Noah Lyles opens up on mental health struggles that left him struggling to TALK, George Floyd... and his Anthony Edwards row with Adidas

American sprint sensation Noah Lyles has opened up on how the COVID-19 pandemic left him struggling to talk as he battled isolation and fatigue.

The six-time world champion is hoping to win Olympic gold in Paris this summer. He qualified for the Games with an electrifying 9.83sec 100m earlier this week. But only a few years ago, Lyles was locked in an almost 'constant asthma attack'.

Lyles, 26, told TIME that he felt 'so empty' even after winning the 200m at the 2019 world championships. And then, when coronavirus began to lock down the world, he became isolated.

'I could barely talk,' Lyles said. 'I was so tired. All the time. Even thinking was a drain. It felt like you were almost in a constant asthma attack. 

'You know there’s more room in your lungs, but you can’t physically use the muscles to actually take that breath.'

His condition only worsened in May 2020, when George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis by a white police officer.

'I just remember constantly thinking, That could be me,' Lyles added.

Lyles battled severe asthma as a child, with the sprinter unable to have toys or teddy bears for fear they would gather dust and worsen his condition. He was left with a bark-like cough, with some people mistaking him for a dog from afar.

'One day I was on a conference call for work,” his mother Keisha told TIME. 'And the supervisor said, "Could somebody take their dog out?"'

Lyles was diagnosed with ADD and dyslexia. He also battled 'ruthless' bullying while at school, branding it: 'An emotional beating, that’s the stuff that really breaks you down.'

But the 26-year-old has nevertheless risen to the top of sprinting. The American picked a fight with the NBA last summer, when he questioned why players call themselves 'world champions' after winning a title.

Basketball stars irked him again last year, when he was negotiating a contract extension with Adidas. The company invited the six-time world champion to a shoe-release for Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.

'You want to do what?' Lyles recalled. 'You want to invite me to (an event for) a man who has not even been to an NBA Finals? In a sport that you don’t even care about? And you’re giving him a shoe? 

'No disrespect: the man is an amazing athlete. He is having a heck of a year. I love that they saw the insight to give him a shoe, because they saw that he was going to be big. 

'All I’m asking is, ‘How could you not see that for me?’”