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How Noah Lyles became Olympic 100m champion: A 300-page textbook, biomechanics and a stickman

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How Noah Lyles became Olympic 100m champion: A 300-page textbook, biomechanics and a stickman

Sixty metres into the men’s 100-metre Olympic final in Paris and Noah Lyles is third. He is three-hundredths of a second down on his compatriot Fred Kerley and Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson.

Yet — and this may sound bizarre — that is exactly where he needs to be.

Lyles has unmatched top-end speed. He wins as Usain Bolt used to, opening up his stride (to a ridiculous 2.5m) and eating up ground on others before cruising past. He holds form while they struggle and decelerate.

The headline is Lyles winning by five-thousandths of a second in the closest men’s 100m Olympic final ever — and the hardest for which to qualify. Lyles (9.78sec) ran the fastest time in an Olympic 100m final since Bolt’s Olympic record (9.63) in London back in 2012.

Over that final 40m, Lyles can close anyone. He did it in 2023 to win the World Championships and again in trials to reach Paris.

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The final frontier for him to become Olympic champion was the start… so here’s the story of how a 75-year-old and a stickman helped give Lyles the edge.

“Your reaction times suck,” says Ralph Mann.

It is July 2023 and the former Olympian — he won 400m hurdles silver at the 1972 Munich Olympics — who holds a PhD in biomechanics, is helping coach Lyles on his block starts.

At Lyles’ training base in Clermont, Florida, Mann, now 75, has a marquee set up by the side of the track. There are a series of cameras pointed at the blocks and a laptop running software that is going to eke the final per cent out of Lyles’ starts.


Lyles at the start of the semi-final in Paris (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Over the last 40 years, Mann has watched and collected data on more than 500 of the best athletes. “We know what it takes to be an elite starter,” he says. Mann has written a 300-page textbook on the mechanics of sprinting and hurdling. What he doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing.

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Mann has applied that knowledge and decades of experience into a software, created in 1999, that generates a stickman that overlays the video of the sprinter in the blocks. Adjusted for body size and weight (to Lyles), it shows where the limbs should be as the sprinter sets and springs out the blocks. If you’ve ever played a Mario Kart ghost race, it’s that, just applied to sprinting.

They can go frame-by-frame to see how Lyles moves compared to the most effective/efficient method, and it becomes a coaching tool for the session with real-time feedback.

Lyles’ problems were that his hips were too far back when he set and his foot turnover was poor on the first few steps. Compared to the stickman, Lyles was not compact enough in the drive phase (as the athletes get up to speed), his feet were coming up too high between steps and his contact time (how long the feet are on the floor) was too long. The ankles weren’t rigid enough, either.

In short, there was plenty to improve.

It meant that steps four to seven, which are all about extending range after getting out with the first three, would come up short compared to better starters. Mann explains to Lyles that the only way he can get faster is by reducing the time between steps and keeping contact time minimal. White tape was put horizontally across the track to give Lyles a visual representation of where he should be landing at specific steps (three and seven).

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Lyles knows how the model works. When he asks Mann what he has set it at, he replies, “What we need to make you famous.” Lyles speaks about doing what works according to the model, in terms of his form, rather than what feels good. He has fully bought in.

He is loud and, to some, borderline arrogant, but Lyles shows vulnerability with Mann.

“Let’s see your precious model beat me,” he says, imploring Mann to set the model at better than Lyles’ absolute best. “Let it run away, let me get embarrassed,” says Lyles. At one stage, Mann stands over Lyles in the blocks and physically moves his hips forward in the set position. Lyles, half-joking, half-serious, says he feels like he isn’t even in the blocks.

There were green shoots of this working in February.

After losing six previous times, Lyles finally beat Christian Coleman over 60m indoors. Coleman (6.34sec) is the world record holder, but Lyles edged him out by one hundredth to take the U.S. indoors title in 6.43. Coleman got out faster, quicker with his foot turnover and was first to reach his second step, but Lyles was in contention enough (sixth at halfway, 30m) to close hard and took it on the line — you’ll see a theme developing.

