ON FAST TRACK
Meet Josephus Lyles, sprinter brother of track star Noah looking to follow Olympian to international glory
The sprinter comes from an athletic family
TEAM USA sprint sensation Noah Lyles is on the fast track to medal glory at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
And Lyle's brother Josephus is seeking to compete at the Paris Games alongside Noah, who is targeting an unprecedented four sprint medals.
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Josephus recently finished third behind Noah in the 200 meters at the New York City Grand Prix in a time of 20.51 seconds.
The 25-year-old is growing in confidence he can make his first Olympics after suffering a series of injuries and setbacks in his athletic journey.
Josephus and Noah were born to athletic parents with their dad Kevin winning 4x400m World Championships gold in 1995 and mom Keisha a multiple-time NCAA champion.
But it was Noah who became the breakout star, first at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and then at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics where he won 200m bronze.
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"When I first entered the pro scene, I was really just expecting myself to go and automatically be the best," Josephus told NBC Sports.
"The idea that I had for my journey didn’t unfold that way.
"I struggled my first few years as a pro in not being the best in the world and really having to be OK with climbing the ladder.
"I’m glad that it did happen because it taught me so many things in terms of who I am as a person, how I deal with adversity and giving me a lot of faith.
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"I know that whatever knocks me down, I can get back up. I can come back from that."
A turning point came when Noah was selected for Doha 2019 and Josephus had to watch the event at home on TV.
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"I started to feel like I didn’t need to compare myself to other people," he said.
"At that point, I was comparing myself to [Noah] and thinking, 'OK, well he’s achieved all of this. I train just as hard as him, we do similar things, but I feel like I’m not achieving that.'
"At one point, I felt like I deserved to be there because I’ve put in all the work. I had to switch my mentality to 'I don’t deserve anything.'
"There’s so many people who put in so much time and effort and don’t get far in their field of work.
"I switched my mindset to focusing on doing what I can do and being very happy for my brother and my training partners.
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"Once I started thinking like that, it was a weight off my shoulders."
In 2022, Lyles set a personal best of 19.93 seconds at the US Championships and made his first World Championships team.
After missing out on the last two Olympics, he is now aiming to make the team for this summer's Paris Games after a solid start to the season in the 100m and 200m.
"It would mean the world to me. This has been a dream for me for years now," he said.
"In 2016, I qualified for the Olympic Trials, and I tore my quad and was devastated. Noah went and finished fourth in the 200m.
"In 2021, I didn’t make the team, but that wasn’t for me at that time.
"But a dream delayed is not denied. When I try out for the team in 2024, I know I’m going to be prepared.
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"So making that team is going to mean the world to me.
"I don’t know if I’m going to cry, but in my head, I know I probably will."
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