Bill Text: VA SJR222 | 2020 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Noah Lyles.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-03-07 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ222ER) [SJR222 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-SJR222-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Noah Lyles, a track and field star from Alexandria, was named the U.S. Men's Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News in 2019; and
WHEREAS, born in Gainesville, Florida, and raised in Alexandria, Noah Lyles attended T.C. Williams High School and trained at the school's Parker-Gray Memorial Stadium, where he started on his path toward becoming the fastest man in the world; and
WHEREAS, Noah Lyles' promising future was evident with wins in several major international youth competitions, including the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics and the 2015 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships; and
WHEREAS, shortly after graduating in 2016, Noah Lyles remarkably placed fourth in the 200-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Trials, breaking a national high school record that had previously stood for 31 years; and
WHEREAS, Noah Lyles next great accomplishment came as a professional sprinter at the 2017 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, where he won his first senior national title with a time of 31.87 in the 300-meter race, a new world record; and
WHEREAS, limited by injury for much of the 2017 season, Noah Lyles nonetheless rallied to compete in the final race of the year, defeating the reigning world champion to claim the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond League overall title in the 200-meter event; and
WHEREAS, Noah Lyles has since claimed three more IAAF Diamond League championship trophies, a feat that has never been accomplished before; when he won the 100-meter event at the 2019 IAAF Diamond League Championship, he also became the first person to hold IAAF Diamond League titles in both the 100-meter and 200-meter events; and
WHEREAS, in July 2019, Noah Lyles ran his personal best in the 200-meter race with a time of 19.50, making him the fourth fastest man in history in the event; he carried this dominance into the 2019 IAAF World Track and Field Championships, winning the 200-meter race with a time of 19.83, the fastest time by any runner in the event that year; and
WHEREAS, on several occasions, Noah Lyles has demonstrated his appreciation for the T.C. Williams High School track and field team and the role it played in his development as an athlete; in 2017, he gifted the team new warm-up apparel prior to a state competition; and, two years later, presented it with one of his IAAF Diamond League trophies; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the Track and Field News honors, Noah Lyles received the 2018 Jesse Owens Award, the highest accolade presented by USA Track & Field, while this past year Athletics Weekly ranked him first in the world in the 200-meter race and second in the 100-meter race; and
WHEREAS, Noah Lyles accomplishments are the result of his relentless hard work, world-class talent, and matchless determination, making him an inspiration for young athletes throughout the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Noah Lyles, a champion sprinter from Alexandria, on the occasion of his distinction as the 2019 Track and Field News U.S. Men's Athlete of the Year; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Noah Lyles as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for his achievements and best wishes for his continued success.
