Paris Olympics: COVID derails Noah Lyles’ bid for Olympic sprint double

Medal table | Olympic schedule | How to watch | Olympic news

SAINT-DENIS, France — At 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Noah Lyles woke up with a wicked sore throat, an aching body and the chills.

“Those are the symptoms I’ve always had right before getting COVID,” Lyles said, “so I was like I need to test this one.”

The test came back positive, throwing Lyles’ historic pursuit of an Olympic sprint double into chaos two days before Thursday night’s men’s 200 final. Lyles quarantined in a hotel near the Olympic Village, tried to get as much rest and fluids as he could and took any medication he could without violating anti-doping rules.

The idea of not competing in the 200 never was something that Lyles seriously considered, especially after he managed to advance to the final by gutting out a second-place finish in his semifinal heat on Wednesday. Lyles explained that he “still wanted to run” and that doctors gave him permission to try.

Right from the start of Thursday’s final, it was obvious that the world’s most unbeatable 200 runner didn’t have his usual burst. The American fell behind early and struggled to make up ground after rounding the turn, leaving himself too far back of Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and fellow American Kenny Bednarek to overtake either of them before they reached the finish line.

Tebogo won in a personal-best 19.46 seconds, 16-hundredths of a second ahead of second-place Bednarek. Lyles settled for bronze in 19.70 seconds, nearly four-tenths of a second shy of his personal best and even further away from the Usain Bolt world record that he had aspirations of breaking.

When asked how his illness impacted him during the race, Lyles said, “It definitely affected my performance.”

He added that his girlfriend, Junelle Bromfield, told him Thursday morning that he was “coughing through the night.”

After Thursday’s final, Lyles said he felt “lightheaded” and experienced “shortness of breath” and “chest pain.” He sat on the track and received medical attention before being taken off the track in a wheelchair. In the bowels of Stade de France, Lyle’s mother could be seen running down a hallway.

About an hour later, Lyles, who suffers from asthma, said he was feeling “a lot better.”

“I was able to catch my breath and get my wits about me,” he said.

In retrospect, the first sign something wasn’t quite right came in that Wednesday preliminary heat when he finished second to Tebogo. He then skipped the post-race mixed zone interview session. According to USA Track & Field, he went “straight to medical.” He was also wearing a surgical mask in the staging room prior to both races on Wednesday and Thursday.

Lyles had hoped to become the first American man to complete the Olympic sprint double since Carl Lewis 40 years ago. He seemed to be well on his way after he won the closest 100 meters in Olympic history on Sunday night, dipping at the finish line to edge Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second.

Going in, Lyles was an overwhelming favorite to win the 200. It is his specialty, his first love, the event that comes most naturally to him.

When asked Sunday after the 100 how confident he felt about winning the men’s 200, Lyles grinned and said, “Pretty confident, can’t lie.”

That was before the COVID diagnosis.

Lyles was expected to be part of the U.S. men’s 4×100-meter relay final on Friday. Now that race is very much in question for him.

“I’ll talk to the coaches,” Lyles said. “To be honest, I want to be very honest and transparent with them. I’m going to let them make the decision.”

Late Thursday night, Lyles posted on Instagram that he thinks his 2024 Olympics are over.

“I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics,” he wrote. “It is not the Olympic [sic] I dreamed of but it has left me with so much Joy in my heart.”