Noah Lyles Says “Confidence” Caused Him to Beat Kishane Thompson in Olympic 100m Final
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August 20, 2024
Paris Olympics 2024 100m gold medalist Noah Lyles chats with Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson about what it took to win the 100m final versus Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville despite the two looking more impressive in the semi-finals.
According to Lyles, after he finished second in the semi-final of the 100m, he was contacted by his therapist who urged him to run with less “aggression” and more freedom, he was told, “if you control the crowd, you control the race”.
The iconic American sprinter detailed that this advice caused him to run out on the track in the final to hype the crowd in his favour.
“It’s not about running fast times, its about running to win… The time will come,” Lyles stated with regards to clocking the best time in the final.
He next pointed to his “confidence” when compared to his competitors, according to Lyles, his confidence caused him to get back into the race despite being outrun in the first 80m of the race. He said, “It’s a confidence thing”.
The experienced sprinter agrees with the notion that Thompson is not experienced in running full-out to the finish line and usually slows down about 80m into his races, something that haunted him in the final.
Lyles detailed that in the final race, most of the athletes used up their energy in the initial stages of the race, which is something he did not do, causing him to have enough energy to catch-up to the front runners close to the end of the race.
For him, remaining focused and seizing the moments was important for him and panicking was not an option.
Watch the full interview below:
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