“On The Breathing Machine”: Noah Lyles Opens Up About His Mental Health Journey Ahead of Diamond League Finale

Noah Lyles is enjoying a bulldozing roll right now. The 26-year-old speedster has left the entire competition behind and has become the new benchmark for upcoming competition. While Lyles is currently enjoying a massive wave of success, things weren’t always easy for him, especially as a kid.

The World Champion has spoken about his mental health issues from time to time and conveyed his hardships. In a recently uploaded YouTube video, Lyles went completely candid and painted a clearer picture about his mental health.

Noah Lyles gets raw on mental health difficulties as a child

Budapest’s golden threepeater Noah Lyles is on a staunch winning march. He didn’t just shine at the World Athletics Championship, but also at the Zurich Diamond League. Lyles also triumphed at the London Diamond League and dismantled Usain Bolt’s record for the highest number of sub-20 200m finishes. Noah Lyles had to take a difficult journey to realize and work on his strengths. Lyles was recently invited by former NFL legend Brandon Marshall to his ‘I AM ATHLETE’ podcast. Marshall praised the World champ for his outspokenness and questioned Lyles about his mental health journey. Lyles responded to his compliment saying, “I appreciate you for telling me about my ability to speak. it’s again something that I work on.” Marshal’s words eased Lyles up, who narrated his story.

“My mental health journey probably began when I was actually born. I was born with chronic asthma and I basically spent, you know, since I first could remember. Probably till about eight years old in the hospital on the breathing machine. Sleepless nights, coughing all night. If I got sick it would mix with my asthma. It was a battle, it was a true battle,” said Lyles. The confession comes just days before the Diamond League Finals at Eugene. The 6x world champion later said that along with a physical illness, he was also plagued by ADD and dyslexia.

Lyles on hardships faced at school

Noah Lyles revealed about his learning disability and his Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). He said, “I learned that I have ADD and dyslexia that didn’t make school very easy. It actually made it extremely hard. Not just from trying to learn, but also, you know, basically being bullied that you can’t learn just like everybody else.” Lyles also said that while the bullying was something other kids inflicted on him, the schooling system was also suffocating.

Lyles narrated that he had to go to a place that wasn’t supportive of his learning disability. He shared, “Going through a school system that wasn’t made for my way of learning or my way of creatively building off other things… It wasn’t until I got out of high school that I realized that my ADD is a strong gift.” Noah Lyles’ struggle was also echoed by his brother, Josephus, who revealed that traditional education wasn’t easy for Noah. Today, however, Lyles isn’t subjugated by his problems but has actually overcome them to a great extent. The world champion is looking forward to entering the tracks of Eugene to lift the prestigious Diamond League trophy. Will Lyles be able to register another win where he secured his 2022 WAC gold medal?

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