By Amy Tennery
PARIS (Reuters) – American Noah Lyles will bring his “main character energy” to the Stade de France on Saturday as he begins his quest for the Olympic sprint double in the men’s 100 metres heats.
The affable showman of the track has only added to his fame since winning double world gold in Budapest last year, starring in the popular Netflix docu-series “SPRINT”, and wants the spotlight to himself in the blue-riband event in Paris.
He failed qualify for the shorter sprint at the Olympics three years ago and won bronze in the 200 – his signature event – before embarking on a period of self-reflection.
“As I go into these Games on the biggest stage in the world, I am saying to myself, ‘I’ve been through the hardest parts, been at the bottom, fought my way back up and fixed the weaknesses’,” said Lyles.
Lyles clocked 9.81 seconds to win at the London Diamond League meeting in his final Olympic tune-up event last month, a promising sign for American fans.
While most bookmakers would put him as a strong favourite in the longer sprint – he has not lost a 200 metres race since Tokyo – he could face a tougher road in the 100, as he takes on young challengers from the United States’ arch-rival Jamaica.
Oblique Seville handed him his only 100 loss of the season in Kingston in June and Kishane Thompson set the world leading mark of 9.77 at the Jamaica team trials.
That duo will be hungry to get their country back to the top of the podium eight years after retired great Usain Bolt last took the gold.
While the defending Olympic champion would typically command a decent share of the spotlight, Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs has rarely been a factor on the track following a series of injuries since his shock win in Tokyo three years ago.
Instead, Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala appeared on everyone’s radar when he won his national trials in 9.79, while Lyles’ compatriots Kenny Bednarek and Tokyo silver medallist Fred Kerley remain perennial contenders.
Bednarek, who took silver in the 200 three years ago and put down a season’s best 9.87 in the 100 in June, said his work ethic would show up on the track.
“I’ve always been in a situation of an underdog,” he told reporters at a Team USA media event earlier this year.
“All I do is just work hard and, you know, I have dreams I want to accomplish, and I make sure to get that job done.”
The South African Akani Simbine goes for a podium spot after many years as track’s “also-ran”.
He finished fifth in Rio and fourth in Tokyo – four hundredths of a second off the podium – and finished fifth at the 2022 worlds.
“This year, I’m running less stressed. I’m running freer, I’m running without any pressure. I’m trying to be the little kid that I was who’s just running for fun,” he said in an Olympics.com interview.
The men’s Olympic 100 metres opening heats are set for Saturday.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Paris; Editing by Toby Davis)
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