronze in the 200-meter while battling COVID, Lyles recently appeared on The Dan Patrick Show.
Patrick asked Lyles who was the fastest person in the world.
“It’s me,” Lyles confidently replied. “That’s what the title says.”
Patrick followed Lyles’ answer, “If I look at Usain’s time, is he technically?
Lyles responded to Patrick, saying that’s a record but not a title.
Lyles added that the fastest person title has always followed the person who won the Olympic and World Championship 100-meter gold medals. But for the last 16 years, it just happened to be Bolt.
Patrick asked, “How long do you think it would take for somebody to surpass Bolt’s time in the 100 meters?”
“I’m tryna get done as soon as possible,” Lyles replied.
“As athletes, we’re always looking to improve ourselves, and we’re always looking for greater challenges, Lyles continued. “I think everyone sees the world record as one, as incredible, and two I want that to be me.”
For the record, Usain Bolt does believe Lyles could potentially break his record in the 200-meter and has said that publicly. In an interview in March with CITUS MAG’s Anderson Monroe, Bolt got asked about the 200-meter record and who could beat it.
“People are talking about the world record. You’ve got Noah Lyles, Letsile Tebogo, and Erriyon Knighton. How do you assess the landscape of sprinting right now?”
Bolt gave his opinion “It was never easy.”
“I’ve said it and always said that it’s not easy running back-to-back events and then going out to break the world record because your body runs out of energy,” Bolt continued. “I think the possibility is there because [Noah Lyles] came close at the World Championships. I think, if he corrects a few things, I won’t say, he could get better. The possibility is there.”
Monroe: “You won’t say?”
Bolt: “I won’t tell you how to break the world record.”
The 100-meter record is 9.58. Bolt set the mark at the 2009 World Championship. Lyles ran a personal best 9.78.
Lyles believes he is the top candidate to break the record of the fastest man ever. He won the 100m and 200m titles at the 2023 World Championships. And after his performance in the Olympics, he deserves to be favored to break the world record. Evident by his vow, Lyles is strongly confident in himself doing so.
