Did Noah Lyles go to college? Revisiting USA track star's high school career, records and more

Noah Lyles backed up his talk on Sunday, winning gold in the men's 100m final by five-thousandths of a second in a photo finish. His victory, beating out Kishane Thompson of Jamaica, breaks a 20-year drought for Team USA in the men's event. 

With gold at the 2023 World Championship under his belt as well, Lyles can confidently call himself the fastest man in the world, for now. A global sensation, everyone is trying to find out more about the track and field star who is vying for his second and third medals of these Games in the 200m and 4x100m relay races this week.

Lyles took an interest in sprinting after watching the 2012 games on television, beginning his career in high school. Since then, he's won handfuls of medals in meets big and small.

Where did it all begin? Here's everything you need to know about Lyles' high school career, records, and more.

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Where did Noah Lyles go to high school?

Lyles attended T.C. Williams High School (Alexandria City High School, as of 2024) in Alexandria, Virginia. The school's football team and former coaches Herman Boone and Bill Yoast were the subject of the 2000 movie "Remember the Titans." 

Lyles graduated in 2016 but not before collecting a number of accolades in his early track and field career. He debuted on the global stage at the World Youth Championships in 2013, earning silver in the medley relay. In 2014, Lyles represented Team USA at the Youth Olympic Games, where he won a gold medal in the 200m. 

MORE: Best photos from Lyles' 100m win

After clearing a 2.03m high jump as a junior, he was named the 2015 High School Boys Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News. The following March, Lyles won the 200m at the New Balance Nationals Indoor.

Remember when @LylesNoah clocked one of the fastest 200m times in indoor high school history? 👀 #WorldAthleticsChamps @milestatdotcom

Reminisce about the 100m world champion's insane high school career and watch "The Class of 2016: Noah Lyles" ➡️ https://t.co/Dca1ptnOSF pic.twitter.com/XQaIxtGK5A

— MileSplit US (@milesplit) August 23, 2023

The spring and summer of 2016 were pivotal for Lyles—in April, he won both the 100m and 200m races at the 2016 Arcadia Invitational, setting meet records in both events. In June, he won the 100m again at the USA Junior Championships.

Lyles' Olympic journey began in July 2016 when he went to the U.S. Olympic Trials to compete for a spot on the team in the 100m and 200m races. Though he didn't advance past his first heat in the 100m competition, he placed fourth in the 200m final with a time of 20.09 seconds—good enough to break a three-decade national high school record. 

He did not qualify for Rio in 2016, but he did make an appearance at the World U20 Championships the same year. There, Lyles earned gold medals in the 100m and 4x100m relay. He was also named the High School Boys Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News again. 

MORE: Lyles' NBA controversy

Where did Noah Lyles go to college?

After graduating high school, Lyles committed to attend the University of Florida. However, in July 2016, both Lyles and his brother, Josephus, decided to turn professional, signing with adidas. 

He earned his first piece of hardware in 2017 with a senior national title in the 300m at the 2017 USA Indoor Championships, claiming the indoor world record by one-hundredth of a second. 

Since then, Lyles has competed in the Diamond League circuit and World Championship meets amidst mental health struggles, which he has been open about. He appeared in his first Olympics at Tokyo 2021, finishing with the bronze in the 200m race. 

MORE: Noah Lyles' photo finish, explained

Noah Lyles 2024 Olympic schedule

Here are the remaining events Lyles is slated to participate in at the Paris Olympics. 

Monday, Aug. 5