If you thought Noah Lyles’s 2023 was impressive, wait till you hear what track and field’s biggest star has planned for the Olympic year.
After laying down an early marker for 2024 by winning the 60m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in 6.44sec - a personal best by 0.07sec and the fastest time of the year, the American then set his sights towards the stratosphere.
For Lyles is targeting four gold medals this year, starting with the world indoors in Glasgow next month, followed by the 100m, 200m and 4x100m at the Paris Olympics.
“I didn’t know I was in that good shape,” said Lyles, after beating the Jamaican Ackeem Blake by 0.01sec. “World lead, meet record. Now let’s go out there and get a world indoor medal in Glasgow.”
But that isn’t the limit of his ambition. “Last year I went out there and won three gold medals,” he then explained. “This year I want to get four. And if I don’t get four, I am going after three world records.”
And yes, that means going after Usain Bolt’s 100m and 200m world records, as well as Jamaica’s in the 4x100m. But he is undeterred. “If I don’t succeed, I will try, try, try again,” he added.
The signs outside the arena carried a stark message: The road to Paris starts in Boston. And for Britain’s Jake Wightman that was truer than most.
The 2022 world 1500m champion had not raced for 13 months since a freak foot injury and arrived in Boston seeking victory and the Olympic qualifying time of 3min 33.50sec.
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But he fell agonisingly close on both counts as he finished second to young US star Hobbs Kessler, who came home in 3:33.36.
Wightman’s time of 3:34.06 was an indoor personal best, but he admitted he was disappointed. “It’s not the best outcome for me, but you have to start somewhere,” he added.
