Noah Lyles has quashed claims that height does give you an edge in short races as he analysed the reason behind why former Jamaican sprint sensation Usain Bolt was so dominant during his days on track.
Lyles offered his opinion on the matter as he was reminiscing his 200m victory at the World Championships held in Budapest, Hungary last August with his mates, a race he won gold with a time of 19.52 seconds, making it the third time in a row he delivered gold in the category at the world championships.
The 26-year-old, who stands at 5 feet and 11 inches , believes that height does not matter in sprint races unless you learn how to carry it correctly, as he compared his racing to Bolt, who many said used his 6 feet and 5 inch-tall frame to his advantage to dominate.
“Height does not really matter in track as long as you produce speed and carry it correctly,” Lyles said on his YouTube channel.
“You can be 6’5” but the only thing is like, yes, your height can help you if you allow it to, so your stride can be longer but because your stride is naturally longer, you are not going to be able to generate speed as quickly in the beginning of the race, which, if you watch Bolt’s races, his start was not his most amazing gift.
“It was his top and speed. Now, he was very gifted to the point he could create enough power and stride length to keep him in the race, but he was never going to be the first person to 10 meters or the first person to 30, but he would always be the first to 50 or 60.”
Lyles has made it his objective to one day break Usain Bolt’s long-standing record of 19.19 in the 200m category. He took up the 100m to help him discover techniques to make him faster in the final stretch of the 200m.
The 26-year-old has to shave off quite a bit of time to chase down Bolt, though.
The American sits third all-time in the category with a personal best time of 19.31, behind only Bolt and the latter’s Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake (19.26).
Lyles’ next opportunity to overtake Bolt will come at the 2023 Worlds in Budapest, Hungary, where he has set lofty goals for himself.
