The World’s Fastest Otaku: Noah Lyles, Other Anime Fans at Tokyo World Athletics Championships

Before the men’s 200-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, US sprinter Noah Lyles raised both hands toward the sky. This was his version of the “spirit bomb,” in which Dragon Ball protagonist Son Gokū draws energy toward him from the entire planet before powerfully unleashing it. Lyles, the “world’s fastest otaku,” gathered his energy from the spectators’ enthusiastic support, and sped to his fourth consecutive championships gold in the event, matching Usain Bolt’s record total for the 200.

Noah Lyles gathers energy before the 200-meter final. (© Kyōdō)

His celebratory Kamehameha pose, also from Dragon Ball, was on show once again after the race.

On the final day, as Lyles enjoyed victory as part of the US 4 x 100 meters relay team, the “X” mark written near his right wrist caused excitement on social media. One Piece characters use the marks as a sign of comradeship, and Japanese posters expressed their appreciation of this reference, as well as commenting that One Piece was a universal language.

Some commenters quibbled that technically the “X” marks were on the characters’ left arms. (© Oliver Weiken/dpa via Reuters Connect)

Japanese athletes made pop culture references too. Nakajima Hitomi, who competed in the 100-meter hurdles, was seen making the Akaza pose from the Demon Slayer series.

Nakajima Hitomi poses during the athlete introduction ahead of her semifinal race. (© Kyōdō)

Japan’s 4 x 100 meters relay athletes also displayed various poses associated with One Piece character Monkey D. Luffy before the final—and Lyles, anchoring the US squad in the same race, was overjoyed.

Japan’s lead runner in the 4 x 100 meter final Koike Yūki powers up with Luffy’s Gear 2 move. (© Kyōdō)

Lyles has his own Gear 2 moment ahead of the men’s 200-meter semifinal. (© Kyōdō)

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Noah Lyles celebrates winning his fourth successive World Athletics Championships gold in the men’s 200-meter event with a Kamehameha pose. © Matrix Images/Nic Bothma via Reuters Connect.)