For Olympics 100m gold medallist and multiple-time world champion American sprinter Noah Lyles, 2026 season and beyond will be about having an "all-or-nothing" mentality.
Lyles, who aims to beat the legendary Usain Bolt's records in 100m and 200m events, says his new approach would demand his body to produce something never happened before as he looks to make the most of the home Olympics -- LA28 Games.
“I would say I'm starting 2026 with a jump-off-the-cliff mentality. If I had to give a little more detail, it's all or nothing. There's no in-between,” Lyles, a brand ambassador for the Bajaj Pune Marathon, told PTI in an exclusive interview in Pune on Saturday.
“There's no one foot in, one foot out. It's all or nothing. That's the type of mentality that I'm coming into 2026 with.”
Lyles said the new approach will push him to reach those limits in training and beyond which he never has been through.
“I'm still the same person. Of course, I'm going to keep growing and keep trying to be better,” he said.
“But I'm going to have such an all-or-nothing mentality in my training that it's going to demand something from my body, that it has not had produced before.”
The 28-year-old flamboyant sprinter said he has not yet confirmed his participation in the inaugural edition of the Ultimate Championship, a biennial track and field event to be held by World Athletics next September in Budapest.
“No, I haven't confirmed my participation as of now. That's kind of just where it's standing until we have a better understanding and a better working concept with World Athletics,” he said.
“I'm an all-or-nothing person, so if I'm showing up to an event, you're getting my all. I don't want to show up anywhere that I can't give my everything and my all and my showmanship and my excitement to."
“If you're limiting me in doing that, then I can't give myself nor the fans what I believe would be the best performance,” he added.
Lyles, who became the first sprinter since Bolt to record a treble in 2023 World Championships (100m, 200m and 4x100m relay), said Los Angeles is a “perfect place for great things to happen” when asked if breaking the Jamaican legend's record is on his list of goals.
“I would say that LA is a perfect place for great races to happen and I'm very blessed to be able to have the Olympics show up in my lifetime on home soil,” he said.
“I'm not going to let that opportunity go by without taking advantage of it and yes, the all-or-nothing mentality is something that I plan to continuously push forward,” Lyles added.
‘Can we give the greatest events to be seen?'
Lyles said his decision in finalising participation in Ultimate Championships will also be swayed with what he can offer as an athlete.
“I constantly think about, ‘can we give everybody the greatest events they've ever seen? How do we constantly recreate that or create it in a new light? If it's something that's never been done before, let's do that',” he said.
“If it's something that has (been done before), let's figure out how to go even further this time. That's my thought process when it comes to major champs, how to structure the season, and what I want to do,” he added.
Lyles said he will look to remain flexible in terms of his preparation and participation in events but would want to follow the routines he did ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he won a gold in 100m and a bronze in 200m.
“… because everything is subject to change. We're in 2025, about to go into 2026, so that would technically be almost two years away (from LA28),” he said.
“The sport could change dramatically in that time period. We don't know. I'd never want to make anything concrete. I want to make everything flexible enough to change."
“But preferably, it would be a similar season to 2024 where I would have a very big indoor season to really rev up the engine for the 100m. I would probably do more 200s, an equal amount of 100s and 200s in that year. I think that was something that I wanted more of in 2024,” he added.
‘Won't call rivalry against Jamaicans difficult'
Lyles, who finished third behind Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson in World Championships in Tokyo this year, said he won't term the rivalry with the Jamaicans as “difficult”.
“Everybody's here to win — I would be disappointed if you weren't. (But) I wouldn't call it difficult; I would call it inspiring,” he said.
“When the competition is tough, that's when you get to see the best. When you can't figure out who's going to win, those are the most exciting races. But they're also the ones that I strive the best in.”
Known for “reinventing” himself on and off the track, Lyles says he doesn't want to be stagnant.
“If I become stagnant, then that's when I stop succeeding, stop progressing. That's when I stop growing, and that's when everybody has time to catch up,” he said.
"I don't see a reason to not try to reinvent myself, to not strive for better, find new ways of attacking a problem that has yet to be solved and that's why I constantly try to grow.”
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