With neither the Olympic Games nor the world championships on the summer schedu- a first since 2020 —- US sprint star Noah Lyles is seizing the opportunity to "run as fast as possible" without worrying about peaking for a specific event and enjoying life off the track.
"I don't need to make sure I'm in shape for a month later," the 28-year-old eight-time world champion told AFP.
"I don't have to worry about peaking because if I run fast, great. And that's all we have to worry about."
The Olympic 100-metre champion returned to Paris this week two years after his 2024 Games triumph looking to steal the show on the blue track of Charlety Stadium.
He will compete in Sunday's Diamond League meet which has been given the green light despite concerns about extreme heat in the French capital.
During the week, Lyles had trained alongside fellow American Jordan Anthony, the world indoor 60m champion, and Trinidadian Jereem Richards, world 400m silver medallist, under the watchful eye of coach Lance Brauman before cutting the session short due to the heatwave.
Back in the cool of his hotel, Lyles reflected on his excellent start to the season with victories in Rome, where he clocked 9.8 seconds in the 100m - the third-fastest time of the year - and Ostrava where he set a new all-time best in the 150m of 14.67sec.
The 150m is a rarely run hybrid distance, but the showdown in the Czech Republic against young Australian sprinter Gout Gout had been highly anticipated.
"I never could have done that in a normal season," said Lyles.
"I would have had to prioritise meets with much stiffer competition that fit well into the preparation schedule for the World Championships or the Olympics."
But this year, the sprinter —- who has already spent a decade on the professional circuit —- is focusing on events he enjoys.
CULTIVATING CREATIVITY
After Paris, he will not pin on a race bib again until late July for the US Championships.
"It's enjoyable being able to have the freedom... come do what I love, do some stuff off the track, then come back to doing what I love," explained the Florida-based athlete, who cultivates a wide range of off-track interests from fashion and manga to rap music.
In July he will attend a major geek culture and manga convention in the US before heading to one of the World Cup soccer semifinals.
His summer will wrap up in September with yet another new experience, the inaugural Ultimate Championships in Budapest, where he has a creative role organising shows for the athletes' entrances and medal ceremonies.
For Lyles, who has been saying for years that athletics needs to modernise, "it's a good start" for moving the sport into a new era that blends sport and entertainment.
"The good thing is this isn't going to affect your world championships or your Olympic Championship career," he continued.
"So hopefully by having that little bit of leeway to play with some concepts and ideas, we're able to find things that do work and things that don't work."
Lyles knows that this chapter will end as early as next year with the world championships in Beijing where he will aim for a fifth consecutive 200m title to surpass Jamaican great Usain Bolt before the Olympic Games on home soil in 2028.
Not everyone gets the chance to experience the Olympics in their own country while at their peak.
"It's something that you don't really get to see at Olympics in your lifetime, while you're in the peak of your career, show up in your own country. It's just a blessing in itself," said Lyles.
The 100m final, where he will defend his title, is scheduled just before his 31st birthday on July 18, but a spectacular career finale is not on his mind.
"A lot of my friends... have expressed their thoughts of retiring after LA," said Lyles.
"That hasn't been my thought. Not at all. I'm very much on the idea of how amazing it would be to make it to 20 years.
"I'm not planning to end it. If some big time comes where I'm getting all the signs, if my body isn't performing the way I want to, if my life outside of track with kids and me and Janelle is saying, hey, it's time to move on, then I will decide, okay, maybe it's time for the next chapter.
"If I have it the way I want, I would love another 10 years."