Winning medals in the Olympics with COVID? Okay, we thought we’ve seen it all during the Paris games but add this to the list. Just two days after revealing that he had tested positive for COVID-19, American sprinter Noah Lyles took home the bronze medal in the 200-meter final at the Paris Olympics.
Here’s the nitty gritty … Lyles finished the epic race with a time of 19.70 seconds, securing third place behind Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, who won gold with a time of 19.46 seconds, marking a historic moment as Botswana’s first-ever Olympic gold medal. American Kenny Bednarek claimed the silver with a time of 19.62 seconds.
But wait, despite testing positive for COVID-19, Lyles remained determined to compete. He moved into a hotel to quarantine away from the Olympic Village and arrived at the track for Wednesday’s semifinal wearing a mask. He chose not to disclose his diagnosis publicly before the race, stating, “You never want to tell your competitors you’re sick. Why would you give them an edge over you?”
You may expect him to slow down in the lead up to the race but the 27 year-old Lyles appeared as energetic as ever when introduced before the final, displaying his signature enthusiasm by jumping and sprinting down the track as the sold-out crowd at Stade de France fell silent.
In a scary moment after crossing the finish line, Lyles collapsed and later asked for water while seated on the track. He was eventually placed in a wheelchair and taken away from the stadium—a stark contrast to his triumph just days earlier when he won his first Olympic gold in the 100 meters by five-thousandths of a second. After that victory, he had boldly predicted that he would win the 200 meters as well.
Thinking on his performance, Lyles admitted that testing positive for COVID-19 “definitely affected my performance,” but he remained proud of his resilience. “To be honest, I’m more proud of myself than anything, coming out and getting the bronze medal with COVID in three days. It’s been a wild Olympics,” he said.
USA Track & Field and the U.S. Olympic Committee released a statement on the matter:
“Our primary commitment is to ensure the safety of Team USA athletes while upholding their right to compete. After a thorough medical evaluation, Noah chose to compete tonight. We respect his decision and will continue to monitor his condition closely.”
Lyles was vying to become the first man to win both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints at an Olympics since Usain Bolt in 2016 and the first American to do so since Carl Lewis 40 years ago. Nice company.
His run at more gold medals is far from done. In he upcoming 4×100-meter relay, Lyles said he would leave the decision to USA Track & Field on whether he should run in the final, for which the U.S. team had already qualified with the fastest time in the preliminaries. Wishing Lyles a speedy recovery.
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