CLERMONT, Fla. – After winning three gold medals at the 2023 world track and field championships, Noah Lyles dreams of hitting the quadruple sprint in Paris.
Lyles, who specializes in the 100m and 200m, would like to compete in the two short sprints in addition to the 4×100 and 4×400 relays at the Paris Olympics. Lyles showcased his 400-meter skills at the 2024 world indoor championships in Glasgow, Scotland, on Sunday when he was part of Team USA’s silver-medal winning 4×400 relay team. He also finished second in the 60 meters. Two events that are not his strong suit.
“Right. I want to do all of that. Last year I did the double. This year we went really hard in the weight room and it was able to give me the ability to handle more of a load. I think I was able to prove that when we went to Glasgow,” he said Lyles in an interview with USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. “I was able to run three 60 (meter) laps in one day, take a break and run after the 4×400 relay. Two completely different events and very little time to prepare for them. I just feel like every time I face a new challenge, my body responds to it.”
Lyles is the reigning world champion in the 100 and 200 and the American record holder in the 200. But he drew some criticism for being allowed to run the 4×400 relay at the world indoor championships.
Sprinter Fred Kerley, who is the 2022 world champion in the 100 and the 2018 Diamond League champion in the 400, accused U.S. track and field officials of favoritism toward Lyles and called the national governing body “puppets.”
When USA TODAY Sports asked Lyles about Kerley’s comments, he shrugged it off.
“Everybody wants to be the guy. Everyone wants to be the man. This doesn’t happen by accident,” Lyles said. “To Fred, if you want to run the relay, all I’m saying is tell people you want them to do it and keep telling them until they say yes. Guess what, the first time I asked, it wasn’t a yes. I can promise you that. While it may have seemed like it happened by magic, it was hard work, dedication and letting the right people know that I wanted to do it.”
Lyles is not a complete novice in the 400 meters. In fact, the event is in his blood. His mother, Keisha Caine Bishop, and father, Kevin Lyles, were both accomplished 400-meter runners. They competed collegiately at Seton Hall University.
Caine Bishop supports Lyles’ dream of running four events in Paris, but in typical motherly fashion, wants her son to prioritize listening to his body and health.
“If he wants to, as long as after all these rounds, his body is fine,” Caine Bishop told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s so many laps, plus the 4×100 relay.”
There are traditionally four rounds in the 100 and 200 (heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals). Lyles would have to be prepared to run at least 10 different times if he were to add both relays to his Olympic schedule. A daunting challenge even for a premier and seasoned athlete like Lyles.
Lyles coach Lance Brauman is more diplomatic when it comes to his star athlete expanding his repertoire in the 4×400 relay, but admitted Lyles has 400-meter range.
“In my system and how we train here, sprinters sprint. Train where you can run anything from 100m to 400m. But the emphasis for him is the 100m and 200m,” Brauman said. “Anything that comes with the relay is a country decision. Like I told him, this should be something you do for fun. Our job is to be a 100 and 200 meter sprinter. And that’s where my focus is. … I need him to build the team first.”
It would be one of the biggest surprises in American track and field history if Lyles doesn’t qualify for the Paris Olympics at the US Olympic Team Trials in June. Assuming Lyles makes the US team, we’ll have to wait and see if he gets a chance to run four events in Paris. But Lyles certainly advocates the quadruple sprint.
Follow USA TODAY Sports Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.