Following Olympic final loss to Letsile Tebogo, Noah Lyles has finally opened up how a failed strategy and not listening to his girlfriend Junelle Bromfield cost him not COVID.
Several weeks post-Paris Olympic Games, world's fastest man Noah Lyles has finally revealed the sole reason responsible for his 200m final loss to Letsile Tebogo.
The six-time world champion surprisingly succumbed to defeat in the Olympic 200m final, finishing behind Tebogo's blazing African Record of 19.46s and silver-medal-winning Kenny Bednarek in 19.62s as he settled for the bronze medal in 19.70s.
His loss was one of the stunning upsets in Paris, considering days before he had won the gold medal in his weaker event (100m) and was unbeaten in the 200m in over two years.
Following his defeat, the USATF revealed that Lyles had tested positive for COVID two days before the final, which could have been a keen factor in his sub-par performance.
17:00 - 18.08.2024
How I got COVID at Paris 2024: Noah Lyles recounts running the 200m final in 'the best shape of my life'
Noah Lyles explicitly detailed the circumstances that led to him competing in the Olympic 200m final despite having COVID and how he was in the best shape of his life in Paris.
However, in a recent interview with Spun, Lyles opened up that running with COVID wasn't the main reason for not crossing the finish line first but rather a failed strategy which his girlfriend Junelle Bromfield tried to warn him about but he didn't listen.
He also disclosed that after the semifinal, where he finished second behind Tebogo, he had used up all his energy and had to change his running style.
“The strategy that we were going for was I was going to give all of my energy upfront because I didn’t know if it would come at the end. I knew from running in the semifinal that my top-end speed was no longer with me. You could say that COVID had it under hostage, but I wasn’t producing the top-end speeds I was normally producing in the last few weeks, which had been very high,” said Lyles.
“I was trying to rely on how fast I could get up to top speed and my ability to be able to hold top speed. It got me the bronze medal but it wasn’t enough for me to do better. Now my girlfriend has said many times that I’m never allowed to use that strategy again and I’m in full belief with her that I will never use that strategy again,” he added.
“Looking back, it’s not normally my race strategy. My normal race strategy is a lot more timed and paced, and it’s actually the same strategy I used back in Tokyo (in the 2020 200m final) and it got me the same result,” he concluded.
18:54 - 02.09.2024
[VIDEO] - Noah Lyles spanks his favourite asset on Junelle Bromfield's body during baecation in Dominican Republic
Track couple Noah Lyles and Junelle Bromfield have taken their romance to a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic, tensioning fans with cozy pictures and videos.
Despite being a three-time world 200m champion (2019, 2022, 2023) and having the third-fastest time in history (19.31s), Lyles is yet to win an Olympic gold in the event and can only boast of back-to-back bronze medals (Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024).