Noah Lyles wants his thrilling Olympic 100m victory to have a transformative effect on his sport in the United States — starting with a Michael Jordan-style sports shoe deal.
The 27-year-old American catapulted himself into a new level of stardom on Sunday after ending the USA’s 20-year wait for a gold medal in the Olympics’ most coveted title.
Lyles has frequently complained of track and field’s low profile in the United States, where the NBA, National Football League and baseball dominate the sporting landscape.
But Lyles believes his nerve-shredding victory on Sunday, and the success of the recent Netflix documentary series “Sprint”, present an opportunity for his sport — and himself — to cash in.
“I want to see a continuation of the ability to take advantage of moments for our sport,” Lyles told a press conference.
“‘Sprint’ came out, it did amazing and I know that season two is already being filmed. They’ve been doing a good job and getting already our name out.
“What we need to do as a sport is take advantage and say ‘Hey, we need to make this as available as possible for people to come and watch’, so you don’t have to go to back alley websites to try and find or pay to watch websites to get a hold of this.
“This needs to be accessible because this is a world sport. So we need to be able to show it to the world.”
From a personal point of view, Lyles says he hopes his success can prompt a major sports equipment manufacturer to put his name on his own branded shoe in the style of NBA great Jordan’s deal with Nike.
Lyles noted that few US track and field athletes, including the likes of 1996 Olympic 400m and 200m champion Michael Johnson, ever had that opportunity.
“I want my own shoe,” Lyles said. “I want my own trainer. Dead serious. I want a sneaker. There ain’t no money in spikes.
“Even Michael Johnson didn’t have his own sneaker. I feel like for how many medals we bring back, the notoriety we get, the fact that hasn’t happened is crazy to me.
“So that needs to happen.”
Lyles meanwhile was simply relieved to deliver on his promise of victory after boldly stating all season that he was “unbeatable”.
“It feels good to back it up,” Lyles said. “I’ve seen tons of scenarios where athletes come in as a favourite and it doesn’t work out for them.”
Meanwhile, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said Lyles is a consummate front man for the sport.
The exuberant American captured gold by five thousandths of a second in the most competitive men’s 100m final in Olympic history, with just 0.12 seconds separating the eight sprinters in a blanket finish.
“Well, if it’s not perfect, it’s about as close to perfect as you’ll get,” Coe said on Monday.
Lyles, who raced in braids and white beads, his nails painted in stars, put on a show, ripping his race bib from his chest and holding it aloft when he was announced the victor.
“(Lyles) is hugely important,” said Coe. “Look, I have to be relatively agnostic, but if I’m wearing a promoter’s hat, then him winning last night was important because he’s now creating a narrative that is heading us back into Usain Bolt territory.
“It’s a recognizable face, a face that have now got young people talking about. And I know that not just from being in the stadium here, but from friends of mine who’ve got young kids. They’re now talking about Noah Lyles in the same breath as some of the highest-profile sports men and women in the world.”