Track and field standout Noah Lyles loves representing America on the world stage... but only kind of.
The 26-year-old from Gainesville, FL does more than his fair share at contributing to American excellence in the sport. Last year, he won three gold medals at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary.
This upcoming summer, Lyles is a heavy favorite to not just win the 200-meter race at the Paris Summer Olympics, he’s a candidate to break Usain Bolt's world record of 19.19 seconds in the event. He will also compete in the 100-meter, 4x100 relay, and 4x400-relay.
Lyles looks forward to competing and representing his homeland, but said he has mixed feelings.
"It’s a bittersweet moment. I’m American, and I truly believe that we are the best in the world, especially when it comes to sports. We have definitely been proving that dominance. … And it feels good to add on to that collection that the U.S. is the best," Lyles told Fox News.
The track star said that he calls this honor “bittersweet” because he doesn’t always feel respected as a person by America at large when he’s not competing.
"But at the same time, it’s with a heavy heart, because being Black in America, there’s a lot to deal with. I’m not going to go into everything, but it’s not easy. It’s hard to love the country that sometimes doesn’t love you back,” Lyles continued. “At the same time, you always want to put your best foot forward. So, it’s a little contradicting, it's with a heavy heart, but it still makes you feel extremely proud because you are an American."
So he’s proud of America’s track excellence, but not necessarily America itself. What contributes to him feeling like America doesn’t love him because he’s black?
He didn’t say. People like Lyle don’t offer a lot of examples. They just count on people to believe them, because no one can question the validity of that statement if you say you've suffered racism somehow.
Lyles may have suffered racism in some way, I don’t want to be completely insensitive. But this is the America that cheers him on the Olympics, the America that offered him the opportunity to show how great he is at the sport. It sounds like he’s doing his best impression of the U.S. women’s soccer team by using his platform to push racist and leftist narratives with his platform.
Don’t expect him to stop anytime soon. Lyles doesn’t just want to dominate the upcoming Olympics. He wants to become the face of the sport worldwide.
"I feel that a lot of who I am has been a brand in pushing the sport and pushing the needle," he said. "Which is something I’ve always worked towards. That’s why I have media days where I take interviews that are outside of track and field, why I take on most questions and not answer with ‘no comment.’"
"I want to be able to give my voice and my thoughts and see people look at the sport and be like, ‘Wow, I like that guy, I want to see more of him, I want to watch more of this sport,’” Lyles added.
I’ll certainly be rooting for Lyles to win lots of medals in Paris. But I get the feeling that we might hear him become the next leftist spokesperson if he gains higher recognition.
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— MRCTV (@mrctv) March 13, 2024