After a strong showing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Noah Lyles won gold in the 100-meter and got bronze in the 200-meter while battling COVID, Lyles recently appeared on The Dan Patrick Show.

Patrick asked Lyles who was the fastest person in the world.

“It’s me,” Lyles confidently replied. “That’s what the title says.”

Patrick followed Lyles’ answer, “If I look at Usain’s time, is he technically?

Lyles responded to Patrick, saying that’s a record but not a title.

Lyles added that the fastest person title has always followed the person who won the Olympic and World Championship 100-meter gold medals. But for the last 16 years, it just happened to be Bolt.

Patrick asked, “How long do you think it would take for somebody to surpass Bolt’s time in the 100 meters?”

“I’m tryna get done as soon as possible,” Lyles replied.

“As athletes, we’re always looking to improve ourselves, and we’re always looking for greater challenges, Lyles continued. “I think everyone sees the world record as one, as incredible, and two I want that to be me.”

For the record, Usain Bolt does believe Lyles could potentially break his record in the 200-meter and has said that publicly. In an interview in March with CITUS MAG’s Anderson Monroe, Bolt got asked about the 200-meter record and who could beat it.

“People are talking about the world record. You’ve got Noah Lyles, Letsile Tebogo, and Erriyon Knighton. How do you assess the landscape of sprinting right now?”

Bolt gave his opinion “It was never easy.”

“I’ve said it and always said that it’s not easy running back-to-back events and then going out to break the world record because your body runs out of energy,” Bolt continued. “I think the possibility is there because [Noah Lyles] came close at the World Championships. I think, if he corrects a few things, I won’t say, he could get better. The possibility is there.”

Monroe: “You won’t say?”

Bolt: “I won’t tell you how to break the world record.”

The 100-meter record is 9.58. Bolt set the mark at the 2009 World Championship. Lyles ran a personal best 9.78.

Lyles believes he is the top candidate to break the record of the fastest man ever. He won the 100m and 200m titles at the 2023 World Championships. And after his performance in the Olympics, he deserves to be favored to break the world record. Evident by his vow, Lyles is strongly confident in himself doing so.

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In her Olympic debut, Bullis School and Kentucky University alum Masai Russell won the gold medal in the women’s 100-meter hurdle in Paris. In a close and compelling final, the Potomac, Maryland native edged France’s Cyréna Samba-Mayela by one-hundredths of a second at an official time of 12.33 seconds.

Russell is no stranger to winning, as the gold medalist has been successful in her high school and collegiate days. With the Olympic title, Russell added her name to a list of DMV and Bullis Olympians to win gold.

Being a star at Bullis

At a young age, Russell started playing sports with gymnastics and ballet. After seeing her brother in a meet, Russell was inspired and took on track and field at eight. She was always a fast kid, conquering her classmates in races.

Due to Russell’s love of the track and growing up in Potomac, it was natural for her to attend the powerhouse of Bullis School. In her freshman year, she journeyed into the 300-meter hurdles. She emerged as a national sensation in high school.

Russell was ranked No. 1 in Maryland for the 300 and 500-meter hurdles as a sophomore and junior. She won the Ocean Breeze 400 meet championship in both years. However, her track career took off during her senior year in 2018.

Russell was an eight-time national champion (sprint relays and shuttle hurdles), a three-time All-Metro, and won the 2018 Maryland Gatorade Athlete of the Year. She was invited to the 2018 Pan-Am Junior Games, winning bronze in the 400-meter hurdles.

Masai Russell enters Kentucky

Initially, Russell committed and signed to the University of Tennessee despite never visiting the school. She was drawn to the Volunteers by legendary assistant coach Tim Hall.

However, Hall joined the coaching staff at the University of Kentucky, extending a scholarship offer to Russell, leading her to flip to the Wildcats.

Russell instantly became a star as a freshman. She was named to first-team indoor All-American in the 4×400 meter relay. Russell broke Kentucky’s freshman record for the 60-meter hurdle at the 2019 Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational with a time of 8.18 seconds.

Russell earned seven first-team All-American honors throughout her collegiate career. She also had 11 All-American selections between the 100-meter hurdles, 400 hurdles, 4×100 relay, and 4×400 relay.

Russell won first place at the SEC Indoor Championships for the 60-meter hurdle.

Her journey to Paris started in 2021, as she got invited to the U.S. Olympic Trials for a shot to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. She placed 19th in the 100-meter hurdles and finished 12th in the 400-meter hurdles.

