EUGENE, Ore. — Noah Lyles turned 25 on Monday, and to celebrate, he did … absolutely nothing. He had already dominated his heat in the 200-meter dash, before retreating to the Airbnb his family rented for the world championships to eat dinner and undergo two hours of treatment. Then he sped back to the U.S. national team’s hotel and went to sleep. No cake. No candles. Only the gold medal he wanted so desperately to win.
Lyles was that focused. So much so, that when he went to Hayward Field for Tuesday’s semifinals, he forgot his cell phone.