Noah Lyles rushed to his family and girlfriend moments after winning the 100m gold medal at Stade de France. The Team USA star had lived up to his tall claims, and the first person he embraced was his mother. Despite his confidence before and after the race, Lyles knew he couldn’t have achieved this without his family’s support.

Lyles has a close relationship with his mother and siblings, but his bond with his father is a different story. Kevin Lyles was a track and field star in his youth, a 400m specialist whose 45.01s sprint in 1995 earned him a top 15 world ranking. Despite Noah following in his father’s footsteps, they drifted apart.

“Me and my dad kind of lost touch,” Noah shared on the Everybody Wants to Be Us Podcast. “He actually was my first coach, and he also ran for Adidas.” Their relationship strained after Noah’s parents divorced and he moved to Maryland. Summers that could have been spent bonding over track were instead taken up by Noah’s commitments to junior and world youth teams, creating a distance that track and field ironically exacerbated.

Competing for “Junior teams and World Youth teams” robbed Noah of time he could have spent with his father. However, Lyles is thankful for his father introducing him to the sport. He doesn’t regret missing a male role model because coaches and senior athletes always inspired him. And then there was his mother.

In that triumphant moment at Stade de France, the gold medal hanging around his neck, Noah Lyles felt the weight of his journey. It was a journey marked by the support of his family, the sacrifices made, and the bittersweet realization of a bond that could have been stronger. But standing there, surrounded by loved ones, Lyles knew that his victory was not just his alone—it was a testament to resilience, dedication, and the unwavering support of those who stood by him.

The woman who always stood beside Noah Lyles

Keisha Caine may not have run in the World Championships, but she was a collegiate track and field athlete. In fact, Caine met Lyles at the Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. So after their divorce, the former athlete understood that her son’s gift needed to be nurtured. So she did everything in her power to help Lyles become the best version of himself.

“My mom is a hard worker. I remember her saying constantly, ‘I don’t care what the job is; as long as I’m able to make money for my family, I’ll do the job. And I will do it to the best of my ability.'” Noah Lyles told NBC. It was his mother’s never-give-up attitude, that helped Lyles overcome his health conditions. Whether it was asthma, ADD, or depression, Caine always stood by her son.

So despite not having a steady male role model in his life, Noah Lyles is thankful for all the sacrifices his mother made, so he could become an Olympic champion. That’s why the first person the 27-year-old ran to after the biggest achievement of his career was, Keisha Caine.