submitted by Kevin Grogan
In July 2016, Josephus Lyles and his older brother Noah turned professional and signed with Adidas. They soon joined our professional sprint group, Pure Athletics, here at the National Training Center in Clermont that boasts close to twenty professional track & field sprinters. Over the past two years, the Lyles Brothers have been the talk of the track and field world. Josephus, a 200m & 400m specialist, spoke with to the South Lake Tablet this week.
TABLET: You ran at the prestigious T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria Virginia. What was your athletic background growing up?
Lyles: When I was young, I played a lot of sports but my parents were professional track athletes. I played basketball and baseball for a short time. I also tried swimming and gymnastics briefly. In the 8th grade, T.C. Williams had a program where you could run junior varsity as a middle school student. My brother Noah and I participated. We got pretty good, pretty quick so we went on into high school.
TABLET: You spend a lot of time with your brother and training partner Noah. Do you feed off each other in your training?
Lyles: Definitely. Noah and I are extremely close. Because of this, we get each other through a lot of our hard work-outs in training. We are very supportive of each other. Actually, our whole training Pure Athletics training group in Clermont is very close. You will hear all of us encouraging our teammates, clapping it up when one of us puts in a huge effort.
TABLET: Most of the day is spent at the NTC. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not training?
Lyles: Training is the focus so I eat & sleep a lot. Time at home is for recovery. I do enjoy playing a lot of video games when I have downtime. But I have also started cooking for myself more & more. When I was in high school, I was not allowed in the kitchen because I would burn myself. But I have really grown to like prepping & fixing my own meals now that I live on my own.
TABLET: What do you like most about living in South Lake County?
Lyles: It is really peaceful here. It is a lot different than the Virginia and Washington D.C area where I moved from. People are friendlier. It just seems like the Clermont community as a whole is very happy and positive. Since there are a lot of athletes around here, we fit in and not many people recognize us. This lets me be a little bit more low key which I really prefer.
TABLET: What do you see in the future for Josephus Lyles?
Lyles: The hope and the dream is the Olympics and the World Championships. The 2020 Olympic games are always the focus. It’s the Olympics; everyone wants to be there. It is definitely the goal to be there!
TABLET: The Lyles Brothers are known for having a fun time before and after races. Does that help you stay loose?
Lyles: The biggest thing I have found is that I run my best when I am having fun. I can stay loose, have a good time, and get to show what I have been doing in training. Being on the track, I am in my happy place. It is exciting because I am myself; nowhere I would rather be.
TABLET: Anything else you would like to share about yourself?
Lyles: I love living in Clermont. We (The Lyles Brothers) are building a house here. We are looking forward to living here for a long while!
