Noah Lyles is reflecting on his family history. 

The Olympic sprinter, who took home a gold and a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 games, detailed his religious upbringing in an environment he described as a “cult.”

“I actually grew up in a cult,” he said on the Everyone Wants To Be Us podcast with a laugh Aug. 12. “Well, it wasn’t—it was a cult, it just wasn’t at the level of, ‘Yeah, okay, we’re gonna drink Kool-Aid.’ But it was super strict.”

The 27-year-old, who made headlines for managing to secure a bronze medal in the 200m dash after testing positive for COVID, went on to describe some of the unnamed organization’s rules. 

“All moms had to be homeschooling their kids and the father was the head of the household,” he explained. “The church told you who you could date and who you couldn’t date. If you got married, it had to be through us, that type of behavior.”

Eventually, though, his family—including parents Kevin Lyles and Keisha Caine—decided to leave the environment.