2024 Paris Olympics

From the Dragon Ball โ€˜Kamehameha' to Yu-Gi-Oh: Noah Lyles' love for anime on full display at Paris Olympics

NBC Universal, Inc.

The "World's Fastest Man" and U.S. track star Noah Lyles has been making headlines as of late.

Lyles recently got a lot of traction for his photo finish gold medal win in the men's 100-meter race at the Paris Olympics. But Lyles' skills aren't the only thing that is getting a lot of attention on social media.

Following his Olympic gold medal win, Lyles celebrated by doing the "Kamehameha" pose. The Kamehameha is the signature move of Goku, the main character of the Dragon Ball franchise. Lyles has also done the celebration pose in previous races.

The celebration got positive reaction from fans and the anime community. Toei Animation, the well-known Japanese animation studio of the Dragon Ball anime franchise, praised Lyles' celebration on X.

Lyles has never been shy to show his love of anime in public.

During the Olympic Track and Field trials in June, Lyles was seen pulling several cards from the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. The cards he pulled during the trials were the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Exodia the Forbidden One.

In the past, Lyles has also posted many social media posts on Dragon Ball. In March, when news came out that Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama died, Lyles posted his tribute on social media and mentioned how Toriyama's work had "forever affected" his life.

Meanwhile, Lyles' Paris Olympics journey is not over yet. He is set to compete in the men's 200m final, which is scheduled for Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Lyles will also compete in the men's 4x100m relay events, which are scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

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