Sprint champ Noahs the truth

Olympic 100 metres champion Noah Lyles has credited God for his Paris victory after speaking to the Almighty ahead of the race.

Before taking to the starting blocks at the Olympic sprint final, the US athlete was screened across the world mouthing, “Thank you, God. Thank you, God.”

The 27-year-old Florida-born sprinter confirmed his pre-race words to the BBC in a post-win interview, saying his final thought before the starting gun was “Thank you, God.”

Those faith-filled words were already a victory for Lyles’ Christian beliefs, which were tested during time in a cult.

The six-time world champion told the Everybody Wants to Be Us podcast about his experiences at the “super strict” church in Gainesville, Florida, before his family moved to North Carolina.

“I actually grew up in a cult,” he revealed. “It just wasn’t at the level of, ‘Yeah, okay, we’re gonna drink the Kool-Aid.’ 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 behaviour.”

Lyles added that the experience had left him “messed up”, along with his mother, but they’d both eventually emerged with their faith in God intact.

“Having instilled that in us at a young age, it made it easier for me to go through my own journey,” Lyles explained.

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