Noah Lyles knows he’s not for everybody — and he’s perfectly fine with that.
The Team USA track and field star, who spoke exclusively to Us Weekly via his partnership with Tide, responded in jest to some of the criticism he faced for showing up to the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony with the word “ICON” painted across his nails.
“I’m a person who knows that a lot of people have different opinions and they have them for different reasons,” Lyles, 27, told Us via Zoom from the Olympic Village in Paris. “To be honest, I’m so confident in myself that it doesn’t really matter. I think it’s funny at times.”
Once Lyles showed up on the Seine in his Team USA regalia and painted nails, comments began rolling in on social media.
One person posted via X, “I genuinely don’t have a problem with Noah Lyles. I like the energy he brings to the sport. But that painting of the nails s–t [is]for the ladies bruh.” Another wrote, “Noah Lyles has his nails painted …This is just at the halfway point of the opening ceremony. Disturbing thus far.”
Painting his nails is nothing new for Lyles, who rocked a different set at the Olympic Trials in June and at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in February.
“Sometimes it’s like, ‘Hey, I know you were brought up this way, but I was brought up that way,’ and the fact that you can’t see the differences of why I might do it, I find that entertaining,” Lyles explained. “You know, people like me because I do this. I’m just being myself.”
“The most misunderstood thing is the balance between cocky and confident,” Lyles said. “There is a strong line that people assume my confidence is cockiness. I will say this. Anybody who thought I was cocky and met me, they’re instantly like, ‘Oh, that’s the nicest, coolest guy I’ve ever met in my life.’”
Lyles continued, “I never blame anybody who thinks that I’m cocky. It’s just a ‘you haven’t met me situation.’ That’s all.”
On Saturday, August 3, Lyles will take to the track for the men’s 100m heats, to be followed by the final the following day. The men’s 200m heats go down Monday, August 5, with the final on Tuesday, August 6.
In the meantime, Lyles is staying clean in the Olympic Village thanks to his new partnership.
“I go through so much laundry, I’m gonna need Tide,” Lyles said. “I mean, I’m a track and field athlete. Just yesterday, I was training and my coach was talking about the stains on my outfits. Olympians get stains, too! We all need to wash our clothes.”
Lyles and 10-time Olympic medalist Carl Lewis came together for Tide’s 2024 Summer Olympics campaign called “Stains Happen to the Best of Us,”
News
J.J. Watt on Mahomes’ NFL Reign: It’s Like Competing in Michael Jordan’s Shadow – Shocking Analysis!
Despite never winning a Super Bowl or even reaching a conference final, J.J. Watt’s career in the NFL was synonymous with success, consistency, and discipline. Over 12 seasons, Watt achieved accolades that few…
Why Taylor Swift’s 2024 MTV VMAs Look Is a Major Departure from Her Usual Glam – Discover the Transformation
Taylor Swift at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards. . PHOTO: JAMIE MCCARTHY/WIREIMAGE Every time Taylor Swift hits the red carpet, the Internet gets down to decoding her looks, head…
Taylor Swift Describes Travis Kelce with all the Words on ‘Fortnight’ Set as She Wins Video of the Year at 2024 MTV VMAs
Taylor Swift accepts the win for video of the year at the VMAs. PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER POLK/BILLBOARD VIA GETTY The votes are in — Taylor Swift had the video of the year!…
Shannon Sharpe COMES CLEAN: Admits His Raunchy Tape Leak Wasn’t a Hack – Full Details in Emergency Podcast
Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson (Photo via Nightcap/YouTube) Shannon Sharpe didn’t take long to admit that his Instagram account did not get hacked when he went live…
IDENTIFIED? Social Media Investigators Claim to Have Revealed Woman in Shannon Sharpe’s Controversial Video
Shannon Sharpe (Photo via shannonsharpe84/IG) Social media detectives reckon they’ve identified the woman Shannon Sharpe was having intercourse with after a raunchy video was accidentally streamed via…
NFL Sideline Reporter Jane Slater’s UNFILTERED Response to Shannon Sharpe’s Scandalous Tape Leak
Shannon Sharpe and Jane Slater (Photos via Getty Images and janeashleyslater/Instagram) Shannon Sharpe has claimed that his Instagram was hacked on Wednesday after a sexually explicit video…
End of content
No more pages to load