Noah Lyles has called for a trainer to be made in his name after becoming the Olympic 100 metres champion.
The American sprint star backed up his gold medal from last year’s World Championships by winning a thrilling 100m final in Paris by just 0.005sec from Jamaican Kishane Thompson.
And Lyles believes he should now have a shoe named after him, much like basketball legend Michael Jordan.
‘I want my own shoe,’ said the 27-year-old. ‘I want my own trainer. That’s serious. I want a sneaker.
‘There ain’t no money in spikes, there’s money in sneakers. Even Michael Johnson didn’t have his own sneaker.
‘For how many medals we bring back, for the notoriety were get, the fact that hasn’t happened, that’s crazy to me. That needs to happen.’
Lyles ran a personal best of 9.79sec to land his first Olympic gold medal. But he was only declared the winner following a photo finish, admitting he thought Thompson had beaten him.
‘After the race when we were waiting for the names to come up, I came over and said to Kishane, ‘I think you’ve got that one big dog’,’ said Lyles.
‘When my name popped up, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I am amazing’. I wasn’t ready to see my name.’
Lyles now believes he will back up his 100m title with victories in the 200m and 4x100m relay, just like he did at the World Championships.
‘I’m pretty confident, I can’t lie,’ he said. ‘I’ll be winning. When they come off the turn, they will be depressed.
‘The 200m is my better event and now I got a PB in the 100m, I’m ready to take it to the 200m.’
Lyles’ victory made amends for his disappointing Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, when he finished third in the 200m, having failed to make the US team in the 100m.
Asked when he was first motivated to win gold in Paris, Lyles pulled out his bronze medal from Tokyo and said: ‘I was fuelled as soon as I saw this is in my hand. The journey started after 2021 when I got the bronze medal and I said, ‘I have to change’.
‘Now I am going around as the Olympic champion. I have that title as the world’s fastest man. This has been years in the making.
‘This is the one I wanted. I wanted to prove that I’m the man amongst all of them. I’m the wolf amongst wolves.’
Lyles then also challenged his friend Snoop Dogg – who has been in Paris cheering on the USA team – to a race.
‘If Snoop wants to set up, let’s set it up, and we will race,’ he said.
