Lyles 'redefining' himself after Olympic 100m gold

London Diamond League

Venue: London Stadium Date: Saturday, 19 July

Coverage: BBC One, BBC iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website and app from 13:15-16:25 BST.

It is almost 12 months since Noah Lyles reached the pinnacle of his sport by winning Olympic 100m gold at Paris 2024.

It reinforced his position as the world's fastest man following his golden treble at the World Championships a year earlier, and as one of athletics' biggest draws.

But, after backing up his bold claims in a year when he also starred in the sport's Netflix documentary 'Sprint', the outspoken American admits he is yet to decide what version of himself will be on show at the London Diamond League on Saturday, and beyond.

"I don't know, I'm wondering that," Lyles, who turned 28 on Friday, told BBC Sport.

"I had a really good chance to not only just sit with myself but also think ahead to the future, and how I want to continue presenting myself as the showman and so on.

"I think [the crowd are] going to get maybe a mixed bag right now, as I'm redefining how I want to be seen over the next few years."

On the track, the goals remain clear.

Three more world gold medals in Tokyo in September, on the path towards achieving three golds on home soil at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Over recent years Lyles has not been afraid to share his grand ambitions, stating that he could target Jamaican great Usain Bolt's long-standing world records, and teasing a bid for four Olympic golds in Paris.

His hopes of achieving the latter were thwarted by a bout of Covid prior to the 200m final - but he had already secured his crowning moment, by just five-thousandths of a second, in a remarkable 100m final.

"It's very surreal. There are some days I wake up and I feel like Noah, and there are other days where I'm like 'I'm the world's fastest man, I'm the Olympic champion in the 100m – I did that!'," said Lyles.

"My popularity has grown. Walking outside, I know I'm going to get recognised.

"I'm learning to be comfortable with that, learning to adjust, knowing that people see me in a different light but being OK with that and with who I am."

Lyles has long shown awareness of what is required beyond fast times to breakthrough into the mainstream, and maintained interest in the sport's future direction.

His love of fashion has translated to 'walk-ins' before competitions, while, following a leading role in Netflix's 'Sprint', he has also started his own production company.

However, he was a notable omission from Michael Johnson's inaugural Grand Slam Track league this year, an innovative format that offered lucrative prize money but received criticism for excluding field events.

"I think we're in a beautiful state for change and growth," Lyles said on the sport's standing.

"There are so many great things that we have going for us and people are seeing it now.

"I do believe we're a little scattered in which direction that is, but I believe that, in a few years, we can come together to an idea of the right direction."

Lyles, who suffered with severe asthma as a child and has also spoken openly about his mental health struggles, describes becoming ill with Covid at Paris 2024 as "one of the greatest challenges I have ever had".

The 100m champion still managed to achieve bronze in the 200m, before being escorted from the track in a wheelchair. It has left him with mixed memories of those Games.

Eager to add more titles to his collection, Lyles has endured a frustrating start to a season hindered by injury.

But he produced a statement victory on his return to action in Monaco last week by beating Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo in the 200m.

A sell-out 60,000 crowd at London Stadium is a stage designed for Lyles to thrive upon as he looks to gather momentum towards the World Championships, with Tebogo and Britons Jeremiah Azu, Zharnel Hughes and Louie Hinchliffe among his rivals in a stellar line-up.

"It's definitely my kind of place. I love a big crowd, especially when they are engaged and they want to see something. Being a showman, I want to give them a show," Lyles said.

"It's my first 100m race [of the season] and I always want to win. A fast time never hurts. I'd love to run 9.8 seconds, but winning is the most important thing."

Allowing himself to consider what he might have achieved by the end of the next Olympic cycle, while also suggesting he is not going to change all that much, he added: "I'll either have taken over the track world or I will have three gold medals at the Olympics. Either of those sound great."