Olympic heroes like Noah Lyles are going for the only gold that matters: The one in League of Legends

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The reason I'm not an Olympic athlete is just because I'm more dedicated to my League career. That's all.

PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 04: Noah Lyles of Team United States celebrates winning the gold medal after competing the Men's 100m Final on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 04, 2024 in Paris, France.
(Image credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Noah Lyles is, essentially, a superhero. The sprinter has enough gold medals to his name to establish his own personal Bretton Woods system, and he's just cinched another one—in the men's 100 metres—at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But whatever, because our man's got his eye on the actual prize: getting past all this running nonsense and getting down to real sport of champions—League of Legends (via NME). Lyles mentioned his passion for League in a recent Twitter exchange. Spanish Olympic canoeist Pau Echaniz tweeted that he wouldn't "get on a canoe until I reach gold," alongside a photo of the League client on a gaming laptop, placed conspicuously next to his Paris bronze medal for the men's kayak single. 

Lyles was quick to respond: "This bout to be me after the 4x100m," tweeted the athlete. The game's official account was quick to take advantage, tweeting "Fastest man in the world plays League… Rammus main confirmed."

Is there a link between LoL and athletic performance? Could I too reach peak physical condition by dedicating time to a MOBA? The answer, of course, is yes.

It's not the first time Lyles has outed himself as a League player. Last year he was showing off his League-themed gaming PC on YouTube, and he has a well-documented love of other nerd treasures like Yu-Gi-Oh and Dragonball Z. 

Which, on the one hand, is great. It's only natural that as videogames become a more ubiquitous thing—an essential part of so many people's childhoods who are now adults—they become more popular among figures like Lyles and other athletes. On the other? I kind of appreciated it when the stereotype was that videogame-likers were all completely out of shape. It made me feel like I had an excuse.

Anyway, the bad news is that Lyles had to pull out of the 4x100m after coming down with Covid, which must be kind of crushing. I hope the silver lining is that he'll at least be able to get back to his League career a little faster. America wants its golds. What difference if they're on the racetrack or on Summoner's Rift?

Joshua Wolens
Joshua Wolens
News Writer

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

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