Getting ready for Paris

She continued to strive despite not qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. She capped off her senior season with a silver medal in the 100-meter hurdles,

After capping off her senior season in 2023, finishing second in the 100-meter hurdles and 4×100-meter relay NCAA Outdoor Championship. Russell also competed in the 100-meter hurdle World Championship, reaching the semifinals.

Her journey continued after college as she reached the final and finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdle at the World Indoor Championship. She missed the podium by 0.02 seconds behind Poland’s Pia Skryszowska.

Her improvement carried her into this year’s 100-meter hurdle at the U.S. Olympic trials. Russell surged ahead after the final hurdle to grab first place in the 100-meter hurdle, becoming a national champion and qualifying for the Paris Olympic Games.

Russell had an official time of 12.25, breaking Gail Dever’s 24-year trail record of 12.33.

Becoming an Olympic champion

Russell seemingly paced herself through the preliminary heats at the Olympics. She tied for first place with Nadine Visser of the Netherlands, running 12.53 to advance. In the second round, Russell qualified for the final, finishing in second place in 12.42 seconds, setting the stage for a chance to become an Olympic champion.

In a thrilling final, Maria Russell came out as the victor, beating Samba-Mayela with a time of 12.33 to claim her Olympic gold medal one year after finishing college.

After the race, Russell got interviewed by NBC’s Lewis Johnson, who asked how long the wait was for an Olympic gold medal.

“The wait wasn’t too long,” A static Maria Russell replied. “I was just hoping my name popped up first. I could barely sleep last night cause I was thinking of like literally my name coming up number one. Then when it came up, I was like, this is literally what I dreamed of, I prayed for, I worked so hard for, every moment, and it was literally a dream come true.”

At 24 years old, a gold medal adds to an already impressive resume. Russell may be just beginning and could add more medals, including the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

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Rising track and field star Quincy Wilson, a Gaithersburg, Maryland native, got his first Olympic action on Friday. At 16 years old, Wilson became the youngest American track and field Olympic when he took the field for the 4×400 preliminaries.

Wilson ran the first leg for Team USA. Despite a bad leg, his teammates caught back up in the race and finished only behind Great Britain and Botswana to advance to the finals for the 4×400 final.

Wilson got replaced for Saturday’s final. However, the team of Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon, Christopher Bailey, and Wilson’s replacement, Rai Benjamin, took home the gold. Wilson earned a gold medal by running during Friday’s preliminary heat, becoming the youngest track and field Olympic gold medalist.

Wilson had a remarkable journey with a ton of success that got him to Paris.

Quincy Wilson before the Olympics

Born in Chesapeake, Virginia, Wilson moved with his family to Gaithersburg so the teenager could attend Bullis School. Bullis has a reputation for producing pro track and field athletes.

Wilson had won five 400-meter AAU Junior Olympic Games titles by age 14.

At Bullis as a freshman, Wilson won the New Balance indoor 400-meter national championship. He kept pace at third place before passing two seniors, Tennessee commit Zyaire Nurriddin, and USC commit Jacob Andrews, to win the title at 46.67 seconds.

As a sophomore, Quincy won his second straight New Balance indoor 400-meter national title, rolling past the entire competition. His 45.76 time clocked him in as the fastest high school time ever.

He dominated through his sophomore campaign, earning him a spot at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. Wilson qualified for the 400-meter final against the older field, coming in third place.

In the final, Wilson finished sixth but was still called up to be part of the U.S. relay pool, making him the youngest athlete in the U.S. Olympic track team.

The historic debut

Wilson learned the Wednesday before Friday’s race that he would be running the first leg in the prelim of the men’s 4×400 relay. Wilson posted the news on Instagram, and said in the caption “Tune in Friday Morning @ 5:05 am EST”

The Bullis High School community gathered together to watch his leg. They showed their support after the race on Instagram via Max Preps.

Wilson didn’t have any great expectations in his debut. He ran in seventh place in the first leg, before handing the baton to Vernon Norwood. The team lifted the pressure off Wilson for having a bad leg. They fought back to finish third to qualify for Saturday’s 4×400 final.

Wilson received praise from other sprinters after the race, he was even congratulated by Trinidad Olympian Jaden Marchan, and the rest of the Trinidad team.

“After he made American track & field history, 16-year-old Quincy Wilson’s competitors showed him love after the race. #ParisOlympics” per NBC Olympics & Paralympics on X/Twitter.

Wilson also showed his gratitude via “X” thanking Team USA for giving him the opportunity to run in the Olympics.

Thankful for the moment! #TeamUSA

Receiving gold

Wilson witnessed the exciting race in the 4×400 relay final. Benjamin, who won gold in 400-meter hurdles, went head-to-head in the final leg against 200-meter Gold medalist Letsile Tebogo of Botswana. Benjamin edged Tebogo at the finish line to secure the US the gold medal.

