Josephus Lyles won the 60 meter final at New Balance Nationals Indoor in 6.65 seconds, just one one-hundredth of a second off the top ten all time list. His older brother Noah broke the national record in the 200, and the brothers kicked off their Sunday by running legs on a 1:26.21 4x200. That's the #2 time in high school history, and as Josephus is gesturing above, very close to the national record. We also interviewed Josephus, Noah, and Grant Holloway--all future college teammates-- together at the end of the meet; below is our interview with Josephus after he won the 60.
MileSplit: How you feeling right now?
Josephus Lyles: Feeling pretty good--got that adrenaline rushing. I feel amazing, actually.
You've already had a pretty day, picked up a win in that 4x2 and then immediately went to go warm up. How did you tackle having two big races so close to each other?
You just gotta calm down. We ran a really fast time in the 4x2, THIS CLOSE to the national record. You know, it's okay. I came after that, tried to settle myself, can't take that race until this race--went and got stretched out, chilled, and went right into the 60. Got that win! [Pumps arms in running motion] So, you know something's right.
I know you guys were looking for a national record, but--you seem over it already.
Yeah, we were definitely going for a 1:26 low [in the 4x200]. We ran amazing. I can't ask more from the team, we all ran our hearts out. We got really close, and I'm just happy we're on that all time list. Same with the 60--I was going for a national record in the 60, didn't get it, not mad. I'm just happy and having fun, trying to leave my name on the record books.
You're the top returner from the 400 last year, didn't do the 60 last year. What precipitated that switch in events?
I just feel like I'm in better 60 shape right now. And honestly, it's just more fun. The 400, that's a little bit of work! The 60, over, done, you get to hit top speed, it's so fun. It's my last indoor championships. I'm not the biggest fan of indoor, so might as well go out and have some fun.
Does that mean outdoors, you might throw yourself in some 100s instead of the 400?
Don't count on it! It might be one or two, but definitely sticking to that two/four for the most part.
How do you and Noah communicate about "I'll do this event, you do this event?"
It's actually really interesting. Honestly, we don't even talk about it--we kind of just both know. If Noah's running the 200, I'm probably not going to run the 200. It'd be very competitive. Sometimes we want to run against each other just to get that fastest times because we know that we're going to push each other. But at the same time, we're almost thinking let him get his win here, I'll get my win here. We don't even talk about it, it's more like a telepathy type thing--that little brotherly thing.
Are you going to take any time before outdoor starts?
Monday we're probably not going to do anything, but Tuesday we're hitting the track again. We might even do like a pool workout tomorrow.
What's the next big thing on your schedule?
Check Arcadia. We're definitely going to be there.
