Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles spoke out about the string of mental and physical issues he has dealt with in his life after claiming gold in dramatic fashion on Sunday in Paris.
The American superstar won an incredible 100m final, beating Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson to the gold medal by the narrowest of margins.
The incredibly high quality contest saw all eight men finish in under 10 seconds for the first time, with all within 0.12s of the gold medal.
Lyles emerged as the champion, though, and the 27-year-old adds 100m gold to the 200m bronze he won in Tokyo.
The Team USA star has been through a lot to reach the high point of his career so far and he detailed some of the issues he has struggled with in a bid to inspire anyone reading to follow their dreams.
Lyles posted on X: ‘I have Asthma, allergies, dyslexia, ADD, anxiety, and Depression.
‘But I will tell you that what you have does not define what you can become. Why Not You!’
Lyles came into Paris as the reigning world champion in both 100m and 200m after gold in Budapest last year.
He feels the 200m is his best event and will bid to become double Olympic champthis week, with the final coming up on Thursday.
It has been an incredible journey for him to reach this point and he spoke out before this year’s Olympics about the issues he has overcome.
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On the intense asthma problems he dealt with during the Covid pandemic, he told TIME: ‘I could barely talk. I was so tired. All the time. Even thinking was a drain. It felt like you were almost in a constant asthma attack.
‘You know there’s more room in your lungs, but you can’t physically use the muscles to actually take that breath.’
Lyles also spoke of the bullying he suffered during his school days, describing it as: ‘An emotional beating, that’s the stuff that really breaks you down.’
The superstar sprinter has overcome it all, though, and fancies more success, telling the BBC after 100m glory: ‘There’s plenty more. I hope you like Noah, I’ve got a lot more coming.’
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