Alexandria, VA – If you watch any NBC affiliate, streaming services, or TV at all, you have likely noticed the polished, stylized promotions of top-competitor American athletes such as Simone Biles and Katie Ledecki, as well as sprinter Noah Lyles. But did you know that Noah Lyles, the fastest man in the world, hails from Alexandria? The 2016 Titan graduate from Alexandria City High School (then called T.C. Williams) turned 27 last month before traveling to Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Lyles, one of the greatest high school athletes ever, has been compared to Jesse Owens, the storied track and field athlete of the 1936 Olympic Games. The former Titan is a living legend in Virginia for his statewide accomplishments and on track to be crowned with GOAT (greatest of all time) status.
Lyles has made and broken his own records in the 100 and 200-meter sprints. The list of his athletic accomplishments runs 100m to 200m long. With a personal best of 19.31 seconds in the 200m, he holds the title in these events, being the American 200m sprinter record holder and the third fastest all-time. The six-time world champion won the bronze at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which was postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19.
Lyles was born in Gainesville, Florida, but considers Alexandria his hometown. In October 2022, Mayor Justin Wilson presented Lyles and his brother, Josephus, also a gifted athlete, with the Key to the City in recognition of their athletic accomplishments and community outreach efforts on and off the track and field.
At the ceremony held at Market Square, Mayor Wilson declared, “Noah and Josephus may be known first and foremost for their athletic achievements. But in the City of Alexandria, these young men are as committed to their community as they are leaving it all on the track.”
Noah and Josephus were inducted into the Alexandria City High School Hall of Fame two days before receiving the Key to the City. The brothers continue to revisit their Port City roots and give back to the community they call home. “Because we went pro out of high school, we didn’t have a collegiate stage. The City of Alexandria gets to be our support. That’s why I believe Josephus and I always come back,” said Lyles.
In September 2021, Lyles visited Alexandria City High School to speak about mental health stigmatization confronting young people, especially in the wake of COVID-19. The local Olympic hero shared his struggles with mental health, revealing that his mother had begun his therapy when he was only eight years old. Lyles captivated his fellow Titans not only with a personal recount of overcoming psychological barriers but racial barriers as well.
He remembered, “I came to this school because I watched the movie Remember the Titans, and I told my mom I want to go to that school.” At Paris 2024, Noah Lyles is going for the Gold, hoping to break Usain Bolt’s 19.19 world record.
Lyles is not the only Olympian with Alexandria connections. Proudly Palestinian-American Christian Tabash is rowing for the US in Paris, although the Israel/Hamas War caused Tabash to reconsider competing in Paris. While at Harvard, Tabash received the Harvard Foundation Certificate of Recognition for his outstanding contributions to improving cultural and race relations at the university. Representing the US at the Olympic Games as a Palestinian-American proved to be Tabash’s personal protest demonstration: rowing for peace in a time of war.
Not a Titan but named a 2016 Washington Post All-Met from Gonzaga High School, Tabash, 25, is a 2022 Harvard graduate and Alexandrian since 2017. He is a grad student and rows for the University of California’s men’s team. He won his spot on the US Olympic Team by qualifying for the men’s eight at the 2024 World Rowing Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Swimmer Torri Huske is also not a Titan, having attended Yorktown High in Arlington. But the Olympic contender in the 100-meter women’s butterfly trained at the Dowden Terrace Pool on Holmes Run Parkway in the West End, where generations of Alexandrians swam for the Dolphins team.
Tynita Butts-Townsend is another Olympic Titan. She participated in track and field in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. At T.C. Williams she earned the top rank nationally for the high jump and second for the long jump her senior season. Tynita was a four-time Nike Outdoor champion, two-time state champion, and two-time Penn Relays champion in jumping events. Tynita was named the Washington Post Athlete-of-the-Year as well as the Gatorade Athlete-of-the-Year. She is married to Paralympian Roderick Townsend-Roberts.
Troy Isley, “The Transformer,” is a boxer who trained with the Alexandria Boxing Club at the Charles Houston Recreation Center on Wythe Street in Old Town and boxed in Tokyo. He is a graduate of Lyles Crouch Traditional Academy in Old Town. Isley has been another role model and inspiration for Alexandria’s youth, encouraging athletics as a means of wellness and life success. The 25-year-old Isley competes as a middleweight and is undefeated after 13 fights with five knockouts.
What makes a legend the most? These five athletes represent the personal best from Port City to the City of Lights. We celebrate them with the entire USA Olympic Team as a small part of Alexandria in Paris, emboldened with hope and courage, making us all feel, for 17 shining days, very Olympic.
Can’t get to Paris to cheer on our fellow Alexandrians? Lena’s Taproom and Lena’s Beer Garden on East Braddock Road have you covered! From July 26 — August 6, Monday through Friday, choose from the Gold, Silver, and Bronze prix-fixe Olympics menus. Enjoy the games on five flat screens while dining like a victorious Olympian on white bean or artichoke dip appetizers and your choice of 10” pizzas and a draft beer or glass of house wine with any dessert going for the Gold at $47 a person.
Or you can skip dessert for the Silver for just $37. Bronze medalists get the pizza with the draft beer or glass of house wine for $25. Go for the Gold. Lena’s has cannolis you should try. Make your Taproom request reservation now, as seating is limited.
ICYMI: New River Farm Garden Showcases Native Plants