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For a guy who could not break 6.5sec in 2023, it was huge. Coleman then beat Lyles at the World Indoors in Glasgow in March, but Lyles ran 6.47 in the semi-final and 6.44 in the final.

Fast forward to Paris.

Mann was right: Lyles’ reaction times do suck, by Olympic standards anyway. He was the joint-slowest to react in the final (178milliseconds, with Letsile Tebogo), 26th of 27 among semi-finalists (167ms) and 46 of the 70 men in the heats, who did not false start, reacted quicker (161ms).

That is one of the hardest parts to train. Nobody wants to false start in the Olympics and the 80,000-capacity Stade de France is loud. Lyles responding slower than others did not help, but it would not be the difference between gold and silver.

Lyles, in lane seven because he finished third in his semi-final, takes his second and third steps before Thompson in lane three. It shows great foot turnover given he was the last to get out.

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His form and mechanics are good, even if he doesn’t accelerate as quickly through the drive phase as the Jamaican, or Tokyo 2020 100m champion Marcell Jacobs. Lyles was last up until 40m, but by 30m was moving at the same speed as Thompson.

The 60m split is the one that matters: 6.44. Lyles is suddenly third, having jumped four places from the 50m mark, going past Jacobs (lane nine), Akani Simbine (lane five), Tobogo and Oblique Seville. The latter two are outside and inside Lyles respectively.

“I was fortunate to have Seville next to me because, all throughout the year, he’s been hitting that acceleration that I wasn’t hitting,” said Lyles. “I wasn’t going to let him go.”

Though, as Mann once said: “Noah’s biggest competition is Noah.” His 60m split in the final was only one hundredth off what he managed at the U.S. Indoors. At the Paris Diamond League in June 2023, Lyles won in 9.97, going through 60m in 6.55. He saved one of his best starts ever for the final.

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Thompson and Fred Kerley went through 60m in 6.41sec, but both had already well hit terminal velocity and were slowing. Lyles peaked slightly later than the pair and held form for longer, slower to decelerate.

Lyles’ extra stride length adds up. Across the full race, Lyles (44) took one fewer step than Thompson (45). The Jamaican might dwarf Lyles for arm or leg size, but strong arms can only pull an athlete to the line a certain amount. There is no replacement for good mechanics.

Lyles closed the last 40m in 3.35sec, the fastest in the race. Thompson closed in 3.38. Five others, barring Simbine who finished hard in fourth, covered the last 40m in 3.4sec or slower. “I wasn’t patient enough with my speed — I should have let it bring me to the line,” said Thompson.

In his book — it’s a textbook, really — Mann lists a series of athletes as the best in certain categories. There are the most talented, the most professional, most driven and best representatives of the sport, but he puts Lyles as one of his favourites.

After 100m gold in Paris, and a legitimate shot at doing the double with the 200m, Lyles ought to put Mann in his favourites too.

“Ralph Mann, before I left for Paris, said this is how close first and second is going to be away from each other,” said Lyles, bringing his index finger and thumb close together to gesture an inch. “I can’t believe how right he was.”

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Noah Lyles’ mouth wrote the check. On the Olympics stage, his feet cashed it

(Top photo: Andy Cheung/Getty Images)

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Do You Know These Sports Books That Became Movies?

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4 hours ago

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September 9, 2024

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Do You Know These Sports Books That Became Movies?

Welcome to Great Adaptations, the Book Review’s regular multiple-choice quiz about books that have gone on to find new life as movies, television shows, theatrical productions, video games and more. This week’s challenge is focused on sports books that have been adapted into films within the past 25 years.

Just tap or click your answers to the five questions below. And scroll down after you finish the last question for links to the books and their movie adaptations.

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Cardinals’ DeeJay Dallas scores first kickoff return touchdown of 2024 season under new format

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11 hours ago

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September 9, 2024

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Cardinals’ DeeJay Dallas scores first kickoff return touchdown of 2024 season under new format

The NFL saw a record-low 22 percent of kickoffs returned last season, and only four of those were returned for scores. The NFL introduced significant changes to its kickoff rules for the 2024 season to boost the incentive for more players to return kickoffs — while limiting touchbacks and injuries.

