Noah Lyles bows out of Paris Olympic Games due to COVID-19

Lyles revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19 two days before the men's 200m final.

Noah Lyles’s dream of winning four gold medals at the Paris Olympic Games is over. After sprinting to a bronze medal in the men’s 200m final on Thursday night, Lyles revealed that he had tested positive for COVID-19 just two days prior. As a result, he has decided to end his Olympic Games early and will not compete for Team USA in the relay events.

During the 200m final, Lyles burst out of the call room with energy, taunting his competitors. However, Letsile Tebogo of Botswana dashed his hopes of an Olympic sprint double by setting an African area record of 19.46 seconds to win gold. Kenny Bednarek from Team USA took silver in 19.62 seconds, while Lyles settled for bronze, marking his second consecutive Olympic bronze in this event with a time of 19.70 seconds.

Last Sunday, Lyles had won gold in the men’s 100m in 9.79 seconds. However, four days later, he revealed that he felt winded after the 200m final, collapsing and gesturing for water before leaving the track in a wheelchair. Lyles explained that he woke up feeling terrible at 5 a.m. on Tuesday and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. Despite contracting the virus, he remained determined to compete in the final.

Lyles told reporters he had spent the last two days trying to stay hydrated and quarantined in his room.

In a post-race Instagram message, Lyles congratulated Tebogo and Bednarek, acknowledging that this was not the Olympic experience he had envisioned. He came to Paris hoping to become the first men’s sprinter to win four Olympic golds (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, and 4x400m relay). Unfortunately, Lyles will miss the 4x100m and 4x400m relay finals, leaving Team USA without its fastest sprinter. Lyles concluded the post by saying that he believes the team can still win gold without him

French newspaper Le Monde reported last month that there are no mandatory, preventative COVID-19 measures being implemented at the Summer Games.

posted Friday August 9th
by Marley Dickinson