PHOTOS: Olympic Champ Noah Lyles Draws Big Crowds at Hometown Rally in Alexandria
World's Fastest Man Brings Home Gold!
ALEXANDRIA, VA – The city of Alexandria rolled out the red carpet for its local darling, Noah Lyles, this afternoon. Over a thousand onlookers from Alexandria and the region packed Alexandria City High School to welcome the Olympic Gold medalist home.
The ACHS Hall of Fame Athlete and Olympic champion took home gold in the 100-meter sprint in Paris this summer, retaining his title as the world’s fastest man. Lyles won bronze in the 200-meter sprint. A COVID-19 diagnosis sidelined the world-famous athlete and he bowed out of the 4×100 relay.
Before the start of today’s celebration, a gaggle of news reporters waited on the track for the local star to appear. Up in the stands, the high school track athletes sat waiting patiently, holding up a huge Welcome Home, Noah! banner. As Lyles emerged from the school building and turned the bend to meet the reporters, a cry arose from the stands. NOAH, NOAH, NOAH, the students screamed.
Lyles thought back to where it all began, right here on his high school track. “This is kind of where I got to share my dream with me and my brother of making the Olympic team. Back in 2012 to 2016, they gave me a lot of opportunities that I feel, you know, probably not every school would let us. They let us travel the state and they let us travel outside the state to get the competition we needed. They set up specific track meets that would try and get us ready for the Olympic trials and a lot of above and beyond things. I don’t know that I would have gotten everywhere I went if not for this school.”
Lyles had a message to all the young students at his alma mater who look up to him. “Go through the journey and people start to just, you know, follow your footsteps. So I just hope that once they look at me, they realize that they can do whatever they set their minds to, that they don’t have to follow my path, but they can make their own path.”
Noah Lyles was then whisked away for a grand parade around Chinquapin Circle. The community turned out in full force to cheer on their hometown hero, lining the Circle for a glimpse of the celebrated sprinter. The crowd roared as the car driving Lyles appeared and made its way slowly toward the throng.
The crowd then moved inside to the high school gym for a rally.
“We are here to recognize Alexandria excellence!” Mayor Justin Wilson boomed to thunderous applause. “We all remember where we were. Because at the bottom of that screen, when he came on that track, it said Noah Lyles, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA!!! And everyone, whether you graduated from here, whether you are still a student here, whether you live in the city of Alexandria, or whether you used to live in the city of Alexandria, you have a piece of pride for that incredible accomplishment! And Noah Lyles represented our city better than anybody else in the world!”
Lyles thanked the city of Alexandria and his former high school for helping him achieve this top goal. He fought back tears as he remembered his beloved high school assistant track and field coach Rashawn T. Jackson. Lyles received a text on June 30 during the Olympic trials brunch that Jackson had died that day.
The celebration also featured the ACHS High School Band, choir, and cheerleaders. Volunteer Alexandria recruited over 30 volunteers in a short time to assist with today’s event.
Lyles told Zebra he already has his eyes trained on the next Olympics four years down the track. In between?
“Oh, I got a bunch of World Championships. We got a bunch of business plans. Win some more titles. I want to spend time with family. I don’t know, maybe make a movie. We’ll see! We’ll see where the world takes me.”
Lyles grew up in Alexandria, graduating from the former T.C. Williams High School in 2016. Since then, he has gone on to place first at the Diamond League five times, and win gold at the World Championships in 2019, 2022, and 2023. Lyles won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Lyles Brothers Sports Foundation took advantage of this massive turnout to host a coat drive. The new and gently used coats will be donated to needy Alexandrians.
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