Dealing with popularity a challenge for Lyles

Noah Lyles says he is relishing the chance to perform before a packed stadium at the Paris Olympics three years after running in eerie silence at the pandemic-hit Tokyo Games.

But the US sprint king tipped to be one of the faces of the Paris Games said Monday that his growing fame has become a problem in the Olympic Village.

Lyles, the reigning world 100m and 200m champion, is aiming to emulate his idol Usain Bolt by completing a sprint double in Paris, following a bitterly disappointing campaign in Tokyo.

Yet the charismatic American revealed that his preparations for Saturday's opening rounds of the 100m have been disrupted by his increasing popularity, boosted recently by the Netflix documentary "Sprint".

"I've become kind of popular in the village and unfortunately that has come with its own set of challenges in being able to find my own space within the village, whether that's eating or training in the gym," Lyles told a press conference on Monday.

The 27-year-old, who has openly talked about his struggles with mental health and depression in recent years, said he has been forced to eat meals at unusual times in order to find peace and quiet.

For now, Lyles has no plans to quit the village but he hopes in future more can be done to provide quiet areas for athletes.

"I know some athletes like to leave the village and have their own hotels but I like to enjoy the whole Olympic event. But it has come with its own challenge of finding a safe place.

"It's been kind of hard for me to find that place. I don't want to leave but it's definitely something I feel like after this Olympics I'm going to have to have conversations higher up than me about it," he said.

"I want to enjoy the Olympics but just being able to find a safe place has been a little difficult these past few days as I'm trying to prepare and dive deep into my mental state."

Despite his apparent unease with life in the village, though, Lyles cannot wait to parade his talents before a packed house at the 69,000-capacity Stade de France -- a stark contrast to Tokyo, where Covid-19 restrictions meant athletes performed in an empty stadium.

"I'm an emotional person," Lyles said. "And when I got to the finals in Tokyo and we walked into that empty stadium, and we're all just standing behind the blocks. That's usually the moment in my head where I'm like 'It's showtime!'

"And I just remember thinking 'This is not it. This is not fun. This is not cool. This is not what I wanted.' And it sucked."

Lyles left Tokyo with only a bronze medal from the 200m and later broke down in tears talking to reporters when reflecting on his disappointing Olympic campaign.

But he said Monday he is confident of upgrading to gold in Paris.

"I get more excited, the bigger the crowd is," Lyles said. "If there is no crowd, that is most likely when you will see me lose.
"But the bigger the crowd the more likely I am to win and run fast and be the best me that I can be."