It’s another year of chasing for Lyles in the 100m, but can he deliver in Tokyo regardless?

It’s another year of chasing for Lyles in the 100m, but can he deliver in Tokyo regardless?

There is this scene from the Dark Knight Rises when Bruce Wayne returns as Batman after years of retirement, facing Bane, a villain stronger and more ruthless than anyone before. Despite all the times Batman has already saved Gotham, people doubt him, the police see him as a washed-up vigilante, the city views him as a fugitive, and even Alfred begs him to quit because he thinks Bruce can’t endure it anymore.

But Bruce refuses to back down. After being broken and literally thrown into “the pit” (a prison meant to crush hope), he rebuilds himself, climbs out, and returns to Gotham to prove everyone wrong, delivering when it mattered most. The outcome might sound really cliche as it is fiction, but similarities can be drawn to the current situation of Noah Lyles.

It’s almost as if he has to prove himself every year to the world. For a sprinter that is already the World and Olympic Champion in the 100m, it does feel as if whatever it does would always draw scrutiny. Maybe because it stems from the fact that there is the general perception he isn’t the fastest man over the distance. The times prove that. But when all is said and done, the race that matters is that one race at a global final and Lyles has proved he’s better than anyone.

This year, he has had to start the major part of his season a bit late as he missed almost two months of racing due to an injury. But he came back with a bang after he beat Olympic 200m Champion Letsile Tebogo in the 200m at the Monaco Diamond League. He followed that with a win over Kenny Bednarek over the same distance at the US Trials. At his peak, Lyles is unstoppable over the distance. But it’s the 100m that he still seeks validation. And even after wins in the last two years, questions still linger.

In his last three 100m one off races including finals, Lyles has lost once to Kishanae Thompson and twice to Oblique Seville. All three would hurt as he lost by huge margins against them. The truth is, both sprinters have always had higher ceilings than Lyles over the distance, they just seem to come unstuck when they have faced him when it mattered the most.

Seville’s two wins over Lyles in London and more recently in Lausanne was as emphatic as it can be. He clocked 9.86s and 9.87s into headwinds to beat the American. In both wins, Lyles didn’t dip inside 10s. But here’s where it gets interesting. Lyles has beaten him in their last two meetings in a global championship. That’s all that matters, really. The medals always decide who is the fastest man. And Lyles has always got the mental fortitude to deliver when it matters most.

In those two years where he won the world and Olympic titles, Lyles wasn’t the fastest man going into the races. Zharnel Hughes had the world lead heading into the world champs in Budapest, and last year, it was Kishane Thompson who was the overwhelming favorite before Paris, but he tightened up with milliseconds to go in that famous final in the French Capital.

With Tokyo fast approaching, what ace does Lyles still have hidden in his deck? Pressure has always been his element, but if he can rise this time, just as the chasm between him and Thompson and Seville appears to grow, then his credentials will be etched beyond dispute.

Are there things he needs to work on in the next few weeks? Lance Brauman has trained Lyles to multiple titles over the years, but some refinement would need to be made, especially to that his infamous slow start. Many pundits have opined that his ceiling is between 9.75s and 9.79s, largely because of his body mechanism and how he takes longer to reach peak acceleration. He won last year’s Olympics with 9.79. Surely, he needs to do the unthinkable in Tokyo.

Lyles has thrived on pressure; perhaps that’s what fuels him to greater heights. If he surprised people in Budapest two years ago and won by a hair’s breadth in Paris last year, then just maybe be, he would need to walk on water to win in Tokyo. One thing is certain: we are in for a blockbuster.