When Noah Lyles woke up Tuesday morning, he knew something was wrong.
This wasn’t soreness from the 100-meter final Sunday, when he became the first Team USA member to win gold in 20 years.
So he woke up the doctors.
He found out about a positive COVID-19 test.
And while Lyles didn’t consider skipping the 200-meter final Thursday, he said, the impact of the illness was evident after he settled for a bronze medal, fell to the ground in exhaustion and got pushed off in a wheelchair at Stade de France — with Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo upsetting everyone to win gold at 19.46 and Team USA’s Kenneth Bednarek leaving with silver at 19.62.
“My first thought was not to panic, thinking I’ve been in worse situations,” Lyles told, while wearing a mask, following his race. “I’ve run with worse conditions, I felt, and we just took it day-by-day, trying to hydrate as much. Quarantined off. I’d definitely say that it’s taken its toll for sure, but I’ve never been more proud of myself for being able to come out here and getting a bronze medal — where last Olympic I was very disappointed [with a bronze medal], and this time, I couldn’t be more proud.”
Before the race began, Lyles jumped out of the tunnel once his name was introduced and didn’t appear to be exhausted.
Gold medalist Letsile Tebogo of Team Botswana is congratulated by bronze medalist Noah Lyles of Team United States after competing in the Men’s 200m Final.Getty Images
“I ran into his mom, Keisha Caine Bishop, who was distraught trying to find him as well,” NBC’s Lewis Johnson reported on the broadcast. “We found Noah Lyles in medical there being tended to, and and she did confirm that Noah had been diagnosed with COVID two days ago … But he decided he was going to run anyway.”
Lyles, after crossing the finish line and moving, stretched out on the ground next to the track, appearing to be in pain or tired or a combination of both, and later shifted to a wheelchair.
His week started with a gold medal on a photo-finish in the 100-meter race, before cruising in a 200-meter heat the following day.
He was expected to replace either Kyree King or Courtney Lindsey in the Team USA lineup for the 4×100 relay final, but it’s unclear if those plans could change after his COVID-19 diagnosis.