In Week 1 of the new kickoff format, Cardinals returner DeeJay Dallas ignited the comeback with a thrilling 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Slicing through three tackles at the 40-yard line, he dashed toward the end zone, diving past kicker Tyler Bass to score. The Bills, leading 31-20 with 8:44 left, regretted kicking deep. The Cardinals then capitalized with a successful two-point conversion by James Conner, narrowing the gap to 31-28.

The touchdown marked Dallas’ first career kickoff return in his NFL  and collegiate careers, although he has return experience, having returned kicks in all three of his seasons in the league.

Although the new rule had a slow start, the first Sunday of the NFL season still delivered excitement with three kickoff returns exceeding 50 yards. In 2023, there were only 10 returns of 50 yards or more.

The Bills held on to their lead to start the season 1-0 as they beat the Cardinals 34-28. Buffalo will face AFC East rival Miami on the road during Week 2 of “Thursday Night Football.”

Required reading

(Photo: Brooke Sutton / Getty Images)

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Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Georgia, Ohio State and Texas at the top. After that, guess again

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18 hours ago

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September 9, 2024

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Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Georgia, Ohio State and Texas at the top. After that, guess again

And now, 18 thoughts on an early September Saturday that dared AP voters to just blow up their ballots and start over.

1. Two weeks in, I feel confident that Georgia, Ohio State and Texas are the correct top three teams. After that, I’d be guessing just the same as you. A lot of highly ranked teams had close calls against inferior opponents. And one top-five team flat-out lost at home to NIU as a 28-point favorite.

2. This was supposed to be the year Marcus Freeman led Notre Dame back to national title contention, not to yet another Week 2 home loss to a Group of 5 opponent. (2022 Marshall, meet 2024 NIU.) He already had a stacked, veteran defense before landing renowned offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock from LSU and transfer quarterback Riley Leonard from Duke. But on Saturday, Leonard went just 20 of 32 for 163 yards and two interceptions against a MAC opponent. NIU took advantage of that second pick to sit on the ball for five minutes before hitting a last-minute field goal to stun the Irish 16-14.

From Day 1, Freeman has been unofficially auditioning for the job he already landed, at age 35, after Brian Kelly bolted. After a rough Year 1, he was trending in the right direction. But Saturday was an absolute confidence crusher that sapped all the momentum from Notre Dame’s season-opening win at Texas A&M. If anything, it brought back questions long ago assumed buried about the state of Freeman’s program. Yes, Notre Dame can still reach the 12-team Playoff, but only if Saturday’s game proves to be a complete fluke.

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Sampson: Notre Dame has been here before under Marcus Freeman. That’s the problem

3. A team like NIU will never experience a national title but winning at Notre Dame Stadium as a huge underdog surely feels as sweet. The Huskies coach, Thomas Hammock, himself a former NIU star running back, was sobbing during his NBC postgame interview. The program has had its moments over the last two decades, most notably the Jordan Lynch era circa 2012-13, but this was by far its biggest win. I would not have suggested before the season that the MAC could produce the G5’s CFP rep, but I can’t imagine another G5 team will earn a more significant nonconference win.

4. No. 10 Michigan came out Saturday against No. 3 Texas wearing the same uniforms and playing in the same stadium as the 2023 national champions — but that’s where the resemblances ended. The Longhorns’ 31-12 rout at the Big House confirmed the most dire concerns about the Wolverines’ depleted offense. Much more stunning was the ease with which Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers (24 of 36, 246 yards, three TDs, no INTs) shredded a Michigan defense that still boasts star power.

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The Horns controlled the line of scrimmage, and Steve Sarkisian was his usual masterful self in scheming guys open, most notably tight end Gunnar Helm (seven catches, 98 yards). It should be a nice confidence boost for Texas as it embarks on its first-ever SEC schedule.

