Noah Lyles ran the 200m final in Paris on Thursday night in dramatic fashion, in third place for the bronze and then hunched down onto the track.
He later revealed that he tested positive for Covid days earlier.
Lyles, 27, had to be helped from the track and carted off, and for a moment, the attention was off of the winner, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo.
Before he left the Stade de France, Lyles spoke with NBC’s Lewis Johnson in a televised interview and confirmed that he was not feeling well on Tuesday.
“I woke up early, about 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning, and I was feeling really horrible and I knew it was more than just being sore from the 100, you know,” Lyles said. “Woke up, went to the doctors and we tested and unfortunately, it came up that I was positive for Covid.”
However, he had no issue getting through the qualifying round Tuesday morning and finished second in his semifinal Wednesday.
Lyles was seen wearing a mask before the race and said he never considered dropping out of the 200m since a chance at a double after his stunning win in the 100m final was still in play.
“I was going to compete regardless,” Lyles said. “If I didn’t make it to the finals, that would’ve been the sign not to compete.”
The decision for Lyles to run in the 200m final was quickly questioned and in a joint statement released Thursday, the USOPC [U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee] and USA Track and Field said they “swiftly enacted all necessary protocols to prioritize his health, the wellbeing of our team, and the safety of fellow competitors.”
The statement also said, “After a thorough medical evaluation, Noah chose to compete tonight. We respect his decision and will continue to monitor his condition closely.”
Lyles electrified the track and field world on Sunday after his photo finish win over Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson in 9.784 — just by just five thousandths of a second. Every man in the field also broke 10 seconds.
But by Wednesday, Lyles was counted among at least 40 athletes who tested positive for Covid in Paris and he is the biggest name on that list. On Monday British swimmer Adam Peaty tested positive a day after winning silver in the 100m breaststroke. The World Health Organization has been closely monitoring the Olympic and confirmed media reports of positive tests.
This year’s games in Paris are the first to be held after COVID-19 pandemic after the 2020 Tokyo games were postponed a year and venues for the competitions were largely empty — and deemed necessary — as a precaution.
