Noah Lyles versus lightning: The race for Usain Bolt's 100m and 200m world records 

Lightning never strikes the same place twice, so says the idiom. At least, it never did until Usain Bolt flashed across the track and struck double gold at the Olympic Games Beijing 2008.

The eight-time Olympic champion and double world record holder from Jamaica announced his arrival to the world with great fanfare, securing back-to-back victories, and better yet, back-to-back world records in the men’s 100 metres (9.69 seconds) and 200 metres (19.30 seconds).

Those marks would not stand long, as Bolt clocked 9.58 seconds in 100 metres and 19.19 seconds in the 200 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany. While his reign over the sprints would last another seven years, his marks would prove unbeatable.

When he hung up his spikes in 2017, he left a large zigzag-shaped hole over the men’s sprints. Numerous athletes attempted to fill it, but none succeeded. Enter Noah Lyles.

Lyles rose to prominence just as Bolt was leaving the sport. He won his first Diamond League meet in 2017, his first outdoor World Championship gold in 2019, and his first Olympic medal, bronze in the men’s 200m, at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

He continued to establish himself as the next great sprinter, clocking 19.31 in the 200 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon to put himself third on the all-time leaderboard in the event.

Now, as the newly crowned “fastest man in the world,” a title he claimed by winning the 100m and 200m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, he’s ready to chase the impossible at Olympic Games Paris 2024: striking faster than lighting.

Noah Lyles chases a gold medal and world record at Paris 2024

While he has accomplished a lot in athletics, Noah Lyles remains resolute in his desire to be the greatest there ever was at sprinting.

“I think when everybody gets to the top, they start to realise, 'What do I have to do to be considered the greatest when I leave the sport?'” said Lyles, after storming to victory in the 200 metres at the US Olympic Team Trials 2024.

“Grabbing a world record is one of two things that I still have left to do: one being grabbing an Olympic gold, and then, two, grabbing a world record.”

Lyles will have his work cut out for him at Paris 2024. He’ll need to defeat the likes of Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions Marcell Jacobs and Andre De Grasse, Jamaican hopefuls Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville, Africa’s rising stars Ferdinand Omanyala and Letsile Tebogo, and American teammates Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley if he wants to cross the first item off his to-do list.

He’ll then need to win in historic fashion, clocking a time faster than 9.58 seconds in the men’s 100m or 19.19 seconds in the 200m, if he wants to cross the second item off his to-do list.

While he is a favourite to win both events at Paris 2024, Lyles is already eyeing one event in particular for a world record: the 200m.

“I say that the 200 is the easier of the two,” he explained to reporters at the US Olympic Team Trials 2024. “[I’m] not saying that they're easy, per se. But for sure, that's the one that I have my heart set on the most.”

Despite his desire to see the records fall, he relishes the challenge of beating Bolt’s times.

“What’s winning without a crowd? What’s winning without competition? What’s winning without the hardship?” he pondered publicly at the US Olympic Team Trials 2024. “You know, if it’s easy to win, why do it? If anybody can do it, why do it? It’s the hard things that I want to go after.”

With his personal aims set incredibly high for Paris 2024, there’s no doubt about the truthfulness of his words. The only question left is can he do it?

Usain Bolt breaks his silence on Lyles’ pursuit of his world records

A rivalry, even one between a retired athlete and current world champion, isn’t much of a rivalry without personal stakes for those involved.

While generally tight-lipped about his thoughts on Lyles and the American sprinter’s desire to break his world records, Usain Bolt shared his thoughts as a guest on NETFLIX’s recent documentary, SPRINT.

“Noah Lyles is a great athlete,” states Bolt in an interview recorded for the show. “He is full of energy. He has the crowd… Mentally he is very strong. He believes in himself.”

Sprinting’s greatest champion then confesses, “But if he breaks the world record, I am not gonna be happy.”

Bolt did offer a more diplomatic assessment shortly after his confession, noting, “World records are meant to be broken. I wish him all the best, but it's not going to be easy.”

Cracking a wry smile and quick chuckle, Bolt seemed to understand the physical hardship and mentally daunting nature of beating his best times.

The Jamaican Olympic champion will surely be watching as Lyles attempts to get the last laugh by snatching one, or both, of his records en route to a potential gold medal.

His interview has certainly set the tone in one of sport’s most compelling world record rivalries ahead of Paris 2024.

Noah Lyles vs Usain Bolt: Best times ever

Noah Lyles aims to push athletics forward, even beyond world records

While much of the focus will be his quest for gold and pursuit of Bolt’s world records, Lyles has even bigger goals for himself and athletics as a whole.

In an interview with NBC Sports last December, Lyles reviewed his stellar 2023 season and his track career up until that point. He declared, “I refuse to just be another athlete that is known for running. It’s not me. I specifically said, I know what [Usain] Bolt has done, I want to do more.”

Discontent, with being a person known only for his speed, Lyles has built up a mythology and brand around himself. He’s brought style to the track, often appearing in designer outfits ahead of major races. He’s been vocal about his love of anime, and has even raced with Yu-Gi-Oh cards in his singlet. He’s courted controversy through his words, while creating headlines with his legs. All in an attempt to raise the profile of the sport he’s spent years practising.

While his endgame isn’t clear, his intentions remain much clearer.

“A lot of people will be like 'well, the world record has to be your magnum opus.' And the answer is no. That’s just another stepping stone to pushing the sport along,” said Lyles in the same interview with NBC Sports.

While a potential world record might be one small step in the grand scheme of things for Lyles, it may just be one giant leap for the sport of athletics in the long run.

How to watch athletics at the Olympic Games Paris 2024

All the action from Paris 2024, including the men’s 100m and 200m, can be watched via media rights holders (MRHs).

MRHs include Nine in Australia, Globo in Brazil, CBC in Canada, CCTV in People's Republic of China, Fuji TV/NHK/Nippon TV/TBS/TV Asahi/TV Tokyo in Japan, SKY NZ in New Zealand, SuperSport in South Africa, NBC in the United States, and Discovery Eurosport across Europe, alongside France Télévisions in France, ARD/ZDF in Germany, and BBC Sport in the United Kingdom, among others.

Check listings in other regions for your local broadcaster.