“I told you America I got this,” Noah Lyles boasted once again after securing his Paris Olympics gold, breaking a dry spell in 100m since Justin Gatlin’s 2004 gold. It is for making such promises and the ability to fulfill them, has brought Noah Lyles unparalleled popularity and stardom in the US track and field. And yet, his journey to the top wasn’t a road without its bumps. Interestingly, some of those barriers came from his mother, Keisha Caine Bishop.

As a child, the reigning men’s 100m world champ struggled with asthma and had to spend months, if not years, trying to overcome his drawback. Naturally, it was only logical for his mother to be concerned about her son’s health. Now, as Noah looks to make Paris the stage where he usurps Usain Bolt’s high seat, Keisha can not help but recall how she had doubted Noah’s ability during his younger days.

Keisha spoke to USA Today about why she had to cede her ground to her sons Noah and Josephus after brushing aside the proposition they made as budding track stars. “In 10th grade they wanted to go professional out of high school and I was like are you crazy,” Keisha recalled in the interview. The fact that your child wants to turn his focus away from education and a stable job to set sights on the highly competitive world of track racing would flummox any parent, and Keisha didn’t react much differently either.

However, her fears were soon proved to be wrong. Both of her sons proved that they were exceptional runners who could go on to become two of the best runners in the country, and possibly even the world. So, when back in 2016 Noah and Josephus turned pro and did not pursue academic or collegiate careers at the University of Florida, Caine finally had to step back.

“I had to go back and apologize, I realized that’s not fair to kill somebody’s dream, especially if they are willing to do the work, and they were willing to do the work,” revealed Lyles’ mother. Indeed, Noah’s efforts are visible not only on the tracks but off it as well.

Noah himself has stated that he does not want to be a sprinter who comes, runs, and goes away. So does not think winning gold medals “left and right” serves the purpose. He has been successfully promoting himself as a showman who can captivate the eyes. This ultimately benefits a sport that is reeling with a lack of viewership and attention. And this is no longer just a claim. Results are already visible.

According to USA Today, ratings for the 2024 track and field trials have increased by 38% from the previous trials in 2021. According to Noah, this did not happen by chance. There was his calculated strategy behind it.

“As much as I am a track and field athlete, I’m just as much a marketer. And I see myself as a big brand. For the brand to be successful, I have to keep gaining and opening up to new territory. Anything I do, I want to do to the best of my ability. There have been tons of people who have run fast. But how many can you say were very marketable?” Sounds arrogant? Wait a minute!

In a concrete proof of marketability, last year, just after the World Championships, Adidas extended its deal with Noah, the overall value of which is reported to be the highest in track and field since Usain Bolt. But despite all these, even now, as her older son stands on the brink of track immortality, Keisha remains concerned about the toll the sport takes on the 27-year-old sprinter.

Keisha Caine has her own dark thoughts to delve into

Ahead of the Paris Games, Kaisha talked about how she fears things will soon turn south for Noah. Being a former sprinter herself, Caine knows perfectly well how popularity and the limelight can fade just as fast in the life of a professional athlete. In July, she was heard talking worriedly about the inevitable that awaits her son.

“I know what it’s like to see your name in the newspaper constantly, and everybody recognizes your name. And then I know what it’s like when all of that goes away. When I see him now, I worry about what’s going to happen when the lights and the cameras go away, because it’s almost like an adrenaline rush that you get,” said Caine in an interview. Keisha’s fear is not completely unfounded.

After the Tokyo Olympics, Noah said that the depression he suffered from was partly because of the lack of audience back then because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Noah is someone who loves to connect to the audience and thrives on that attention. A lack of that had seriously unsettled him back then, as he had stated later.

Apart from that, Keisha went on to note how the track world demands high from everyone who walks its high roads and revealed that the requirements often make it difficult to savor the victories. In the World Athletics documentary, Always There – Mothers documentary she was also heard saying, “What does it matter if you achieve all this? But you don’t get to experience it with anybody?”

But will her anxiety take a momentary backseat as Noah goes for the ultimate glory on the grand stage at the 2024 Paris Olympics? Will she be able to set her reservations aside and cheer for her son in the upcoming races?