Saudi FM calls Indian, Pakistani counterparts to discuss developments    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia cracks down on fraudulent Hajj campaigns, urges pilgrims to use official channels    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    Literature Commission inaugurates Saudi Pavilion at Muscat Book Fair    Saudi Minister of Culture holds talks with his Costa Rican counterpart in Jeddah    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    MHRSD: 80% of recruitment offices are non-compliant with regulations    At least 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza    Teenage girl killed in French school stabbing attack    Trump claims meeting with China after Beijing denies any trade negotiations    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Free spirit Lyles hip-hopping along medal trail
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 21 - 02 - 2019

The rain buffets the training camp tent as Noah Lyles offers up a hip-hop song that has been on his mind.
The steady rhythm of the rain and the American sprinter's rapping travel to a different beat, as does Lyles, who, with Usain Bolt's retirement, has become one of the most talked-about athletes in track and field.
Just 21 years old, he relishes running and a multitude of other activities, too many some have told him.
But this is Lyles, the free spirit who in the past few months has strolled down the runway at a Paris fashion show, painted his own special touch on a pair of shoes for his mother's birthday and offered up designs for Boston Marathon T-shirts.
He has also cut extended play versions of his favorite hip-hop music and found time to become the man experts predict will be the next 200m gold medalist at September's world championships in Doha and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
"I am really just being me," Lyles, who has never competed in a world championships or Olympics, told Reuters after a long workout.
"I have always been into art, I have always been into clothes and recently it (music) has become one of my favorite hobbies," he said.
"I have always liked things that had to do with sound and making something beautiful in any form of art.
"Running has just come naturally and now that I have a great coach and amazing staff and a great mom, it has come easier and easier and more fun."
There is no doubt about the fun part and his success in the 200m in which he has not lost since 2016.
And victory usually means a show, maybe a few back flips or special dance moves.
"Too many people go out and they are just here to get business done," the twice Diamond League 200m champion said.
"When you put on a show, you are expressing your inner emotion, you are expressing what you love, the love you have for the sport, the love you have for your life, the love you have for the people who helped you get there," he added. "Just running, that's boring."
But boring would never be a word to describe this former high jumper who forsook the family tradition of being 400m runners to learn the short sprints.
Always animated and outgoing, the combination, along with his speed, brings out comparisons with Bolt, especially since their events are the 100 and 200m and Bolt and Lyles are the only two sprinters to run four 200m in 19.7 seconds or less in the same season.
Yet Lance Brauman, Lyles's coach, frowns at such comparisons. "There might be some similarities," the coach told Reuters. "But there are similarities in different ways with a lot of different guys. I want him to be the first Noah Lyles."
That would suit Lyles just fine. "They (the media) are always going to be looking for the next something," said the sprinter who has personal bests of 19.65 in the 200m and 9.88 in the 100m.
"I say wait, somebody is going to pull it out," he said, predicting Bolt's seemingly invincible 100 meters world record of 9.58 and 200m mark of 19.19 would eventually fall.
"If I didn't think that, I wouldn't be here right now. I have dreams where I run 9.41. I have ideas where I run 18 seconds. But truthfully you are just going to wait."
The Jamaican and the American have met only once. "We were both in the doctor's office in 2017," Lyles said. "He looked more beat up than me so I just decided I was going to go say 'Hey, you are an amazing athlete'. I just left it at that."
Lyles and his younger brother Josephus, a talented 400m runner, live together in a new home in Clermont. Josephus is the cook and enforcer.
"If it was up to him we would probably eating cereal every night," Josephus said.
Boxes of running shoes occupy one closet and upstairs there is what Noah calls his creative room.
A full array of paints sit beside a table and Noah the rapper records his hip-hop in his own little studio.
"I loved music since I was little," Lyles said. "I always listen to different things, find different artists, songs that express emotion."
Banter flies between the brothers and their mother as visitors share a meal and view Noah's Lego collection.
Since they were children, the brothers have dreamed of competing in an Olympics together.
Noah came close in 2016, missing by one spot making the US team for Rio in the 200m, and his mum sees the dream becoming a reality in Tokyo.
"I predict Noah will win the 200 and Josephus will medal in the 400," Keshia Bishop said.
Noah wants more. "Three golds," he said, convinced that by 2020 he will be ready to claim the 100, 200 and 4x100m relay titles, a feat Bolt achieved three times and Carl Lewis was the last American to accomplish in 1984. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.