Noah Lyles wants his thrilling Olympic 100metre (m) victory to have a transformative effect on his sport in the United States, starting with a Michael Jordan-style sports shoe deal.
The 27-year-old American catapulted himself into a new level of stardom on Sunday after ending the USA’s 20-year wait for a gold medal in the Olympics’ most coveted title.
Lyles has frequently complained of track and field’s low profile in the United States, where the NBA, National Football League and baseball dominate the sporting landscape.
But Lyles believes his nerve-shredding victory on Sunday, and the success of the recent Netflix documentary series “Sprint”, present an opportunity for his sport and himself to cash in.
“I want to see a continuation of the ability to take advantage of moments for our sport,” he told a press conference.
“’Sprint’ came out, it was amazing, and I know that season two is already being filmed. They’ve been doing a good job, and getting already our name out.
“What we need to do as a sport is take advantage and say ‘Hey, we need to make this as available as possible for people to come and watch’, so you don’t have to go to back-alley websites to try and find, or pay to watch websites to get a hold of this.
“This needs to be accessible because this is a world sport. So, we need to be able to show it to the world.”
From a personal point of view, Lyles says he hopes his success can prompt a major sports equipment manufacturer to put his name on his own branded shoe, in the style of NBA great Jordan’s deal with Nike.
He noted that few US track and field athletes, including the likes of 1996 Olympic 400m and 200m champion Michael Johnson, ever had that opportunity.
“I want my own shoe,” Lyles said. “I want my own trainer. Dead serious. I want a sneaker. There ain’t no money in spikes.
“Even Michael Johnson didn’t have his own sneaker. I feel like for how many medals we bring back, the notoriety we get, the fact that hasn’t happened, is crazy to me.
“So that needs to happen.”
Lyle,s meanwhile, was simply relieved to deliver on his promise of victory after boldly stating all season that he was “unbeatable”.
“It feels good to back it up,” Lyles said. “I’ve seen tons of scenarios where athletes come in as a favourite, and it doesn’t work out for them.”