Will Noah Lyles be the man to break Usain Bolt's world records?

Noah Lyles is set to battle it out for one of the Olympics’ most prized medals: the 100m sprint. Over the past few years, Lyles has emerged as one of the best sprinters in the world, but now, with Olympic glory in sight, can he claim the gold medal, and possibly push for world records?

Lyles has been in good form of late, running a 9.83 second 100 at the US Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Lyles followed up his trial by running a personal best 9.81 100m at a Diamond League meeting in London, per ESPN.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

Lyles told reporters after his race, “I could have had a better start, but the transitions were great and coming away with a PB, this has been what I prayed for and what I wanted,” suggesting there is more to come from the American.

Lyles has been adamant he will win the Olympic gold, telling reporters, “I'm going to win. That's what I always do,” per ESPN.

Despite his confidence, Lyles’ PB time in London was only the third-fastest time this year, with Kishane Thompson (Jamaica) and Ferdinand Omanyala (Kenya) running 9.77 and 9.79 respectively, per World Athletics.

If Lyles is to overcome Thompson, it would be the Jamaican’s first 100m loss of 2024, per LetsRun. Lyles may be confident and in form, but Thompson is at least his match, making this one of the best rivalries at the 2024 Games.

Lyles is unlikely to beat Usain Bolt’s world record 100m time at the Paris Olympics, needing to shade nearly a quarter of a second off his PB to beat Bolt’s 9.58 time. The 200m is a different story, with Lyles’ personal best of 19.31 being the fourth-fastest time ever, and only .12 of a second off Bolt’s world record.

Despite a playful personality and incredible skill and talent on the track, Lyles has found himself in the midst of controversy in the past, having angered American basketball fans. Lyles questioned the legitimacy of NBA teams calling themselves “world champions”, asking, “World champion of what? The United States?” per The Hilltop.

Lyles’ comments drew ire from NBA players, with Kevin Durant writing, “Somebody help this brother,” on X (formerly Twitter) and Draymond Green commenting, “When being smart goes wrong”. Perhaps Lyles, who has six world championships to his name, can win over some fans by completing the Bolt-sweep of sprinting events, 100m, 200m, 4x100m, at Paris, maybe even breaking a world record along the way.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!