Lyles Readies For Rise In Olympic Spotlight

IF TELEVISION COMMERCIALS and magazine covers can sway you, then yes, you probably agree that Noah Lyles is the slam-dunk favorite to win the Olympic sprint double next month. Lyles, who won the 100/200 double against the odds last summer at the Worlds in Budapest, would likely agree with you.

“The blueprint was 2023,” he said at the Trials. “And now we’re making it happen.”

It’s fair to acknowledge that if anyone has a chance to win both in Paris, it’s Lyles. While there are other legitimate contenders at each distance, none put the 100 and the 200 together like the 26-year-old American. Yet a look back at the history of the double shows that it is no walk in the park, and that for Lyles, it may represent the biggest challenge of his career.

Since the dawn of modern professional track — we’re going to arbitrarily go with the 1984 Olympics for the purposes of this article — the sprint double for men has only been achieved 4 out of 10 possible Games. That history starts with Carl Lewis in 1984; the New Jersey native also won golds in the 4 x 100 and long jump to begin his legendary Olympic career. And though he won golds in the next three Olympics as well, he never again captured the 100/200 double.

Then, of course, came Usain Bolt. The Jamaican captured the double in 2008, 2012 and 2016. In the latter two Games he was on the winning 4 x 100 as well; only the doping DQ of a teammate kept him from that honor in 2008. No one did it better than Bolt; he still claims the Olympic Records at 9.63 (’12) and 19.30 (’08), plus the relay at 36.84 (’12).

Historically, one can’t ignore the World Championships sprint double, though it’s not exactly the same. The possibility comes up more often (18 times since ’84) and one can argue that the pressure surrounding the World double is nowhere near that of the Olympics, so it perhaps shouldn’t be lumped in the same category. It’s been accomplished 7 times: Maurice Greene (’99), Justin Gatlin (’05), Tyson Gay (’07), Usain Bolt (’09, ’13, ’15) and by Lyles last summer.

What does it take to pull off the double? Nerves of steel, for one. The championships setting is hard and emotionally overwhelming. Lyles’ Tokyo ’21 experience, taking the 200 bronze, gives him…