Olympic Sprinter Noah Lyles Unearths Shocking Details About His Past in a Religious Cult

The world has come to know American Olympian Noah Lyles through his rise to track and field superstardom. But during a recent interview on the Everybody Wants To Be Us Podcast , Lyles revealed some shocking unknown details about his past.

Lyles, 27, spoke about growing up in a religious cult.

“I actually grew up in a cult. It was a cult. It just wasn’t at the level of, ‘Yeah, okay. We’re gonna drink the Kool-Aid.' But it was super strict," Lyles explained.

Lyles said the group demanded that all mothers "had to be homeschooling their kids" and pushed the belief that "the father was the head of the household." He added that all relationships and marriages were required to go "through" the church.

"And we left and that's why we went to North Carolina because we were going to start with another church, only to figure out they wanted to do the same thing," Lyles continued.

"So, we left that, but that kind of really messed up my view of church and it definitely messed up my mom’s view," he added.

Lyles said his mother still struggles to trust churches to this day because of their past experiences.

"And even now, she still struggles to trust churches in general, but she never lost her faith in the religion and I think instilled that in us," Lyles said. "It made it easier for me to go throughout my own journey."

Lyles won gold in the 100 meter at the 2024 Paris Olympics in a thrilling photo finish. After he finished bronze in the 200 meter, he revealed that he'd tested positive for COVID two days prior.

Despite his complicated past with the church, Lyles still credits his faith for helping him achieve Olympic success.

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