Noah Lyles gave refreshingly honest reason why he doesn't idolise Usain Bolt

Noah Lyles is one of the most self-confident athletes on the planet. And the current Olympic sprint king says he doesn't put any other athlete on a "pedestal" – not even Usain Bolt.

Lyles – the star of the Netflix documentary series Sprint – was one of the main attractions at the Olympics last year in Paris.

And the Team USA speedster did not disappointing, claiming gold in the 100m before earning a bronze in the 200m – his preferred event – despite battling Covid between races.

The charismatic track star ran a personal best 9.79 to claim 100m glory at the Paris Games, fending off Jamaica's Kishane Thompson in a photo finish, with American teammate Fred Kerley taking bronze.

Noah Lyles is eyeing the world record. Image: Getty

That victory gave Lyles the first Olympic gold of his career, after he'd won a bronze in the 200m in Tokyo three years earlier.

And the 27-year-old has made no secret of his ambitions to eventually break Bolt's world records in the two events.

Speaking in an interview for the Wanda Diamond League in 2018, a young Lyles insisted that, while he looks up to Bolt, he does not let his admiration of the Jamaican icon cloud his record-breaking goals.

"You can admire someone, you can respect someone in track and field – in any sport – but if you start letting them become your idol, then it becomes a point of, you're gonna put them on this pedestal that you won't be able to break," he said.

"If you put Usain Bolt on – this amazing guy, he broke the world record, he did all this stuff, but it's not impossible to break that record because he had to break somebody else's record.

"So I feel that I can respect the man. He's a great athlete. I love how much of a showman he is. I like to take that on into my characteristics when I run. But at the same time, I'm coming for his records."

Lyles still has some way to go if he is to top Bolt's best times, however, with the eight-time Olympic gold medal-winner's 100m record standing at 9.58 and his 200m record at 19.19 – with Lyles' national record in the latter being 19.31.