"His confidence is rubbing off on me" - Noah Lyles girlfriend and Olympian Junelle Bromfield heaps praise on sprinter at Paris Olympics 

Paris gold medallist Noah Lyles is not only making history on the field but also making a positive impact on those around him, including his Jamaican girlfriend, Junelle Bromfield. She lives and trains with him in Florida.

Bromfield recently spoke about her relationship with Lyles and their long-term connection with each other. She divulged that the day after his win in the 100m was their second dating anniversary. The 26-year-old also said Lyles' mental health advice has helped her and that his confidence is rubbing off on her.

Bromfield has qualified for the next round of the women’s 400 meters.

She said, “The relationship developed from our friendship. We have been friends since 2017. Now we are in a relationship and today is actually our two-year dating anniversary, so that is pretty good. (But) We can’t celebrate right now as he is running the 200m and I have to recover.”

Bromfield said that Lyles has been talking about winning the 100m for quite some time and that she had told him he would 'definitely' claim gold:

“I’m extremely happy for Noah. I’ve heard him talking about wanting to win the Olympic 100m so many times.

"Before he went out there yesterday (before the final), I told him that he was definitely going to win. After the semi-finals, I told him the same thing. He and his whole family believed, and he came out victorious.”

On her side, Bromfield expressed disappointment after missing out on a medal in the 4 x 400m relay (Mixed final), where Jamaica finished fifth.

She commented, “I went out a bit too conservatively because in the 4x400m relay (mixed final) we were in lane two, and I had too much energy. My coach wanted me to finish strong, so I needed to be more cautious. The race got away.”

She also admitted she was using Lyles’ win as an inspiration, saying:

“His confidence is rubbing off on me. I’m out here running the individual 400m. I’ve been to the Olympics before, and the world championships, doing the 4x400m relay, and now I have my own lane here.

"I feel that energy. He focuses a lot on mental health, and I’m now starting to do that (too). It is helping me a lot.”

Bromfield knows the need for mental health awareness and therapy. This happened when she went through a difficult period after the passing of her mother due to cervical cancer in February 2021.

That’s where Noah helped her, since he had experienced mental health issues before. After he won a bronze medal in 200m in Japan (behind Andre De Grasse and Kenneth Bednarek), he told reporters the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics and the murder of George Floyd affected him a great deal. He even took anti-depressants for a while.

Bromfield learned a lot about how to cope with mental health issues from Lyles.

This is Junelle Bromfield’s second Olympics campaign. She already has a medal of her own from the 4 x 400m relay in Tokyo. She was part of the team that ended seventh in the 4x400m Relay Mixed Team at the 2020 Olympics. After being in relay teams in Tokyo, she made it to the team in an individual event, the 400m, in Paris.