"I always thought you would be here to see when I reached the peak"- Noah Lyles pens heartfelt note on demise of his high-school coach Rashawn Jackson

Noah Lyles paid tribute to his late high-school sprint coach Rashawn Jackson in an emotional social media post. Lyles, who is currently dominating the sprint world, lamented that Jackson would miss his 'peak' but was grateful for getting to train under him.

Noah Lyles and his brother, Josephus Lyles, attended the T.C. Williams High School (now known as Alexandria City High School) where both of them ran track and were coached by Rashawn Jackson.

Jackson claimed in a recent interview with TIME that Noah Lyles was the most hardworking of the lot and would practice longer than anyone else. He said that while everyone else would be tired after practice, Noah Lyles wasn't.

"I have everybody else tired and throwing up, but I can’t get him. This is not right," Jackson said.

Noah Lyles expressed his condolences on social media and wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter):

"Hey coach, We did it. We reached the top! I always thought that you would be here to see when I reached the peak though. I guess you will have to know you are watching from heaven. I’m so glad our paths crossed because idk who I would be if they didn’t. I Love you man. RIP"

Josephus Lyles also expressed his sadness over the sprint coach's demise, claiming that Jackson was a father figure to him. He wrote on Instagram:

"Wow this hits hard. One of the main reasons I am where I am today. Coach Rashawn wasn’t just a Coach, he was a father figure to not just me but so many people. I love you coach. Rest in peace"

Noah Lyles and Josephus Lyles are currently coached by Lance Brauman.

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Rashawn Jackson's fellow high-school coach Michael Hughes believed Noah Lyles could break Usain Bolt's world record

Noah Lyles at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field - Day 9

Alongside Rashawn Jackson, Noah Lyles was coached by Michael Hughes at Alexandria City High School, who believed that the American had a shot at Usain Bolt's world record.

According to Hughes, Lyles was a standout in high school competitions where he would break records at every meet.

“He almost broke a record on every track he stepped on in high school. We knew right away as a freshman. He was dominating the scene,” Hughes said in 2021 (via DC News Now).

Hughes claimed ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that Noah Lyles could not only win the gold medal but he could also break Usain Bolt's world record.

“I think he’s capable of setting the world record. So, we will see how much he can do. It has to be a nice day and it has to have good competition and it’s got to be an exciting event," he stated.

While none of those predictions came true, Lyles has a real shot at both claims at the Paris Olympics 2024. He is very close to the Jamaican's 200m world record time, and for the gold medals, he is an absolute favorite in both the 100m and the 200m.