It has been almost 10 years since Noah Lyles turned professional, but it seems he has only really realised it now! Throughout his career, he has collected major titles, including Olympic gold and multiple World Championship medals, but barely stopped to get a break. With 2026 being an off year, Lyles has raced less in the early part of the season. Though he is scheduled to run at the Wanda Diamond League meet in Rome, before the race even begins, Noah is already feeling “old.”

On June 3, just a day before the meet, in the pre-race press conference shared by @TrackGazette, Lyles appeared alongside Julien Alfred (24), Letsile Tebogo (22), and others. The atmosphere was relaxed, and he leaned into it while talking about his season. “I’m just here to have fun. This is my first off-season since 2018,” he said.

And suddenly, while talking, the 28-year-old looked around at the other athletes and started to laugh and went, “Shooo… I just realized none of y’all were running professionally in 2018. Dang, I’m old,” Lyles added. Julien Alfred and Letsile Tebogo even uttered a smile and laughter at that.

Behind that humor lies a career that rarely slowed down. In recent years, with championship seasons so back-to-back, Lyles has had to keep jumping from one high performance to the next with little stop, and that is the case this year. One of the clearest examples came in 2024 when he went from the U.S. Olympic Trials straight into the Paris Olympics.

At the U.S. Olympic Trials, he was able to run many rounds in the 200m, finishing with a 19.53 in the final, and then immediately moved to Paris for the games. Weeks later, he won a gold medal in the 100 m at the Olympics with 9.79 seconds. But the time around the recovery was short. Lyles lined up for the 200m rounds despite visible illness.

He tested positive for COVID-19 during that period, though, and ran and won bronze in 19.70 anyway.  But he collapsed on the track after the 200m finish line and was carried off in a wheelchair. That collapse underscored the toll of relentless scheduling.

Even the “quiet” season is busy for him. He opened his season in May in Japan, where he won the 100m at the Golden Grand Prix in 9.95 seconds. He will also be making a big name for himself at the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava, as he is expected to headline a special 150m race.

Despite all of that, Lyles says this year feels less pressured compared to past seasons.“I’m going to meets that I haven’t been to in a while, some I’ve never been to…,” he said. He also explained how his approach has changed this time around. “It’s not a situation of having to peak at a certain time. It’s just as soon as we’re ready to run fast, we find a meet and let’s run.”

But the real question is, is Noah Lyles actually “old” in track and field terms?

Is Noah Lyles built for LA 2028, or is the clock already ticking

Noah Lyles is 28; that is considered in the middle of the age range where most sprinters peak. In sprinting, the strongest years usually fall between 24 and 31, which means Lyles is still inside that prime window. Even Usain Bolt was still winning at 29, when he won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay before stepping away from the sport.

Bolt carefully curated his race schedules and typically raced significantly fewer meets per year compared to Lyles to prolong their careers.

So the better question is not about age, but how long Lyles can keep this level going. Could he still be sharp for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, when he will be 30? Or even push further toward Brisbane 2032?

Lyles has already made it clear that he is not rushing any decision about the future. “I do believe it should be something that I take year by year because I do expect to have kids by then and my life develop in different ways,” he has said.

At the same time, he has not ruled out continuing if his body and mindset are still in the right place. A big part of that depends on what he achieves next, especially in the Olympics. Despite all his success, one big goal is still missing. Olympic gold in the 200m. “I still don’t have a 200m gold medal… that’s the last itch,” he has admitted.

That hunger is what keeps longer-term ambitions such as LA 2028, and even Brisbane 2032, in the frame. To Lyles, it’s not about age as much as it is about whether he still has the fire in him to play at the top.