If you’re just tuned into the world of competitive track and field for the Olympics, you probably know Noah Lyles as the big-talking sprinter who won the men’s 100-meter dash. But you might not know a very important fact about him: He’s a big ol’ nerd (non-derogatory).
When he’s not drawing the ire of NBA players and their keyboard warrior fans on Twitter, Lyles is usually winning races, training to win races, or geeking out in his downtime. That’s been consistent for almost his entire career, but lately, the nerd side of his persona has been even more present as he’s brought plenty of gaming and anime references to his races with him.
As one of the most powerful gamers to date, here’s a brief rundown of Lyles’ nerd bona fides.
Lyles has been going Super Saiyan for years
One of the celebrations Lyles pulled out after winning Olympic gold in the 100 meters was a Kamehameha gesture while draped in the American flag, an iconic image that earned him some instant fans in Japan. But Lyles has been pulling out Dragon Ball references for years.
At the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Lyles turned up with a silvery dye job, which he said was a tribute to Goku and his changing hair colors when he went Super Saiyan. At that point in his career, Lyles’ pre-race routine before he got into the blocks even included a Spirit Bomb motion to hype himself up.
By the way, Lyles won that championship in Doha—his first of three world championships in the 200 meters, his best event. Guess the Super Saiyan thing worked.
Lyles believes in the heart of the cards with Yu-Gi-Oh! cards hidden in tracksuit
More recently, Lyles turned to a different game and anime property for a power-up: Yu-Gi-Oh!
At the U.S. Olympic trials for the 2024 Olympics, Lyles went all out with the Yu-Gi-Oh! theme he kept throughout the event. He started to go viral on social media for pulling out cards before his races and showing them to the camera, with the likes of Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Exodia tucked into his race suits to help him on his way to victory.
Don’t mistake Lyles for just knowing two of the game’s most iconic cards, either. He showed up to the Olympic trials with a full duel disk, as well.
He’s got the magic… and Magic: The Gathering
Tired of hearing about his card game obsessions? Me neither. While he’s yet to pull out an MTG card on the track, Lyles certainly knows about the iconic deck-building game that spawned countless other card game properties.
In a candid moment, Lyles was inadvertently caught chatting about Magic with Liberian-American sprinter Joseph Fahnbulleh at the U.S. Olympic trials in the background of another athlete, American long jumper Tara Davis Woodhall.
This is a pretty classic interaction for anyone who’s ever been really into Magic or other niche card games when someone asks them about it. The main difference is everyone in this video is a world-class athlete.
Lyles also runs it down mid in League of Legends
Need more gaming? Lyles also plays League of Legends. He’s got his own League PC setup at home that he uses with a large Legend of Zelda mousepad to boot. Just how good is he? We’re not sure exactly what rank he is—but he did take the time during these Olympics to share some fellow Olympians on the League grind.
“I won’t get in a canoe until I reach gold,” said Spanish canoeist and 2024 bronze medalist Pau Echaniz. And Lyles quickly agreed with the sentiment.
“This about to be me after the 4X100,” Lyles said, referencing his last event of the 2024 Olympics. Gold medals do require almost as much grind as getting out of Silver in League, after all. Olympian gamers have to plan their time wisely.