5. New Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore, who took over when Jim Harbaugh left for the Chargers, succeeded in keeping the defending champs’ roster together, but he didn’t do much to upgrade it either. I was surprised last spring when he did not bring in a transfer quarterback to compete for the starting job. Two games in, I’m bewildered by it. Davis Warren seems like a serviceable backup who’s been thrust into the starting job, which does not speak well for the guy he beat out, Alex Orji. We’ll see if Moore gives Orji more reps next week against Arkansas State.

6. Nebraska’s 28-10 rout of old rival Colorado was exactly the kind of party long-suffering Huskers fans have been thirsting for. Five-star freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola looked the part (23 of 30, 185 yards, 1 TD, no INTs), and Matt Rhule’s second team looked faster on offense and fiercer on defense. For Deion and Shedeur Sanders, on the other hand, it was a depressingly familiar plot. Colorado gave up six sacks and ran for just 16 yards, leaving Shedeur Sanders (23 of 38, 244 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) and Travis Hunter (10 catches, 110 yards) to play their own game of catch after the outcome was long decided.

The Buffs defense has improved from 2023, but there remains a considerable gap between their offensive skill talent and their offensive line. Maybe AFLAC can help close it.

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Stewart Mandel’s 12-team Playoff projections after Week 2

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7. The best player in the country so far has been Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who followed up a 267-yard, six-touchdown clinic at Georgia Southern by running for another 192 yards and three TDs against No. 7 Oregon. It wasn’t quite enough to top the Ducks, who won 37-34 on a last-second field goal, thanks in large part to an 85-yard Tez Johnson punt-return touchdown and 100-yard Noah Whittington kick-return TD.

Without those, Oregon might have been in trouble, as its normally explosive offense is not clicking. Following key losses on the inside of their offensive line, the Ducks through two games have already allowed seven sacks. That’s two more than they gave up in either the 2022 or 2023 seasons.

8. On the night Alabama dedicated Nick Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, the Tide’s offense gave a performance that would have frustrated their former coach to no end. Fourth-ranked Alabama scored on just two of its first 11 possessions against pesky USF and led just 21-16 with 6:45 left before exploding for back-to-back-to-back long touchdowns to win with a deceiving final score of 42-16. Kalen DeBoer’s team is not lacking for weapons, such as running back Jam Miller (15 carries, 140 yards) and freshman receiver Ryan Williams (four catches, 68 yards), but on this night, the Tide’s offensive line brought back troubling memories of its rocky 2023 campaign.

9. Saturday night’s Tennessee-NC State game in Charlotte was shaping up to be Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s coming-out party, but his defense upstaged him. The No. 14 Vols shut down Wolfpack quarterback Grayson McCall, the former Coastal Carolina standout, and held No. 24 NC State to just 143 total yards in a 51-10 blowout. We knew Tennessee had an elite pass-rusher in James Pearce, but nose tackle Omari Thomas and the rest of the Vols’ D-line dominated the Wolfpack. Iamaleava (16 of 23, 211 yards) had his moments as well, but he also threw a pick six that became NC State’s only touchdown.

10. Here’s one I did not see coming: South Carolina, a week removed from eking out a 23-19 home win against Old Dominion, going on the road and suffocating Kentucky in a 31-6 beatdown. The Gamecocks D, led by five-star freshman pass rusher Dylan Stewart, notched five sacks and a pick six of Wildcats quarterback Brock Vandagriff while allowing just 188 total yards.

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In addition to starting 1-0 in SEC play, Shane Beamer’s team, 5-7 last season, messed things up for ESPN’s GameDay. The show was expected to be in Lexington next weekend for Georgia at Kentucky. Now: LSU at South Carolina.

11. Former star quarterback Brock Purdy led Iowa State’s ascent under Matt Campbell a few years ago. Enter Rocco Becht, a sophomore in his second year as the starter. Down 19-7 against rival Iowa’s notoriously salty defense, Becht hit Jaylin Noel for a 75-yard touchdown, then in the final minute, connected with Noel again for a 30-yard gain to set up Kyle Konrady’s game-winning 54-yard field goal. With the 20-19 victory, Campbell has beaten Kirk Ferentz two of the past three years after losing his first five Cy-Hawk games.

