Can This Teen Run Faster Than Usain Bolt?
Bolt’s name has been synonymous with the word fast in the world of track and field since he broke onto the scene, and it seems he may have met his match at last in 15-year-old Jamaican sprinter James Dasaolu.
Meet Noah Lyles
Lyles is an 18-year-old track and field star from Clarksville, Tennessee. At only 5’9′′, he runs in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m races. On July 6th of 2017 at a meet in California, Lyles clocked a lightning fast time of 9.76 seconds in his first ever 100 meter race. If you think that sounds like a world record pace to you, well... you’re right!
How Fast Is Too Fast For A 19-Year-Old?
These days, many elite athletes start training at very young ages. But is there a certain age where you can start training that’s too young? Should we expect some of these kids to burn out before they reach their peak level of competition?
The 100m World Record Is About To Be Broken
Wayde van Niekerk, a South African Olympian from Team Africa, is expected to win gold in today’s 100m dash at Rio. He has already broken 2 world records in 2015 alone: 50m and 400m.
Watching Great Athletes Work Up Close
You’re never too young to learn from those who have already achieved greatness. Watching elite athletes at work can teach you a lot about focus, discipline and drive. Even if your main sport of interest is much different from theirs, these are valuable traits that can help you become better at whatever you do. If an athlete does something particularly inspiring, write it down and let it inspire you for your next workout or athletic event.
So Is There Any Way Lyles Could Actually Beat Bolt?
Yes and no. Lyles is young, after all, and only time will tell whether he’ll be able to sustain his momentum. But if he does succeed in breaking Bolt’s records and winning gold medals, we have a pretty good idea of what that would look like: Olympic glory for Lyles, international fame for his city (he lives in Seattle), recognition for his school (he goes to Nathan Hale High School) and maybe even some Nike endorsement deals for him.
Don’t Worry, Nobody Has The Time To Watch All That Footage
Most of us don’t have time to watch more than a few seconds of each video. Luckily, YouTube and other sites provide relevant statistics about each video like views, shares, comments, likes, and subscribers. If you want to attract traffic to your content, it’s important to understand these numbers and how they are affected by external events (like viral videos) as well as internal factors (like high production value). Once you’ve got that figured out then add some compelling visuals or descriptions.
But Lyles Will Probably Compete In the 2020 Olympics
At age 19, it’s very possible that by 2020, Lyles will have matched and even beaten several of Bolt’s world records. In fact, one analyst has projected he could win as many as three gold medals in both the 100m and 200m events at those Games. The American sprinter Justin Gatlin—who almost beat Bolt in last year’s Olympics—predicted Lyles will be better than me. I think he can break my records.
What Are Lyles’ Chances Then, Realistically?
It’s hard to give any estimate of just how fast Liles could run a 100-meter dash. He hasn’t actually raced for years, and his times have not been recorded electronically since 2009.