Saint-Denis: Noah Lyles walks around the Olympic Village in disguise, wearing sunglasses, a hat and even a mask to cut down on some of the attention he receives. On the track, he can’t avoid it. Or everyone’s best shot.
It’s a lesson he learned when finishing second in his opening heat of the Olympic 100 meters Saturday.
The American got off to a sluggish start and finished in 10.04 seconds, which was .06 behind Louie Hinchliffe, a British sprinter being trained by Carl Lewis. Going against Lyles is always a big deal.
“These boys said they were coming to play,” he said. “That’s my first lesson in underestimating the power of the Olympics. When somebody’s on the line, they’re going to give it their all or nothing.
“But now I don’t have to hold back. I’m ready to go.” Lyles was clowning around before settling into the starting blocks. He preened for the camera, flashed his Team USA-themed nail polish — the color blue with stars —and threw some imaginary jabs like a prized fighter. He fed off the noise from the packed stadium. Once the race started, he needed to tap into an extra gear to climb back into second.
“To be honest, I was kind of playing my cards close to the chest,” Lyles explained.
The second-place finish means Lyles, the reigning world champion at 100 and 200 meters, won’t have the premier lane choice when he races in the semifinals Sunday. If he advances from that, he’ll race for the gold medal later in the evening.
“I downplayed my competitors for sure,” Lyles said. “I was like, There’s no reason to really put any emphasis on it.’ But these guys proved to me that they’re ready to compete. I said, All right, I can’t do that anymore.’ I promise that will not happen again.”
Kishane Thompson tops heat
Also advancing in the early heats were Kishane Thompson of Jamaica, who jogged the last 20 meters and won his heat in 10 seconds flat. Thompson’s heat was delayed several minutes after British sprinter Jeremiah Azu was called for a false start. Azu looked at the replay and pleaded his case with the officials before being leaving the track.
Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya won his in 10.08 and Oblique Seville of Jamaica captured his heat in 9.99. Reigning Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs, who said he was bitten by an insect while in the starting blocks, finished second in his heat to advance.
“I made a few mistakes at the start,” Jacobs said, “which didn’t allow me to get the pace that I wanted.” Lyles’ American teammate Kenny Bednarek won his heat in strong fashion. Bednarek is looking to break out of the shadow of Lyles.
“This year, I’m changing the narrative. I’ve been the underdog for a couple years,” said Bednarek, a silver medalist in the 200 meters at the Tokyo Olympics. “I’m not trying to be the underdog, I’m trying to be the top dog. Once I finally hit that milestone, I’m not coming back. I’m going to run away with it.” For Lyles, this was just business. After his race, he even approached Hinchliffe with words of encouragement.
“Just, Well done,’” Hinchliffe said of their conversation. “Just acknowledging me.” Lyles said the pressure of the world championships last summer was more than that of these Olympics.
“I felt like I had to fight to prove that I was the fastest,” said Lyles, one of the stars of the Netflix documentary on sprinters. “This time, a lot of people know it and I already have the target on my back.” He’s not sure what kind of time it’s going to take to claim Olympic gold but he is confident of this: “I’m going to run it,” Lyles said.
Noah Lyles walks around the Olympic Village in disguise, wearing sunglasses, a hat and even a mask to cut down on some of the attention he receives. On the track, he can’t avoid it. Or everyone’s best shot. It’s a lesson he learned when finishing second in his opening heat of the Olympic 100 meters Saturday. Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
