Fastest man in the world Noah Lyles responds to criticism of his painted nails
Sprinter Noah Lyles has responded after people decided to offer their unsolicited opinions of his painted nails online.
Lyles became the gold medallist in the 100 metre sprint, clocking in a time of 9.79 seconds.
It was an astonishing race, with the eight fastest men in the world practically piling over the finish line.
Calling it a photo finish would be something of an understatement, with Lyles eventually claiming victory by five milliseconds, that's five thousandths of a second.
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For context, the average blink of an eye lasts 100 to 150 milliseconds, so 'close' doesn't really cover it.
But while the finish itself might have been nail-bitingly close, it seems that some people decided to focus not on Lyles' astonishing achievement at the Olympics.
Instead, they decided to offer their unsolicited thoughts on the new world's fastest man having painted nails on social media. Well, this is the internet after all.
Some people remarked that it was 'disturbing' or that painting nails is just for women. Sure, bro.
Lyles, 27, responded to the comments online and it seems like they were water off a duck's back.
Speaking to US Magazine via a Zoom call, the Olympic gold medallist said: “I’m a person who knows that a lot of people have different opinions and they have them for different reasons.
“To be honest, I’m so confident in myself that it doesn’t really matter. I think it’s funny at times.”
Lyles was spotted with nails painted to spell out the word 'ICON' on his fingertips.
And given his subsequent gold medal that seems like a more than fair description.
He added: “Sometimes it’s like, ‘Hey, I know you were brought up this way, but I was brought up that way,’ and the fact that you can’t see the differences of why I might do it, I find that entertaining.
“You know, people like me because I do this. I’m just being myself.”
Lyles previously opened up about where he gets his confidence from, and whether it crosses the line into 'cocky'.
He said: “The most misunderstood thing is the balance between cocky and confident.
“There is a strong line that people assume my confidence is cockiness. I will say this. Anybody who thought I was cocky and met me, they’re instantly like, ‘Oh, that’s the nicest, coolest guy I’ve ever met in my life'.”
He added: “I never blame anybody who thinks that I’m cocky. It’s just a ‘you haven’t met me situation.’ That’s all.”
Team USA's current medal count - 72
Gold medalists
- Lee Kiefer: Fencing - Women's individual foil
- Torri Huske: Swimming - Women's 100m butterfly
- Jack Alexj, Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong, Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Held, Matt King: Swimming - Men's 4x100m freestyle
- Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Hezly Rivera: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's team competition
- Katie Ledecky: Swimming - Women's 1500m freestyle
- Nick Mead, Justin Best, Michael Grady and Liam Corrigan: Rowing - Men's coxless four
- Jacqueline Dubrovich, Lee Kiefer, Lauren Scruggs, Maia Mei Weintraub - Fencing: Women's foil team
- Simone Biles: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's individual all-around
- Kate Douglass: Swimming - Women's 200m breaststroke
- Simone Biles: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's vault
- Vincent Hancock: Shooting - Men's skeet
- Ryan Crouser: Athletics - Men's shot put
- Katie Ledecky: Swimming - Women's 800m freestyle
- Nic Fink, Torri Huske, Ryan Murphy, Gretchen Walsh: Swimming - Mixed 4x100m medley relay
- Bobby Finke: Swimming - Men's 1500m freestyle
- Kristen Faulkner: Cycling - Women's road race
- Scottie Scheffler: Golf - Men's individual stroke play
- Noah Lyles: Athletics - Men's 100m
- Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske: Swimming - Women's 4x100m medley relay
Silver medalists
- Nic Fink: Swimming - Men's 100m breaststroke
- Lauren Scruggs: Fencing - Women's individual foil
- Gretchen Walsh: Swimming - Women's 100m butterfly
- Haley Batten: Mountain Bike - Women's cross country
- Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh. Torri Huske, Simone Manuel, Erika Connolly, Abbey Weitzel: Swimming - Women's 4x100m freestyle
- Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook: Diving - Women's springboard 3m synchronised
- Katie Grimes: Swimming - Women's 400m individual medley
- Jagger Eaton: Skateboarding - Men's street
- Regan Smith: Swimming - Women's 100m backstroke
- Bobby Finke: Swimming - Men's 800m freestyle
- Carson Foster, Brooks Curry, Chris Guiliano, Luke Hobson, Drew Kibler, Blake Pieroni, Kieran Smith: Swimming - Men, 4x200m freestyle
- Perris Benegas: Cycling - Women's BMX freestyle
- Torri Huske: Swimming - Women's 100m freestyle
- Regan Smith: Swimming - Women's 200m butterfly
- Erin Gemell, Katie Ledecky, Paige Madden, Simone Manuel, Anna Peplowski, Alex Shackell, Claire Weinstein: Swimming - Women's 4x200m freestyle
- Karl Cook, Laura Kraut, McLain Ward: Equestrian - Jumping team
- Sagen Maddalena: Shooting - Women, 50m rifle 3 positions
- Regan Smith: Swimming - Women's 200m backstroke
- Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram: Tennis - Men's doubles
- Conner Prince: Shooting - Men's skeet
- Joe Kovacs: Athletics - Men's shot put
- Kaylyn Brown, Bryce Deadmon, Shamier Little, Vernon Norwood: Athletics - 4x400m relay mixed
- Sha'Carri Richardson: Athletics - Women's 100m
- Kate Douglass: Swimming - Women's 200m individual medley
- Brady Ellison: Archery: Men's individual
- Hunter Armstrong, Caeleb Dressel, Nic Fink, Ryan Murphy: Swimming - Men's 4x100m medley relay
- Seth Rider, Taylor Spivey, Morgan Pearson and Taylor Knibb: Triathlon - Mixed relay
Bronze medalists
- Carson Foster: Swimming - Men's 400m individual medley
- Katie Ledecky: Swimming - Women's 400m freestyle
- Chloe Dygert: Cycling - Women's individual time trial
- Frederick Richard, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik, Paul Juda, Asher Hong: Artistic Gymnastics - Men's team competition
- Nick Itkin: Fencing - Men's foil individual
- Emma Weyant: Swimming - Women's 400m individual medley
- Ryan Murphy: Swimming - Men's 100m backstroke
- Luke Hobson: Swimming - Men's 200m freestyle
- Nyjah Huston: Skateboarding - Men's street
- Ilona Maher, Kayla Canett, Lauren Doyle, Alev Kelter, Kristi Kirshe, Sarah Levy, Alena Olsen, Ariana Ramsey, Steph Rovetti, Alex Sedrick, Sammy Sullivan, Naya Tapper: Rugby 7s - Women's team competition
- Katharine Berkoff: Swimming - Women's 100m backstroke
- Evy Leibfarth: Canoe slalom - Women's Canoe Single
- Suni Lee: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's individual all-around
- Casey Kaufhold, Brady Ellison: Archery - Mixed Team
- Grant Fisher: Athletics - Men's 10,000m
- Ian Barrows and Hans Henken: Sailing - Men's skiff
- Henry Hollingsworth, Nick Rusher, Christian Tabash, Clark Dean, Chris Carlson, Peter Chatain, Evan Olson, Pieter Quinton: Rowing - Men's eight
- Stephen Nedoroscik: Gymnastics - Men's pommel horse
- Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul: Tennis - Men's doubles
- Jade Carey: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's vault
- Jasmine Moore: Athletics - Women's triple jump
- Melissa Jefferson: Athletics - Women's 100m
- Paige Madden: Swimming - Women's 800m freestyle
- Suni Lee: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's uneven bars
- Austen Jewell Smith: Shooting - Women's skeet
- Fred Kerley: Athletics - Men's 100m
Kit Roberts