Noah Lyles is a figure hard to miss on the track. With his larger-than-life personality, bold fashion sense, and the electrifying energy he brings to the sport, he’s not just a reigning champion from the 2023 World Championships but also a standout star in Netflix’s documentary series SPRINT. This charismatic sprinter recently made a heartwarming impact on one fan’s life, touching a family unexpectedly and powerfully.

Mindy Moreno Rodriguez shared a deeply moving video on Instagram, capturing a special moment between her and her father as they watched SPRINT. Her caption read, “Dad and I just finished watching the Netflix documentaries series SPRINT, and it was nothing short of amazing!! A little fun fact, my #DAD used to run track in High School.”

Mindy shared that this was the first time her dad had managed to complete something since being sent home from the hospital in January 2024, when he was given just two weeks to live. Despite the pain and challenges of pancreatic cancer, they were still fighting together in July.

She continued her message, tagging Noah Lyles and saying, @nojo18 Little do you know but you have given my dad so much more inspiration to fight and what is it train hard and what the mindset can do while fighting his biggest battle yet! @nojo18 he just kept saying how confident you are and so I told my dad that you have to have the same confidence that you’re going to beat this cancer and you will. I love seeing my old man smile when you took the Gold ☺️”

Noah Lyles, clearly touched by the post, responded with heartfelt words, commenting, “I’m so honored that your dad liked it so much and that he was able to watch the whole thing through the pain that he is going through. My whole life has been a fight. I’ve had to fight through asthma I’ve had to fight through surgery. I’ve had to do things others said are not possible. Although I might not understand the fight that he’s going through at this moment I do understand what it’s like to move Forward through pain not seeing the light at the end. It will take pure faith to make it through even though you can’t see the end and I know he can do it. Because God is with us and we are all Gods Favorite.” But that’s not all.

Noah Lyles also shared the post on his Instagram stories, adding, “These are the people that you never know you affect. I know you will beat the cancer, and it will never come back!” This exchange between Noah Lyles and Mindy’s father is a beautiful reminder of the profound, real-world impact sports can have. As we reflect on this heartwarming exchange, let’s also see how sports have shaped Noah’s life in such a big way.

How Noah Lyles beat the odds in his childhood

From age three to seven, Noah Lyles battled severe asthma, often experiencing serious attacks that landed him in the hospital every third night because of coughing fits and frequent illnesses caused by his weak immune system. Noah even shared on SPRINT, “I can’t remember a lot of nights where I wasn’t at the hospital getting medication to just try to calm down the episodes.” Despite these challenges, he managed to overcome his health issues and eventually found medication that helped him breathe easier. However, the emotional scars from asthma lingered.

In middle school, Lyles faced bullying because of his discolored teeth, a side effect of his early asthma medication. The relentless teasing about his yellow teeth deeply affected him. He even shared, “They were ruthless.” Lyles described the bullying as “an emotional beating,” saying, “That’s the stuff that really breaks you down.” His turmoil did not end there.

In second grade, Noah was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, making school even tougher. He described the frustration of dealing with tests and spelling, saying, “You can spell the word in your head, but when you try to write it, it just doesn’t look right. It’s frustrating.” High school was equally challenging, requiring him to put in extra effort just to keep up. Despite these academic struggles, sports became his sanctuary, a place where he could escape and truly shine. As he put it, “Sports was definitely my outlet of where I could go, where I felt I was great.”