Wilson was seen screaming in celebration as Benjamin crossed the finish line.

After receiving his medal, Wilson joked about what is next for him after winning an Olympic gold medal.

Dang, I really got school in 2 and a half weeks#Gold#OlympicGamesParis

Quincy Wilson will enter his junior year at Bullis this year. He is set to graduate in 2026 with two more years of eligibility for high school. There is nothing but time ahead of him. With an Olympic gold medal in tow, his junior campaign will come with the expectation for him to dominate the high school track and field level. He will seek his third straight New Balance national championship.

The Olympic experience at such a young age puts Wilson in the position to become the face of the United States men’s track and field in the near future.

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Alexandria, Virginia native Noah Lyles capped off an eventful Olympics run with a gold medal, bronze medal, and COVID-19.

In a race for the ages, Lyles clinched the gold medal in the 100 meters at the Olympics with a personal record of 9.784 seconds. The win ended a 20-year drought for the United States, marking the first American gold medal in the event since 2004.

Like Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, and Usain Bolt, Noah Lyles sought to join a short list of men who won gold in the 100 and 200 meters of the same Olympics. However, before he took the field for the 200-meter final, Lyles contracted COVID-19.

Despite having the virus, Lyles chose to run the race, taking home the bronze medal in 19.70 seconds. The disappointing finish capped off his Olympics stay as he pulled out the 4×100 relay final for Team USA.

Noah Lyles wins Gold in 100m.

Lyles got off to a slow start in the 100-meters but fought back into the race in a close photo finish.

The finish did come with controversy over the winner, as photo and video evidence appeared to show Kishane Thompson’s white track shoes crossing the finish line first. Olympic rules state that the torso, defined from the clavicle down, must cross the finish line first to determine the victor.

This crucial detail secured Lyles’s victory.

In a post-race press conference interview, an elated Lyles expressed his ambition and future aspirations.

“I want my own shoe,” He declared, per Citius Mag. “I want my own trainer. Dead serious. There’s no money in spikes. I feel like, for how many medals we get, the notoriety we bring back, the fact that that hasn’t happened, that’s crazy to me.”

COVID shaped 200 meters

Lyles admitted to testing positive on Tuesday morning and had symptoms he’d received before testing positive in previous years.

“I woke up in the middle of the night just feeling really chills, aching, sore throat,” Lyles explained, per Coley Harvey of ESPN. “And those were kind of a lot of the symptoms I’ve always had right before getting COVID, and I was just like, ‘I need to test this one.'”

He later quarantined in a nearby hotel, away from the Olympic Village. Lyles still decided to compete in the 200-meter race.

“I was going to compete regardless,” Lyles said, per Chris Bumbaca of USA. “If I didn’t make it to the (200) finals, that would’ve been the sign not to compete,” per Chris Bumbaca of USA Today. Lyles took any legal drugs that could keep him qualified for the post-race drug testing.

He wanted to keep his test results secret and decided to distance himself from other participants of the 200-meter race so he couldn’t infect anyone with COVID.

Lyles started the race with a strong start and when he got to the curve. He boosted with speed and managed to stay in third behind his teammate Kenny Bednarek, who won the silver, and in front of his other teammate Erriyon Knighton, who finished 4th.

After the race, Lyles lay on the ground, breathing heavily. He was later given medical attention before being carted off the track in a wheelchair. His mother, Keisha Caine Bishop, rushed to him in concern but was notified that he was fine.

Noah Lyles unable to compete in 4×100 relay

Lyles later received his bronze medal on Friday. The athlete also posted on Instagram wishing good luck for the 4×100 relay race.

“Although I won’t be able to go to war with y’all [I know] you will come out with the victory! Good luck guys. Go show them the dominance of Team USA! @teamusa.”

Unfortunately, his absence proved detrimental for Team USA in the relay. The team was disqualified for an illegal baton pass. Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek collided during a rough exchange between the first and second leg. The team fell behind by a large gap from the lead pack. It didn’t matter. Team USA was disqualified because of the exchange outside the takeover zone.

The disappointing finish marked the fifth consecutive Olympics with Team USA failing to medal for the 4×100 relay.

Still, Noah Lyles came away with two medals. He brought gold back to the United States for the first time in two decades in the 100 meters. He also highlighted his growing status as one of the sport’s brightest stars.

Lyles is a polarizing figure in large due to his comments about the NBA. Still, he deserved to be celebrated as America’s best male track and field sprinter.

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