Noah Lyles had the world’s eyes on him at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday, winning the first Olympic gold medal of his career—the first gold for Team USA in men’s 100m in the last 20 years. It was an enthralling race that ended in a nail-biting photo finish.
“I have Asthma, allergies, dyslexia, ADD, anxiety, and Depression,” Lyles posted to X in the hours after the race. “But I will tell you that what you have does not define what you can become. Why Not You!”
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It’s not the first time the Olympic champ has discussed his mental health journey publicly. Sharing on Twitter ahead of the 2020 Games, which was delayed from 2020 to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lyles let the world know that he was taking antidepressants, then cycled off the medication a few months before the Olympic trials. At the time, Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez also chimed in to support, sharing, “That feeling of the dark mental fog slowly disappearing after taking them is one of the best feelings in the world. So proud of you :)”
Notably, in the same Olympic Games, the greatest gymnast of all time stepped away from the mat, to waves of criticism at a global scale. After coming forward as a survivor of sexual abuse by former national gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar in 2018, Simone Biles sought therapy, and ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, admitted that the Tokyo Games meant not only more training but also another year of working with USA Gymnastics, which she and her fellow survivors feel failed to protect them and take accountability for Nassar. In the end, a bout of twisties and a loss of a healthy mind-body connection resulted in her dropping out of competition.
This year marks a sea-change in the prioritization of, and dedication to, supporting athletes’ mental health.
For the 2024 Paris Olympics, Biles returned triumphant after years of working on her mental and physical wellbeing in the wake of the Tokyo Games, confident, and with the assistance of her therapist, a new doctor and coaching team in tow, and with a steadfast dedication to her mental health.
After winning the all-around competition on Thursday, Biles took time to highlight a moment of zen from her gold medal performance. In an Instagram post on Friday, shared a picture from mid-competition, she’s meditating with her eyes closed, focused on the moment ahead.
"Mental health matters," Biles captioned the post.
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Yet, while many are participating in the 2024 Olympics Games in Paris with a renewed sense of the importance of mental health, other competing athletes face dehumanizing levels of scrutiny on the world stage. After Italian boxer Angela Carini dropped out in a bout against Algeria's Imane Khelif, Khelif faced immediate torrents of accusations that the cause was an unfair advantage because she was transgender, which she is not. Khelif said in a press conference on Sunday that the wave of hate and transphobia she faced “harms human dignity.” Calling for an end to bullying at the Olympics, Khelif said, “It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.”
“Honestly, I don’t follow social media,” she said. “There is a mental health team that doesn’t let us follow social media, especially in the Olympic Games, whether me or other athletes. I’m here to compete and get a good result.”
Khelif’s next bout in Paris is against Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand. If successful, she will go on to fight for a gold medal Friday.
