Noah Lyles

Noah Lyles’ Early Life and Career

Noah Lyles was born in Gainesville, Florida, to parents who both competed in track and field at Seton Hall University. After his parents’ divorce, Lyles, with his two siblings, Josephus and Abby, moved to Alexandria, Virginia, where he attended high school.

Lyles’ first foray into sport was as a gymnast before starting his track and field journey at the age of 12.

Lyles stood out as a rising star in athletics from a young age, representing the United States at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, an under-18 world event, where he won gold in the 200-meter. Throughout the rest of his high school career, he established himself as one of the top up-and-coming athletes. Track & Field News named him their 2015 and 2016 high school athlete of the year.

He would go on to run 10.08 seconds in the 100-meter (2.2 m/s wind) to win the USATF Junior Championships and a legal 10.17-second time to win the World U20 Championships in Poland. He also picked up a gold medal at the World U20 Championships in the 4 x 100-meter relay.

In the 200-meter, Lyles ran 20.04 seconds in the heats of the 2016 Olympic Trials and finished fourth in the final with a time of 20.09 seconds, breaking a 31-year-old national high school record, although he narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympics.

Start of His Professional Career

Lyles originally intended to compete for the University of Florida after high school but opted to turn pro instead. He signed with Adidas together with his younger brother Josephus.

He started his professional career with success nationally and internationally, winning his first senior championship in the 300-meter at the 2017 USA Indoor Championships and breaking the indoor world record by one hundredth of a second with a time of 31.87 seconds.

He picked up a silver medal at the World Athletics Relays and took home two victories in the Diamond League Circuit before missing the World Championships with an injury. He won his first Diamond League Final at the Bruxelles Memorial Van Damme meeting with a time of 20.00 seconds.

The next outdoor season, in 2018, Lyles opened the year by winning the IAAF Diamond League Doha meeting with a personal best of 19.83 seconds. He would improve his personal best again when he won the IAAF Diamond League in Eugene with a time of 19.69 seconds. This time tied him with Clarence Munyai for the world lead.

He also tied the world lead in the semi-final of the 100 at the USA Championships with a time of 9.89 seconds. In the final, he edged out Ronnie Baker with a new world lead and personal best of 9.88 seconds. He became the youngest United States Champion in the 100-meter since 1984.

Success would continue for Lyles in 2018. He won the Herculis IAAF Diamond League meet held in Monaco, with a personal best time of 19.65 seconds. This time moved him into the top 10 fastest men of all time in the event.

At the Diamond League Final in Zürich, Lyles narrowly pulled ahead of the world champion Ramil Guliyev at the finish line. Lyle’s winning time of 19.67 seconds made him the second person to run under 19.70 seconds four times, joining world record holder Usain Bolt.

Noah Lyles becomes World Champion

Lyles had already seen much international success in his early career, but in 2019, he broke through to win his first world championship.

He started the outdoor season with several impressive times and victories in international events in both the 100- and 200-meter. In June, he set a new personal best in the 200 of 19.50 seconds into a slightly negative wind and moved into fourth all-time.

He would go on to win the Diamond League final for the third straight year in the 200 and win the title for the first time in the 100. His final competition of the year was the World Championships in Doha, where he won with a time of 19.83 seconds in the 200 over Canada’s Andre De Grasse. He also helped his team pick up gold in the 4 x 100.

Post-Pandemic

The 2020 season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, which also postponed the Olympics by a year. Lyles would have to wait until 2021 before winning his first Olympic medal.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Lyles ran a time of 19.74 seconds in the 200 to pick up bronze and tie his season’s best. Victory went to Andre De Grasse of Canada, who set a new personal best and Canadian national record of 19.62 seconds. Kenneth Bednarek picked up silver with a personal best of 19.68 seconds.

With an Olympic medal and World Championship already behind him, Lyles went back to work to set himself up for success at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, which would be held on home soil in Eugene, Oregon.

Lyles’s time in the final of 19.31 seconds broke Michael Johnson’s national record of 19.32 and moved him into third on the all-time list behind only Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake. He also picked up silver in the 4 x 100 meter relay.

