Olympic star Noah Lyles has disclosed that he was raised in a cult-like environment, detailing the ‘extremely strict’ conditions of his upbringing in Virginia.
The 100m gold medalist shared that his family belonged to a church group that exerted control over various aspects of life, including dating, homeschooling by mothers, and the idea that fathers were the primary authority figures.
On the Everybody Wants to Be Us podcast, Lyles described the situation as a cult, although he noted it wasn’t as extreme as the infamous ‘drinking the Kool-Aid’ scenario. He characterized the environment as being extremely rigid.
After relocating to North Carolina, Lyles acknowledged that the church had a lasting negative impact on both his and his mother’s perspective on religious institutions. Despite this, he said his mother maintained her faith and passed that resilience on to him, which helped him in his personal journey.
During the recent Paris Olympics, Lyles’ mother, Keisha Caine Bishop, was seen supporting her son after he won the 100m gold medal, narrowly beating Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson. Lyles also finished third in the 200m, despite running with a 102-degree fever due to Covid. After the race, he collapsed, and Bishop was reportedly pleading with security to assist him. An eyewitness on X noted that while security was strict about access, medical help was eventually provided.
Bishop had previously expressed her distress on Instagram, accusing stadium security of failing to call a doctor while her son was in urgent need of help.
