Noah Lyles
Nine-time global gold medallist to take the mic as Ultimate MC and Creative Adviser
Noah Lyles has been announced as an Ultimate Star for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, taking place on 11-13 September in Budapest, Hungary.
Lyles, the dominant US sprinter who has won consecutive 200m golds at the past four World Championships, is locked in to compete at the inaugural edition of the new global championship. Lyles has earned automatic qualification into both the 100m and 200m by virtue of his podium-topping performances in those disciplines at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, respectively.
In his role, Lyles will serve as Ultimate MC and Creative Adviser for the Ultimate. In particular, he will provide insights into event presentation elements of the Ultimate Championship, meeting with World Athletics representatives for ideation sessions on a wide range of topics including fan engagement in-stadium, athlete introductions, and awards.
Lyles will also shape the creative direction of Club Ultimate, the after-party designed exclusively for athletes at the event. He will guide the look, feel, sounds and tastes of the party throughout the planning process and during the party itself.
“We couldn’t be more excited to announce this partnership with Noah Lyles, one of the biggest stars our sport has ever seen,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.
“The Ultimate is intended to give athletes a spotlight in the stadium while simultaneously offering a platform for their passions beyond the track. As with our previously announced Ultimate Stars, we worked closely with Noah to develop a framework that goes beyond an ambassadorship and enables him to apply his many talents to multiple aspects of this premiere event.”
Lyles has earned three Olympic medals and 10 World Championships medals in his illustrious career so far across the 100m, 200m and 4x100m. He holds national records in the 200m (19.31) and as part of the 4x100m (37.10). His 200m time places him third on the world all-time list.
Lyles is also known for his stage presence and driving conversations in the worlds of fashion, media and pop culture. This background makes him uniquely suited to inform on the creative aspects of how fans and athletes experience athletics events.
“I love the idea of the best athletes coming together to determine who is best of the best,” said Lyles. “My goal has been to have athletes have a real involvement in the development of the Ultimate Championship and the show we'll put on, and I feel like we've done that. I look forward to working with World Athletics to create an experience never seen before by fans or athletes. This will be a start in evolving the sport into a new age of sports and entertainment.”
Lyles joins Mondo Duplantis, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Letsile Tebogo and Tara Davis-Woodhall as an Ultimate Star. Usain Bolt is the Ultimate Legend for the event.
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship is set to transform the athletics calendar and settle the debate over which athlete is the best of the best every two years – pitting world champions, Olympic champions, Wanda Diamond League winners and this year’s top-ranked athletes against each other to crown the champion of champions. The Ultimate features a historic prize pot of $10 million.
You can learn more about the Ultimate Championship here, and you can purchase tickets here.
