With June being celebrated as Men’s Health Month, American sprint superstar Noah Lyles says his success has been down to significant investment in both his physical and mental well-being.

The 26-year-old has proven to be one of the best athletes in the sport over the last few years where he’s claimed six world titles, including the sprint triple of the 100m, 200m and 4x100m at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last year.

Lyles recently competed at the Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium where he clocked a season’s best 9.85 seconds in the 100m, finishing behind Jamaica’s Oblique Seville. It was also his second fastest 100m time in his career, just shy of his 9.83 personal best set in Budapest.

When asked by the Jamaica Observer, Lyles says he’s been able to produce at a high level after making financial sacrifices in his physical health.

“I put a lot of money into medical, a lot of money. Probably most of my budget is medical and ever since my first World Championships in 2019, I’ve always said and had the mindset of ‘if I put my chips into this category of medical, it will pay me back and every time it has,” he said.

As more prize money and sponsorships started to come his way, Lyles says he realised that prioritising his body’s well-being was becoming increasingly important.

“Every time that I’ve flown out my massage therapist to a World Championships, I’ve left with a gold medal. I’ve said I’m going to bring my chiropractor and my massage therapist next time because I’ve gained more money because of my medal, I’ve now walked away with three medals or walking away with two medals and it consistently pushes the envelope because now that I have the money, it’s like where can I keep extending it,” he said.

“Now that I have the resources, I fly business class because I get to sleep on the plane the whole time, I’m not cramped up in this position, standing up. That constantly just moves me forward to going to be in the best shape whenever I show up and that has paid dividends down the line and it’s still the mindset that I keep to this day.”

He’s seen as one of the faces of track and field, not only due to his performances but also his confident and playful persona, which has drawn comparisons to the world’s fastest man, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt.

However, Lyles has been open with his battle with mental health, to the point where he began taking medication in 2020 and sought professional help. As a result, he has seen improvement in his well-being and is now urging other athletes and individuals to make it a priority.

“I’m not going to say it’s an easy thing to get over depression at all. Catching it early is the greatest thing you can do and then once you catch it, make sure that you’re getting as much help as possible. The longer you let it fester, the worse it can become until it gets to a point where it’s irreversible. Of course, that can take quite a few years to get to, but if you ignore it for too long, that will be your situation,” he said.

“For me, it was catching it quick and being able to catch it quick meant that I could get on my antidepressant medication and then come off of it a few months down the line. I wasn’t on it for longer than a year and thankfully I was able to say okay, let’s get back to that energetic person that I am and keeping family and who I want in my circle very close to me was extremely important as well and it helped me get back faster and faster,” Lyles added.

The American has goals of winning triple gold at the Paris Olympics this summer but he also aims to break the 100m and 200m world records, set by Bolt in 2009.

Lyles says with being in a healthy place, both physically and mentally, he believes he can achieve his objectives.

“I’m blessed and I’m highly favoured. I’m blessed because I’m not depressed because that helps a lot when you’re going out in training and I’m highly favoured because everywhere I go, I feel that God is constantly rolling out the red carpet. Not saying it’s all sunshine, rainbows and flowers, but it’s been very joyful to be able to do what I love and still consistently see improvement each year, especially the improvements we’ve been seeing this year.”

Lyles competed in his first 200m on Sunday at the New York Grand Prix where he clocked 19.77 seconds, the fifth fastest time this year.