Noah Lyles cruised to the first-place finish in the 100m finals at the Paris Olympics with a time of 9.79 seconds. The time clocked by him was exactly the same as Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson. But Noah got the win because his upper body crossed the finish line 5/1000th of a second faster than the Jamaican. This photo-finish victory in the 100m gave the American athlete his first-ever gold medal. It also ended a twenty-year drought of American male athletes not winning a gold medal in the category. Noah dedicated this special occasion to a very important figure in his career.

After the race, Noah Lyles talked about his high school coach, Rashawn Jackson. He said that while he was running on the back stretch of the race, Jackson lingered in his mind. “I was like, ‘This one is for you, man.'” The athlete’s voice started breaking during this, and he said that he thought that his coach would be here witnessing this moment with him.

On September 22nd, Noah Lyles will be honored in a welcome home celebration at his hometown, Alexandria, Virginia. When asked what he was most excited about in the whole event, only one thought came to his mind. He wanted to honor the coach who had given wings to his track career.  In an interview with ESPN, he was asked what he was looking the most forward to during the tribute. He said, “To be honest, I’m kind of excited to honor my coach. I lost my high school coach this year right after the Olympic trials, and it was a big moment.”

He added, “This was basically our dream that we came up with together. I remember the day he said I could be a 100-meter runner just as much as I could be a 200-meter runner, and at the time I didn’t believe him, but you know, as time went on, I proved him right. Every time I stepped on the track. I’m very excited to get back and be able to be around other people who miss him but want to celebrate the way that he affected my life.” 

Rashawn Jackson coached Noah Lyles during his time at the TC Williams High School, now known as Alexandria City High School, located in Alexandria, Virginia. Noah gave a lot of credit to Jackson for his prosperous career. The track star said that he always used to be one of his biggest supporters while he was alive.

After his victory, he also put up a post on X thanking him for his contribution. He also said that he hoped and wished that he could see him now but hoped that he was watching from heaven. “I’m so glad our paths crossed because I don’t know who I would be if they didn’t. I love you, man. RIP.” The whole thing felt very bittersweet.

While Rashawn Jackson wasn’t there to see Noah at the top, his dream of his student winning the Olympic gold was fulfilled. After his victory, Noah Lyles’ current coach had a lot to say. He had numerous thoughts racing in his head while watching the intense outcome of the race.

Noah Lyles’ current coach talks about the outcome of the 100-race

Noah Lyles’ current coach, Lance Brauman, was very confident about his chances in the 100 meters. When he met Noah before the race, he said that the next time they met, he’d be an Olympic champion. “A showman shows up when the show’s on,” the coach told the athlete. But despite his confidence, Brauman was heavily tensed after realizing how close Kishane Thompson was to Noah Lyles.

He told USA Today that he was really confident about the athlete’s positioning after he completed 60 meters but was scared when he saw that Kishane had almost overtaken him at 80. He thought, “Holly cow, he’s right there.” At last, his confidence pulled through as Noah ended up winning the gold medal, albeit with a few hiccups. “I thought he was going to run a personal best. I have for the past three weeks,” Brauman said.

“It was just a matter of, was he going to run a big enough PB to win the race? And he did.” However, he also said that he didn’t really care about the time Noah clocked. All that mattered was the medal he won. Safe to say, Noah did exactly what his coach said when he barely crossed the line. But wait. There’s more.

Lance Brauman also spoke highly of his athlete after his bronze medal victory at the 200 meters despite fighting COVID-19 at the time. He said, “Those guys raced great. But to get a bronze medal in 19.70 with a temperature of about 102, that wasn’t too bad.” He also claimed that Noah would be more satisfied with the bronze than the gold in 100m due to the circumstances he found himself in while racing. Whether that statement is true or not, it’s safe to say that Lance Brauman values Noah Lyles highly as an athlete and would back him no matter what, just like his high school coach, Rawshan Jackson.