The world’s fastest man made a memorable stop. Monday olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles swung by Children's National Hospital in D.C. for a very special visit.
Weeks after taking home gold and bronze in paris, the sprinting champ slowing down to take questions from patients turned DJs for a radio show broadcast to every room in the hospital.
“I feel very honored to be able to come back and have everybody be so happy,” Lyles said.
The candid convo touched on everything from his favorite films, ice cream, anime, random animal facts and his own battle with asthma as a child.
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Of course, no meet and greet would be complete without games and autographs.
Fun for all, for sure, but Lyles says he takes visits like these very seriously.
“I remember when I was in this position, and it can feel like there is no other side. It just feels like this is going to be your life, especially when you’re so young,” he said. “So I wanted to make sure that they one, understood that it’s not always going to be bad, but also know that there’s going to be plenty of joyful things to happen in life.”
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For many patients and their families, their time with the track superstar left an Olympic-size impression.
“It's very inspirational, especially hearing about his experience at the Olympics and everything leading up to here,” said patient Jordan Torres.
Leo Hare has been at the hospital since wednesday, and his dad, Joshua Hare, says the Q&A with the Lyles was a golden opportunity.
“It means a lot because he’s able to get out of the room, come down here and kind of take a mental break,” he said.
Lyles’ family also got something special out of the visit. His mom, Keisha Cane Bishop, says he knows exactly how many of these parents feel
“We know what it’s like to be in the hospital, we know what it’s like to be stuck in the emergency room, the world is going by and you feel like everybody forgot about you because your kid is sick and it’s just really hard,” she said. “We can encourage other people that it’s not going to always be this hard.”
Lyles’ schedule has been jam packed since the Olympics, visiting several states, NFL games, the U.S. Open and walking in New York Fashion Week.
After this, he’s off to the U.K. and after a little R and R, it’s back to training.
“Is it too early for you to start thinking about LA 2028?” News4 asked
“I mean, no,” he said. “I’ve thought about it since my career started in track and field. I knew that LA, I think, was going to be my biggest performance”
And this is just one of the ways lyles is giving back. Over the weekend, his family foundation collected winter coats in his hometown of Alexandria.
