Noah Lyles showed off a Yu-Gi-Oh! Blue-Eyes White Dragon card before his run because it’s always time to duel

For Yu-Gi-Oh! players, contending with the Shadow Games means being ready to duel at a moment’s notice. For star American sprinter Noah Lyles, with the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics on the horizon, it means always being ready to (duel) blaze a trail on the track.

On Saturday night, Lyles ran a lightning-quick 100 meters in 9.92 seconds to win the opening round of the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. But before he did so, the 26-year-old pulled out a shiny Blue-Eyes White Dragon trading card from Yu-Gi-Oh! — one of the more coveted cards in the game — during his introduction on national television.

That’s one terrific way to show off your inner nerd in the best possible way:

Noah Lyles really pulled out a Yu-Gi-Oh! card for his 100m intro.

(Blue-Eyes White Dragon, for those wondering.) #TrackFieldTrials24 pic.twitter.com/GaBqKzH2xF

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 23, 2024

Again, for posterity: Lyles pulled out a rare and cool card from a popular trading card game before he dusted the field with a 9.92-second 100-meter sprint. What a legend.

I hope he starts pulling out different cards like the Exodia pieces before he runs every time. He should really lean into this bit.