"You don't want to be like me"- When Noah Lyles shared his advice to young athletes who aspire to follow in his footsteps

Three-time Olympic medalist sprinter, Noah Lyles, once shared a motivating and inspirational message with the upcoming athletes. Last year, Lyles expressed encouraging words to the younger track and field athletes.

During his interview with BuzzFeed’s Karlton Jahmal in August 2024, the iconic track star, Noah Lyles, encouraged aspiring athletes to focus on their individuality and authenticity rather than following other sports personalities. Lyles shared:

“I always tell athletes pretty much the same thing. They always come up to me like, 'I want to be like you.' And I'm like, 'You don't want to be like me. You want to be like you, because that's how you become like me.'”

He continued:

“If you are like you, if you just own who you are, learn who you are, and love yourself and find what you love. That right there is going to carry you so much further in life than anything could truly carry you. You will be leaps and bounds above people.”

With his message, Lyles is encouraging athletes to identify their passion, further highlighting the importance of self-awareness and self-acceptance. By understanding their strength, the young athletes will stand out.

Noah Lyles has seven World Championship medals, of which six are gold. He specializes in the 60-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter events. Along with his Olympic and World Championship feats, he has five Diamond League trophies as well.

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Noah Lyles reflects on having greater collaboration between athletes to raise awareness of track and field

Noah Lyles at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Noah Lyles has become one of the best sprinters from the States and solidified his place among the top athletes by winning the 100m at the 2024 Paris Olympics. During his interview with the Olympics in 2023, he shared his thoughts on how the sport can rise in growth and popularity as he said:

“You look at our sport and we don’t even hang out with the athletes in our own sport. The big rock stars [from track & field] of our past and present don’t even hang out together. How can we get to this higher level that we all want to talk about and we aren’t even doing what’s needed to show that we respect each other?”

The two-time gold medalist from the World U20 Championships highlighted that to elevate the sport, the past and present athletes should have greater unity. Lyles won three medals in the World Relays and two gold medals in the IAAF Continental Cup. Apart from his track career, Lyles also works towards the advancement of mental health.