Paris 2024: Noah Lyles ends Olympic journey after COVID positive test, explains decision to still race the 200m final

Noah Lyles struggling to breathe after the Paris Olympic 200m final

Paris 2024: Noah Lyles ends Olympic journey after COVID positive test, explains decision to still race the 200m final

Funmilayo Fameso 02:07 - 09.08.2024

Noah Lyles has withdrawn from the Paris 2024 Olympics following COVID positive test and has detailed the reasons he still decided to race the 200m final.

Noah Lyles has ended his Paris 2024 Olympics journey after positive test for COVID and revealed why he decided to still race the 200m final.

Botswana speed king Letsile Tebogo stunned Lyles to the Olympic 200m gold medal in a blazing new African Record (AR) of 19.46s, as Kenny Bednarek won silver in 19.62s and Lyles settled for the bronze medal in 19.70s.

Noah Lyles was stunned in the Olympic 200m final losing to Letsile Tebogo and Kenny Bednarek

With his triumphant success, Tebogo became the first man from Africa to win an Olympic 200m title and a gold medal from his country, thus cementing his name as the greatest African sprinter to run the event in history.

Sadly after the race, it was confirmed by the US Track and Field that Lyles tested positive for COVID two days before the final race, which could have been a huge factor in his first 200m loss in three years.

“This is by far the best I’ve felt out of the last 3 days. I still wouldn’t say I’m 100%, but I’d definitely say I’m closer to 90-95%. Honestly, that only works for one shot, I only have one load to blow and then I gotta settle down for a while," said Lyles in an interview with reporters on the decision to race the 200m final despite being ill.

When asked if he thought of not competing, he said: “No, I was gonna compete regardless. If I didn’t make it to the finals, that would’ve been the sign not to.”

Before the 200m final, Lyles was the overwhelming favourite to claim his first Olympic title in the event after winning the 100m gold medal in a new lifetime best of 9.79s.

He was poised to add another gold medal and become the third male sprinter in history to accomplish the rare feat of claiming Olympic sprint titles. However, the COVID derailed his dreams and confirmed that it did affect his performance.

“It definitely affected my performance, I’ve had to take a lot of breaks. Junelle [his girlfriend] was saying I was coughing through the night last night. I thought I had a good night’s sleep, but she said she had to keep moving me throughout the night to make sure I would stop coughing. It definitely was an effect, but to be honest I’m more proud of myself than anything,” he said.

With the 4x100m finals still on the table to run for another gold medal, Lyles said he isn't sure of his participation and will later put out a statement that he's ending his Olympic journey in Paris.

“I’ll talk to the coaches and I’ll be very honest and transparent with them. I’m gonna let them make the decision. I think no matter what happens this 4x100m team can handle anything and everything. I’ve been with them in practice, they are more than capable to come out with the win and even break as many records as they set their mind to.”

Finally, Lyles said none of his teammates knew about his illness and a joint decision with his team decided to keep it private until after the race.

“No, we were trying to keep this close to the chest. Most of the people that knew were the medical staff, my coach, my mom, my family, we were trying to keep it as close to the chest as possible.”

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