PUNE: Noah Lyles is all about fractions of a second. The finest of margins define his sport, and the man himself — the fastest in the world at the moment. In the city as brand ambassador for the Bajaj Pune Marathon, one glimpse of the Paris Olympic 100m champion is enough to feel the energy he carries within. In an extensive chat with TOI, the American sprinter tells us he never liked to go to school or college. But when he breaks down his races, he appears nothing short of a mathematician.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Excerpts:What are your first impressions of India?I’m pretty excited to be here. I have a very big Indian following on social media, and for about two years I kept telling my agent, “I’ve got to make it out”. This is the first time we’ve had the time, or forced time to finally come here.
What makes you technically so strong and the fastest in today’s era?From early on, I was always a student of what I do, how I run, what makes great athletes, what makes champions. I’m extremely ambitious. It’s also about training smarter, not harder. A lot of people think if they just give all their effort, they’ll get better. That’s true to a degree, but it’s much more efficient to know why you’re training.I learned why I need certain foods, which foods my body works best with, what kind of massages work best, when I need a chiropractor. These little details are what make me dangerous. I’m always looking for the weakest chink in the armour so I can patch it up, make it stronger. As that gets stronger, I get stronger.People talk about your speed, not as much about your ‘race IQ’. Do you make decisions mid-race?Oh yeah, absolutely, especially in the 200 metres. The 100m is different. In the 100, it’s about execution, and you might get one chance to adjust. In the 200m, you can make two or three adjustments. The most common one is how I come off the turn. I watch how much energy people use in the first 100 metres if they try to run away from me. Often, they don’t have enough left for the second half. I also analyse whether they transfer energy from the first 100 to the second.Very few athletes do that well — (Usain) Bolt, Justin (Gatlin), Johan (Blake), Tyson (Gay). I’ve seen a little of it in one up-and-coming athlete, but I won’t name him. I don’t want to put pressure on him. I want him to find his own path.With such fine margins between success and defeat, how do you handle pressure?There is pressure, for sure, but I try not to make a big deal out of it. I’m doing what I love. How many people can say they run for nine seconds and the whole world goes crazy? That’s a blessing.I don’t see pressure, I see opportunity. If it’s hard or challenging, good. I don’t want it to be easy. If I wanted easy, I’d get a factory job pushing a button every day, but I’d be bored. I want challenges, I want goals. I want to shoot for the stars.You’ve spoken about going after Bolt’s times. Which feels more realistic now — 100m or 200m?The 200m is the closest in sight. Running 19.31 secs and being the third-fastest human makes it easier to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But I don’t see a reason not to keep pushing in both.
