Noah Lyles is collaborating with Netflix producers on the plot lines for the second season of Sprint. However, Saturday brought an unexpected turn of events in Paris when the world champion was outpaced by a student from Sheffield.
While it was just the initial round of the 100 meters and Lyles advanced comfortably to the semi-finals on Sunday night, losing to Louie Hinchliffe was not the outcome the American star envisioned for his debut at the Stade de France.
For Hinchliffe, this was a cinematic moment. The ex-junior golfer from Yorkshire was ranked a modest 11th in the UK a year ago, with a personal best of merely 10.17 seconds. But since relocating to the University of Houston last August to be coached by nine-time Olympic champion Carl Lewis, his performance has dramatically improved.
Hinchliffe, whose father hails from Rotherham and whose mother is Filipino, recently clinched the US collegiate title and the UK Championships earlier this summer. Now, at 22, he has outperformed Lyles in his Olympic debut, winning his heat in 9.98 seconds, the third-fastest time of the morning.
If the world wasn’t already aware of the British sprinter with the mullet, they certainly are now. ‘Louie is a talented young man,’ remarked Lyles, who congratulated Team GB’s rising sprint star after finishing behind him with a time of 10.04 seconds. ‘I aimed to finish first, but that didn’t work out.’
Team GB’s Louie Hinchliffe produced a superb display to win his heat in the men’s 100 metres
Hinchliffe managed to upstage Noah Lyles, who is the star of Netflix documentary Sprint
This was the second meeting between Hinchliffe and Lyles in the last two weeks. In their earlier face-off at the London Diamond League, Lyles emerged victorious with a new personal best of 9.81 seconds, while Hinchliffe finished fourth in 9.97 seconds.
Hinchliffe made waves after that contest—his initial appearance on the international stage—expressing disappointment, believing he could outshine Lyles. Well, he has done it now, and he feels there’s more to come.
‘The pressure and the atmosphere from trying to reach an Olympic final will only push me further,’ Hinchliffe stated, looking ahead to the semi-finals at 7.05pm, followed by the final at 8.50pm.
‘I wasn’t overly focused on Noah. Carl Lewis advised me to stick to my own game plan and not be sidetracked. The track is incredibly fast, but the audience plays a crucial role. You have to harness that to gain an edge.’
No one in the athletics community enjoys a crowd more than Lyles. Yet he confessed he was taken aback by the performances of his competitors—Hinchliffe in particular.
‘I anticipated that everyone would fall into formation, but they did not,’ remarked Lyles, who was unable to make the US 100m team in the previous Olympics but secured a bronze in the 200m.
‘They approached it as if it were their only opportunity. I should have expected that, considering it’s the Olympics. But this is my first time competing in the Olympic 100m.’
‘Placing second is acceptable, but from now onward, it will be first. I won’t allow that to occur again.’
Hinchliffe revealed that he was rewarded after focusing on himself during the race
Lyles stated that he is determined to bounce back and finish in first place next time
Lyles further disclosed that his newfound visibility as the star of Sprint, the Netflix documentary focusing on the world’s fastest athletes, has brought its own set of hurdles in the athletes’ village.
‘Being the face of Sprint and having a name recognized by many introduces its own difficulties,’ he explained. ‘Navigating through the village has become a challenge. I constantly have to wear a hat, sunglasses, and mask, yet still about 20 percent of people recognize me.’
‘My initial intention was to stay outside the village, but the convenience of accessing food, treatment, and transportation made it difficult to leave. That’s the dilemma I face.’
However, it isn’t just off the track where Lyles faces challenges. On the track, Kishane Thompson is emerging as a significant contender to Lyles’ ambition of securing three gold medals, an achievement he accomplished at last year’s World Championships, winning the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay.
Thompson triumphed at the Jamaican trials in June, clocking in at 9.77 seconds, the fastest time globally this year. He appeared formidable in Paris on Saturday, effortlessly winning his heat in 10.00 seconds while easing off halfway through the race.
The 23-year-old is currently favored by bookmakers to become the seventh different winner of the last seven global 100m finals. Yet, the quickest qualifiers from this initial round were actually Americans Fred Kerley—who won the world championship in 2022—and Kenny Bednarek, both finishing with times of 9.97 seconds.
Britain’s fastest man Zharnel Hughes qualified third in his heat behind Fred Kerley in 10.03sec.
Zharnel Hughes, Britain’s fastest man who has faced injuries this year, qualified third in his heat, trailing Kerley with a time of 10.03 seconds.
‘The atmosphere is phenomenal,’ expressed the world bronze medallist. ‘I could feel it warming up and was blown away because we’ve never experienced this level of noise before—it feels almost like there’s a football match happening.’
That energetic noise was something that Hughes’ compatriot Jeremiah Azu attributed to his false start, resulting in disqualification during the first heat. ‘I heard something and reacted instinctively,’ said the Welsh athlete, although his appeal was denied.
Despite the day’s trials, all the prominent athletes advanced to the next stage, setting the stage for what promises to be one of the swiftest Olympic finals in history.
So, what does Lyles predict will be the winning time? ‘I don’t know,’ he admitted. ‘But I’m going to run for it.’
