Hinchliffe, who was previously a student at the University of Lancaster, moved to Houston last year to be coached by the legendary nine-times Olympic champion Carl Lewis.
He became the first European sprinter to win the prestigious collegiate NCAA title in June and then backed that up by winning the British trials the following month to clinch his Olympic place. The 22-year-old’s time of 9.98sec was the third fastest in the men’s 100m first round on Saturday, just 0.01sec behind Lyles’ American team-mates Kenneth Bednarek and Fred Kerley but good enough to beat Lyles with relative ease.
The favourite, however, is still the Jamaican sprinter Kishane Thompson who has run 9.77sec this year and barely got out of first gear in running 10 seconds flat. Thompson dodged media questions following his race, saying only the words “one love” as he walked past.
Lyles, as ever, was more than happy to talk, describing Hinchliffe as “a talented kid” before revealing that his popularity was making it difficult to stay in the Olympic Village.
“It’s a lot different to Tokyo,” said Lyles, who is the reigning 200m Olympic champion and won a world sprint double last year. “Last time it was no fans, no energy. Back then I was fighting to get into the conversation but now I am the headline of the sprint.
“It comes with its own challenges. It’s been very hard to move throughout the village, I have to constantly go out with the hat, glasses and mask and still 20 per cent of everybody knows me regardless.
“My original plan was not to stay in the village, the problem is it’s very convenient to get food, to get treatment, to get to the buses. It will cause a lot of hindrance to do something outside of the village. That is the quagmire I am in.”
Lyles, who ran 9.81sec at the London Diamond League meeting two weeks ago and has painted his fingernails in the USA colours, was also asked what it would take to win the men’s 100m. “I don’t know but I’m going to run it,” he said.
Hinchliffe also qualified faster than his Team GB team-mate Zharnel Hughes, who won world bronze last year but was only third in his heat following what he called “a lazy” start.
Hughes said that the atmosphere was like a football stadium and Team GB’s third athlete, Jeremiah Azu, blamed his false start and disqualification on hearing a stray noise while on the blocks. His appeal to get reinstated, however, was rejected.
Hinchliffe said that Lewis had simply told him to focus on his own race and not be distracted. “The pressure, the environment, trying to get to an Olympic final, will bring more out of me,” said Hinchliffe.