By Nate Mann
Sprinter Noah Lyles knew competition in the Prefontaine Classic 200 meters would be difficult, so he called for a “spirit bomb” on Twitter. A spirit bomb is one of Goku’s finishing moves in Dragonball Z, a Japanese anime series, that “calls upon all the energy of all living beings.”
“When I call for a spirit bomb, that means I want all my fans and everybody who’s supporting me to give me their energy so I can win a race,” Lyles said.
The last time he asked for a spirit bomb, Lyles broke the high school world record at the Olympic Trials.
Did it work Saturday at the Prefontaine Classic?
“It definitely did!” Lyles exclaimed. “You see that time?”
The 20-year-old Lyles ran a personal best 19.69 seconds, extending his undefeated streak in Diamond League 200-meter races to four with a convincing win over Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards, who finished in 20.05. Lyles’ mark ties this year’s fastest time, which was run by South Africa’s Clarence Munyai in March.
19.69‼️ that spirt bomb was real #PreClassic #adidasrunning pic.twitter.com/4MwtBzILSi
— Noah Lyles (@LylesNoah) May 26, 2018
Ameer Webb, the only other American in the race after Christian Coleman dropped, credited the youngster, who is seven years younger than he is, on the victory. “He has fun. And that’s the key,” said Webb. “You have fun out there, and you’re going to have a great race.”
Despite running 20.56 seconds and finishing sixth, Webb was proud of his performance. He underwent surgery in October and is still in the process of recovering. By the end of the season, he hopes to be in the low-20s once again.
For now, Lyles continues to dominate the 200-meter race on the professional level. Plus, winning the Prefontaine Classic felt like fate for the sprinter.
“I’ve been watching Prefontaine since I was in high school, looking at the screen like, ‘Man, I could’ve been in that 200,’” said Lyles. “I’m excited I could come here, win and do what I dreamed when I was in high school.”
Around this time last year, he injured his hamstring and later pulled out of the semifinals at the U.S. championships. To avoid doing the same this season, Lyles began training a lot earlier in the preseason to strengthen his hamstrings and abs.
He travels to Jamaica next to run the 100-meter dash at the JN Racers Grand Prix. There, Lyles hopes to achieve his first wind-legal sub-10 second finish with a more fit body. A successful race bolsters his message that the young sprinters are taking over as well.
“The limit is to make the human race as a whole get faster and see that the next generation has stepping stones, that they don’t have to worry about the oldheads, as they say, taking their spots,” said Lyles. “These kids should know that just because you’re young doesn’t mean you can’t take their spots.”
