Noah Lyles broke a record, ripped off his shirt and hailed himself as an influencer.
On a cool Oregon evening the flamboyant American proved himself to be a showman in the Usain Bolt mould.
He broke Michael Johnson’s 26-year old US record in retaining his world 200 metre title in 19.31secs, half a second clear of team mates Kenny Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton. He then declared: “I don’t need to be seen as a track and field athlete, I need to be an influencer.
“Lately I have gone to the Met gala, the US open, literally I have been doing collabs and walked the runways at Paris fashion week.
“Usually people have Bots, but my followers aren’t. My social media is stronger than anyone else out there.”
Lyles, 25, is a breath of fresh air, supremely confident yet with enough charm to draw people to him rather than push them away.
Asked how it felt to win in front of fans on home soil after the silence of Tokyo where he could manage only Olympic bronze, the part-time rapper replied: “Like being a rock star”.
In track and field terms he most is certainly that. Five years on from Bolt’s exit the sport has been thrown a lifeline.
