‘World’s fastest man’ Noah Lyles causes a storm by winning Olympic 100m gold with painted nails
Noah Lyles won the gold with his nails painted (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Noah Lyles won the 100m gold medal at the Paris Olympics in possibly one of the most thrilling races of all time – but it was his painted nails that caught the eye of many.
Lyles, who has described himself as the “world’s fastest man”, beat Kishane Thompson by one-5000th of a second in a breath-taking photo-finish – dubbed the closest 100m in history – at the Stade de France on Monday evening (5 August).
The US sprinter won in 9.79 seconds storming past Jamaican Thompson right on the line. Another American, Fred Kerley, won the bronze medal.
“I did think [Thompson] had it at the end. I went up to him while we were waiting, and said: ‘I think you’ve got that, good going’, then my name popped up and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m amazing’,” Lyles told the BBC.
“I’m going to be honest, I wasn’t ready to see it and that’s the first time I’ve ever said that. I wasn’t ready to see it.”
His nails, which were painted with stars, lighting bolts and crosses in red, white and blue for the Games, caught the attention of lots of people during the event, with one labelling it: “So c**ty”.
Following the race, one X/Twitter user summarised: “Noah Lyles is unapologetically himself, throwing every nerd reference he can into celebrations, painting his nails, rocking some nice jewellery and hair beads, while exuding confidence and backing it up big time. He’s everything I love about sport, y’all can’t change my mind.”
Another wrote: “I’m lovin it,” and someone else called him and fellow US sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson iconic. “The fastest man and woman in the world went all out on their Olympic-themed nails,” they wrote.
A fourth said: “Every post I see about Noah Lyles makes me like him more. I like that he paints his fingernails and that he speaks about his mental health while dominating one of the most competitive sports in the world. He is not fitting in anyone’s boxes.”
In the run-up to the Games, social media users were also fascinated with Lyles’ unique showmanship, especially when he pulled out an Exodia Yu-Gi-Oh! card and flashed it to TV cameras during the US Olympic team trials.
Pulling out the card on the track, which he did because of a deal he made with shot-put star Chase Ealey, Lyles made nerdy look effortless cool.
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