Japanese media celebrated Olympic 100m gold medalist Noah Lyles as the world’s fastest anime fan after the American mimicked an attack from “Dragon Ball” to celebrate his victory.
Lyles won the race by just five thousandths of a second ahead of Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, marking the closest finish in the event’s modern history. Draped in a US flag, an ecstatic Lyles thrust his hands forward with fingers splayed, imitating the “kamehameha” attack from the Japanese manga and anime series.
The 27-year-old Lyles is an avid fan of Japanese pop culture, including the 1990s global hit “Dragon Ball.” During the Olympic trials in June, he delighted fellow anime enthusiasts by displaying his “Yu-Gi-Oh” cards to the cameras.
“Yu-Gi-Oh!” ran in the Japanese weekly comic magazine Shonen Jump between 1996 and 2004 and gave rise to a media franchise including a trading card game.
“Mankind’s fastest otaku”, blared a headline in Japanese sports newspaper Daily Sports — using the term for hardcore superfans in a new nickname also used by other outlets.
Anime fans on social media also recalled how Lyles had paid tribute to “Dragon Ball” creator Akira Toriyama after his death aged 68 earlier this year.
“So sad to lose a legend Akira Toriyama… his work has forever affected my life,” Lyles wrote on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, in March.
“I’m sure this kamehameha didn’t go unnoticed by Toriyama-sensei,” one fan said on X in response to his victory on Sunday.
The French men’s fencing team also paid homage to “Dragon Ball” when they made “kamehameha” gestures in unison after winning bronze.
Anime has inspired more than just one Olympian. Brazilian volleyball player Darlan Ferreira Souza was spotted in Paris with a tattoo on his arm featuring a slogan from “Haikyu!!”, a series about high school volleyball clubs.
The tattoo, which reads “omoide nanka iran (We don’t need memories)”, thrilled “Haikyu!!” fans in Japan, who viewed it as a testament to the anime’s global influence. One post on X expressed, “So happy to know ‘Haikyu!’ is traveling worldwide. Hope it will continue to inspire volleyball players across the globe.”
