SAINT-DENIS, France — Noah Lyles’ Olympic Games have officially begun, but with a little less fanfare than expected.
The American sprinter, who is expected to fight for gold in three events, completed a trouble-free first lap of the 100 meters at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Running a time of 10.04 seconds, Lyles finished his heat in second place, falling to this year’s NCAA 100-meter champion, Louie Hinchcliffe of Great Britain. Hinchcliffe, who competes at the University of Houston under legendary U.S. Olympian Carl Lewis, won the heat in 9.98 seconds.
“These guys said they weren’t coming to play,” Lyles said. “And I guess that’s the first lesson I learned in underestimating the power of the Olympics. When someone’s on the line, they say they’re going to give it their all or nothing.”
“The plan was to be first. But it didn’t happen. Second is good. We’ll make sure it’s first from now on.”
Lyles easily qualified for Sunday’s semi-finals. But he now knows he can’t take his competition lightly.
“Now I don’t have to hold back anymore,” Lyles said.
With all eight runs complete, Lyles’ time of 10.04 seconds officially ranked as the 12th-fastest time of the day. It was his slowest run in over a year and his first run in 2024 that was 10 seconds or slower.
Fellow Americans Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley had the fastest runs of the day, clocking a comfortable 9.97 seconds ahead of their respective heats.
“It was pretty good, it was easy,” Bednarek said. “I just had to get rid of the nerves from waiting so long to get on the track. I finally got on the track and I was able to make a good shot. I’m happy with my performance. It was easy.”
Lyles’ race was not an easy one. Stuck in the middle of the pack for most of the race, the reigning 100-meter world champion surged forward late in the race, before settling into second place.
“It wasn’t any harder,” Lyles said of the race. “I kind of expected them to line up, but that’s not what happened. They took it like they had a chance and they were going to take it.”
“And to be honest, I should have expected it, knowing that it was the Olympics. But it’s the first time I’ve competed in an Olympic 100m. I didn’t do it. It’s my fault and I’m not going to let it happen again.”
In Tokyo 2021, the 200 meters was Lyles’ only individual race. He came away with bronze.
Since then, he has had a strong showing in both events. Lyles won a world championship in the 200m in 2022, before winning the world championships in the 100m and 200m in 2023.
Because of this recent success, he is expected to win a medal at these Olympics and reaffirm his status as the “fastest man in the world,” a title he won at last year’s world championships.
Lyles’ confidence is a hallmark of his personality on and off the track. He continues to call himself “the fastest man in the world,” even though Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson currently holds the world’s fastest time this year, clocking 9.77 seconds for 100 meters at the Jamaican trials.
Before Saturday’s heat, Lyles enthusiastically cheered on the crowd in the raucous 77,000-seat stadium. He raised his arms to ask for noise, pointed to the crowd and blew kisses as he was introduced.
