Olympic runner Noah Lyles, who won a gold and bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, reveals that he was raised in a “super strict” cult.
According to Lyles, who is currently the fastest man in the world, his faith has assisted him in his journey this far.
The latest Olympic 100m champion of the world talked about his religious upbringing in what he called a “cult” environment.
“I actually grew up in a cult,” he said on the Everyone Wants To Be Us podcast with a laugh on August 12, 2024.
“Well, it wasn’t—it was a cult, it just wasn’t at the level of, ‘Yeah, okay, we’re gonna drink Kool-Aid.’ But it was super strict.”
The 27-year-old athlete, who tested positive for COVID and won a bronze medal in the 200-meter race at Paris 2024, spoke more about his family:
He explained,
“All moms had to be homeschooling their kids and the father was the head of the household. The church told you who you could date and who you couldn’t date. If you got married, it had to be through us, that type of behavior.”
However, his parents, Kevin Lyles and Keisha Caine, eventually made the decision to leave the environment.
He went on to say,
“That’s why we moved to North Carolina,” he continued. “We were going to start another church, only to figure out they were going to do the same thing, except they wanted to be the head. So we left that. But that really kind of messed up my view on church, and it definitely messed up my mom’s view.”
According to Lyles, his mother had a hard time trusting any organized church, but she kept her faith, which helped him grow in his own.
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Noah continued,
“Having instilled that in us at a young age, it made it easier for me to go throughout my own journey,” Noah added. “Everybody gets that idea like, ‘Is there really a God?’ And something that I love is that when I was young she said, ‘God says when you lack faith, ask for a test.’ And he will provide the test.”
However, Noah is no longer completely devoted to any organized religion, despite the fact that he regards himself as a devoted Christian.
“I don’t have time to go to church every weekend.” I have to run.
