Olympics 100m champion Noah Lyles had a humorous reaction after his namesake Paralympian Noah Malone clinched a silver medal in the 100m T12 final at the ongoing Paris Paralympics 2024.
Malone’s performance, where he finished with a time of 10.71 seconds, saw him miss out on the gold by a razor-thin margin of 0.01 seconds, but it was enough to elicit an entertaining response from Lyles.
Malone, who previously won silver in the same event at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and gold in the 4x100m relay, once again proved his speed in Paris.
The 22-year-old displayed remarkable consistency, winning his heat in 10.75 seconds before running a fraction faster in the final to secure his silver medal.
Reacting to Malone’s success, Lyles could not help but point out the coincidental speed connection between the two athletes sharing the same first name.
“Must be something in the name Noah that makes you fast,” Lyles joked on social media, lightheartedly claiming that being named ‘Noah’ might just be the secret to athletic success on the track.
Lyles himself is no stranger to the spotlight having recently won gold in the men’s 100m at the Paris Olympics 2024.
Despite not being the favorite for the final, he staged a stunning comeback to secure victory, clocking a time of 9.79 seconds and narrowly beating Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second.
The dramatic finish capped off a remarkable race, with Thompson taking silver and American sprinter Fred Kerley securing the bronze.
However, Lyles’ triumph in the 100m was not without its setbacks. The following day, he contracted COVID-19, which hampered his chances of winning the coveted 200m title—a race he had previously dominated.
Although he still managed to compete in the 200m, his illness affected his performance, and he settled for bronze behind Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and fellow American Kenny Bednarek, who took gold and silver, respectively.
The 27-year-old Lyles had entered the 2024 Paris Olympics with grand ambitions, aiming to win four gold medals.
After securing the 100m title, he had his sights set on golds in the 200m, the 4x100m relay, and the 4x400m relay.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 dashed those dreams. After finishing third in the 200m and deciding to pull out of the 4x100m relay to prioritize his health, his campaign for a quadruple gold ended.
In his absence, the U.S. men’s 4x100m relay team failed to secure a medal, while the 4x400m team managed to take gold. Lyles later announced his withdrawal from the relay stating that he needed time to recover from his illness and recharge after a grueling Olympics.
