There were cheers heard around the D.C. area Sunday as Noah Lyles crossed the finish line to earn gold in the 100-meter final, including from friends and family attending a watch party at Alexandria, Virginia’s Pork Barrel BBQ.
Lyles has quite a few titles to celebrate: Alexandria’s pride and joy, the fastest man in the world and Olympic gold medalist.
“It’s the most exciting day in the world.” said Lyles’ uncle Rahsaan Caine. “I mean, like, it’s — it’s priceless.”
Caine told WTOP that Lyles’ skills were clear from a young age.
“I realized he was fast when he could beat me running,” Caine said. “When he was about 13 years old — and I’ve always been really fast.”
And now, with Lyles already in the history books, Caine said it means even more to see all the people gathered from Alexandria to watch his nephew cross the finish line.
“Winning the gold is winning the gold for everybody. And that’s how I actually view it,” he told WTOP. “It’s not just him. It’s not just me. It’s literally everybody.”
Ben Matthews, a science teacher at Alexandria City High School, who once taught Lyles, said the Olympian continues to add to the sport’s history with every accomplishment: “We see in the news and see on TV, just Noah out there doing the right things.”
Students in Alexandria also enjoyed the celebrations, telling WTOP that they are excited to call themselves “Titans” after seeing an alumnus competing at the Olympics.
One recent graduate of Alexandria City High School, Cooper Jones, said that while he never met Lyles, the track and field star has a big presence on the school’s campus.
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“There’s a lot of really great athletes that come out of our school, a lot of really successful people come out of our school, but it’s definitely not every day that you see someone with that recognition on national television and just someone that walked the same halls as you,” Jones told WTOP.
WTOP’s Ivy Lyons contributed to this report.
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