Off the track, Noah is busy racking up the endorsements.
I was blessed with the opportunity to speak with the Olympian after the games.
Did they train you, or did they have any influence on you?
“I was addressing people who love me and hate me, and I said, ‘No matter what, you still watched, didn’t you?'"
It was more of something I naturally gravitated toward myself.
Me and my brother, we did almost every sport out there before we got to track and field.
Track and field was the last sport that we did.
2.How did your parents feel about you choosing their sport last, after trying everything else?
My parents did that purposely.
They wanted us to choose track, and not because they did it.
3.What was the first thing you thought when you won the 100-meter race at the Olympics?
Oh my gosh…amazing!
Because, there was a point where I didn’t think I won.
I literally was moving off of pure instinct and emotion at the time.
I think I didn’t lean enough,” or it just wasn’t the right timing.
5.And you won by, like, 100th of a second, right?
No, it was a 1,000th of a second!
6.What would you tell young aspiring athletes that want to be like you?
I always tell athletes pretty much the same thing.
They always come up to me like, “I want to be like you.”
And I’m like, “You don’t want to be like me.
You want to be like you, because that’s how you become like me.”
That right there is going to carry you so much further in life than anything could truly carry you.
You will be leaps and bounds above people.
What advice would you give to other athletes when it comes to their mental health and competing?
I advise you to go jump in some therapy.
It is no harm to get a checkup from the neck up.
You know, they’ll wonder, why are you so joyful?
Why are you so confident?
How were you able to push through while being sick, dealing with those chills and those other symptoms?
However, I saw some of the USA Men’s Basketball team watching your 100-meter race.
So what is your relationship like with those guys?
I didn’t have a relationship with them then, and I guess I don’t have one now.
They talk about me more than I talk about them.
“I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head.
World champion of what?
The United States?”
(via@ESPN)pic.twitter.com/ERBMd5lNUE
I feel that it took on a life of itself.
The NBA was just an example.
The point got lost in translation along the way.
They’re already great!
We want to be celebrated just as much.
11.That makes a lot of sense.
And I believe you are going to be celebrated at the highest level now.
I mean, you killed it.
Did you have any heroes growing up, or anyone you look up to now?
No, I wouldn’t say I have any heroes.
I’m more of an anime kid!
12.I grew up on some anime, what’s your favorite?
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, by far.
13.What about that anime really spoke to you?
14.What music do you listen to to get yourself amped up for competition?
Is there anything specific that gets you in the zone?
Yeah, so I’ve spliced two concerts together.
One is Travis Scott.
It’s his concert, he performed in Zurich.
I can’t remember which concert it was, because he was singing almost everything.
I think it was the iHeart Radio concert.
But those two concerts together are what make my finals playlist.
15.Okay, final question: Give me your Mount Rushmore of greatest athletes.
Greatest athletes of all time, goodness gracious, on the spot, too?
[Laughs] Okay, Muhammad Ali.
Then, I’m gonna put Usain Bolt in there.
Before Usain Bolt there was no track and field athlete that actually doubled more than once at an Olympics.
The accomplishments that he’s made are astronomical.
Then I think we’d have to put Michael Jordan on there.
And I definitely put Serena Williams on there as well.
This interview has been edited for length and/or clarity.
