You couldn’t make the 100m finals any more dramatic even if you scripted it. After months of boasting about being the fastest man, defending world champion, Noah Lyles has finally silenced every critic. However, he cut close, so close that Lyles and rival Kishane Thompson, alongside the entire world, had to wait for agonizing seconds to know who had won.

Yet once Lyles was declared victorious, he dedicated the historic victory to his late high school track and field coach Rashawn Jackson. The 27-year-old took to social media and wrote a touching note to his late coach. “Hey Coach Rashawn, that one was for you, RIP,” wrote the gold medalist. This time his comment section looked quite different.

After he earned the victory by a margin of five-thousandths of a second, Noah Lyles told the press how he thought about his late coach throughout the race. “I remember when I was running on the backstretch, and I was like, ‘This one is for you man.'” said the sprinter. Lyles who was in last place at the 35m mark summoned the belief his coach had in him to pull off the impossible.

Rashawn Jackson was the track and field coach at T.C. Williams High School (now, Alexandria City High School). Although Lyles’s late coach met an untimely demise in July at 51, he believed in his star pupil until his dying day. The newly crowned 100m champion in Paris broke down as he spoke about Jackson. “I thought he was going to be here to see it, I’m going to be honest,” said Lyles.

Although Lyles is the third-fastest man across 200m, he stepped on the purple tacks on Sunday as the underestimated underdog. Yet, during his lifetime, Jackson always believed that Noah Lyles had it in him to win 100m Olympic gold. “He believed that I was going to be a 100m runner just as much as I was going to be a 200m runner,” added the sprinter. However, not just the 27-year-old but an entire nation was proud that he proved his late coach right.

Fans appreciated Noah Lyles for remembering his roots

Jackson saw his protégé win the sprint doubles at the world champion. However, Lyles and his fans lamented that the Alexandria City High School coach couldn’t see his pupil win Olympic gold. “He would be proud of you,” commented one X-user. “Hey coach, We did it,” Lyles wrote when his coach passed. Today, those words rang true once again, and even the fans knew it.

“RIP Rashawn, he created a world champion,” commented one netizen. While everyone questioned Noah Lyles’s self-belief as arrogance, Rashawn Jackson had faith in his pupil. Jackson even believed that the 27-year-old has what it takes to beat Usain Bolt’s record. Although the American fell short of the record, he hit a new PB of 9.784s.

“RIP to your coach, sorry for cashing out on you,” commented one individual. The former doubter confessed to betting against Noah Lyles but, thankfully, had the courage to admit that he was wrong. Moved by the sprinter’s emotional tribute, he even apologized for betting against the new king of 100m. Meanwhile, one man commended the 2x Olympic medalist for honoring Jackson.

“Deepest respect for you for this message,” wrote the fan, touched by the fact that Noah Lyles didn’t forget his roots. Not everyone remembers their high school coach, and netizens respect the fact that the Olympian is still so grateful to his late coach. “Coach Rashawn was one of the best guys there was! He is definitely missed,” added the fan.

Similarly, another individual thought the heartfelt tribute only enhanced Lyles’s standing as a champion. “You’re a great Champ, Olympus God, the best ambassador for #Athletics,” commented the X-user. Noah Lyles had every opportunity to address the people who doubted him on the internet. However, in his moment of Olympic glory, the champion whose to honor the man who always believed in him.