Olympic 100m champ Noah Lyles turned to God for career guidance: ‘Give me a sign’

Originally published in Premier Christian News

Olympic 100m champion, Noah Lyles, praised God before his photo-finish win, and revealed he asked God whether he ‘really wanted’ him to ‘do this’.

The US athlete beat Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by five thousands of a second to win gold in the men’s sprint.

Before taking to the starting block, Lyles mouths the words: “Thank you, God. Thank you, God.”

In a victory interview with BBC Sport, the 27-year-old was asked was his final thought was before the race. He grins: “Thank you, God”.

In an interview with Premier Christian Radio after his race, Lyles said: “I had to find my own journey with God and a lot of that came through track because there were a lot of times where I thought I don’t know if I can do this.

“God if you really want me to do this, give me a sign. He gave me a sign and I said I’ll never doubt you again.”

Michael Johnson, four-time Olympic champion said the photo-finish race was the best final he had ever seen “bar none”.  

In the immediate aftermath of the race, it was unclear who had taken the title to become the new world’s fastest man.

Even Lyles believed his rival to have won, congratulating him by saying: “Hey man, I think you got it.”

After winning the Olympic 200m trial prior to Paris, Lyles said his mental state was key to his training: “I’ve said it all season but it helps to not have depression.”

“I thank God every day for getting me through each and every round. Healthy, mentally and physically.”

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