The Inside Story of How Noah Lyles Pulled Off That Incredible 100-M Win

Noah Lyles and his long-time sports psychologist, Diana McNab, have been executing a pre-race routine all season long. Together, they come up with a sort of script, which lays out the psychological game plan on race day—from what Lyles should think when he wakes up, when he arrives at the track, when he’s warming up, when he’s in the blocks, and so on. This mental script is meant to produce strong physical results.

As per their practice, McNab got on...