12. The Big 12 dodged a pair of upsets in the early window Saturday when No. 16 Oklahoma State, down 21-7 at one point, held off Arkansas 39-31 in double overtime, and No. 17 Kansas State, down 20-10 at halftime, survived 34-27 at Tulane.

The losers of those games will be kicking themselves for some time, though. Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s Razorbacks racked up 648 yards but lost three turnovers and got stopped twice on fourth down. Meanwhile, Tulane redshirt freshman quarterback Darian Mensah put on a show, with four 30-plus-yard completions, and it appeared he’d thrown a tying TD with 17 seconds left. But officials negated it on a non-existent offensive pass interference call. Mensah then threw a dagger interception.

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Perhaps one or both quality wins will end up boosting the Big 12’s at-large chances.

13. Clemson heard all our mockery after last week’s Georgia game and took it out on respected G5 team Appalachian State. Behind a near-perfect performance from quarterback Cade Klubnik (24 of 26, 378 yards, five TDs, no INTs), the Tigers scored 35 points in the first quarter and 56 before halftime in a 66-20 blowout. It served as a friendly reminder that despite losing its opener 34-3, Clemson could well turn around and win the ACC. And also that Georgia remains a holy terror.

14. The offensive wizardry Hugh Freeze showed at Ole Miss and Liberty has yet to make an appearance at Auburn. In the second game of Freeze’s second season, visiting Cal smothered the Tigers passing game, picking off Payton Thorne four times and holding Auburn to 286 total yards in a 21-14 win. Auburn fans will surely call for the head of Thorne, who has never been able to replicate his great 2021 season at Michigan State, but it’s hard to say how much of the problem is him and how much is the Tigers woeful offensive line.

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15. A year ago on this same weekend, Illinois went to Kansas and fell behind 34-7, losing 34-23. So it was a big deal for Bret Bielema’s team to not only win Saturday’s rematch, 23-17, but also to stifle the 19th-ranked Jayhawks veteran offense. Kansas’ star quarterback Jalon Daniels finished just 18 of 32 for 141 yards and threw three picks against the Illini’s defense. Perhaps this means Illinois is poised for another season like 2022 when it won eight games and gave Michigan fits. Or perhaps KU is not yet ready for preseason Top 25s.

16. Last week, Syracuse coach Fran Brown joked that he should send a bottle of champagne to Ohio State’s Ryan Day for letting quarterback Kyle McCord become a free agent. McCord looked even better in his ACC debut, going 32 of 46 for 381 yards, four touchdowns and no picks in a 31-28 home win over Georgia Tech. Brown, formerly Georgia’s defensive backs coach, was fairly unknown before getting the job last winter but earned instant credibility from the fan base when Syracuse became the surprise landing spot for the Buckeyes’ 2023 starter. It looks like the pair will be a factor in their new conference this fall.

17. The realignment gods tried to kick Washington State and Oregon State to the curb, but they’re not exiting quietly. The Cougars throttled Big 12 foe Texas Tech 37-16 in an AfterDark game on Fox, with quarterback John Mateer responsible for 197 of his team’s 301 yards on the ground. Next week brings a mid-September Apple Cup against Washington in Seattle. Meanwhile, the Beavers won 21-0 at San Diego State in advance of a huge grudge match at home next week against the hated Ducks. That one is also on Fox.

The two programs’ futures remain uncertain. For now, they’ve opted against continuing their Mountain West scheduling partnership next season, presumably to schedule more P4 opponents. For one week at least, it will feel like old times on those campuses.

18. Finally, when UAB savior coach Bill Clark had to step down for health reasons before the 2022 season, offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent stepped in as interim head coach and went 7-6. That wasn’t good enough for UAB, which made a big-splash hire with Trent Dilfer, despite his never having coached college football.

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Vincent is now the head coach at Louisiana-Monroe, which on Saturday whooped Dilfer’s Blazers 32-6. Dilfer, the former NFL quarterback and ESPN analyst, has three FBS wins in his first 14 games at UAB.

As always, the splashiest hire is rarely the best hire.

(Photo of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers celebrating after a touchdown: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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