Lyles capped his 2022 season with his fourth Diamond League final victory in the 200. He went undefeated in his 12 races that season and ran under 20 seconds in every race.

Due to the pandemic, the World Championships were held in back-to-back years. The next year, at the 2023 Budapest World Championships, Lyles returned to the top of the podium in three events.

He won the 100 with a new personal best of 9.83 seconds and the 200 with a time of 19.52 seconds. The U.S. relay team also picked up gold in the 4 x 100. His third World Championship victory in the 200 put him second on the all-time number of championship victories in the event, only behind Usain Bolt, who won the event four times.  

2024 and Beyond

In 2024, Lyles set out to be the first man to win the “triple” sprint title at the Olympics since Usain Bolt in 2016. The triple consists of victories in the 100, 200, and 4 x 100 relay. His aspirations didn’t end there, he even expressed his goal of becoming the first man to win four sprint medals at the Olympics, intending to also run the 4 x 400-meter relay.

His 2024 season started well, and he set a new 100 personal best of 9.81 seconds at the London Diamond League in July before the Olympics.

He would cruise through the preliminary and semi-finals of the 100 at the Paris Olympics before finding himself challenged in his quest for his first gold medal. Although he ran well, it looked like the Jamaican Kishane Thompson narrowly edged him at the line, with NBC announcer Leigh Diffey prematurely declaring Thompson the winner. After review with the photo finish, Lyles was declared the winner with a new personal best of 9.79 seconds, edging out Thompson by five thousandths of a second.

Lyles’ quest for his second gold medal didn’t turn out as planned. Even though he ran well with a time of 19.70 seconds, he would finish third behind Letsile Tebogo and Kenny Bednarek. After the race, he was taken off the track in a wheelchair, and it was later confirmed that he had tested positive for COVID-19 two days before. He announced that he wouldn’t run either the 4 x 100-meter or 4 x 400-meter relay.

The decision to run the 200 despite testing positive with COVID-19 received a polarized reaction. Some news outlets framed the decision as a sign of resilience, while others reported it as a sign of selfishness or even an excuse for why he didn’t win.  

Noah Lyles in 2025

Lyles didn’t seriously open his 2025 season until July, when he ran 19.88 seconds at the Monaco Diamond League event. A week later, he ran 10.00 seconds at the London Diamond League.

As the defending World Champion in the 100-meter and 200-meter, Lyles was auto-qualified for the Tokyo World Championships. He won the US Championships with a time of 19.63 seconds in the 200-meter.

He set a season best in the 100-meter of 9.89 seconds at the World Championships to finish third behind the Jamaicans Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson.

In the 200-meter, he ran a season’s best in the semi-final with 19.51 seconds. He ran almost the same time with 19.52 seconds in the final to repeat as World Champion.

He also helped Team USA win the 4×100-meter relay.

Noah Lyles Personal Life

Lyles is known for his outgoing personality and outspokenness on social media.

Lyles is a fan of the card game Yu-Gi-Oh! And has been seen carrying cards during competitions.

He got engaged to Junelle Bromfield in October 2024. Bromfield is a Jamaican track athlete who is a World Championship silver medalist and Olympic bronze medalist in the 4 x 400.

Lyles was homeschooled during his early years while later attending public high school.

Lyles was one of the focal points in the Netflix documentary Sprint.

On X, Lyles posted:

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!

FAQS

How Tall is Noah Lyles?

Noah Lyles is listed as 5’11” on his profile on the Team USA website.

Where is Noah Lyles from?

Noah Lyles was born in Gainesville, Florida. He later moved with his mother and siblings to Alexandria, Virginia.

Where Does Noah Lyles Train?

Lyles trains with Pure Athletics out of the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida.

Is Noah Lyles related to Snoop Dogg?

Noah Lyles and Snoop Dogg are not related, despite the circulating internet rumor . The confusion might have started when Snoop Dogg affectionately referred to Lyles as “nephew.”

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