NOAH Lyles reportedly ran the 200m race while sick with Covid-19.
Lyles suffered a shocking loss in the 200m sprint, an event he was a favorite to win gold in.
Lyles still put in a sub-20 second time in the event, but clearly something was wrong after the race.
US Track and Field confirmed to the BBC that Lyles ran the race with Covid, affecting his ability to run.
“We’ve been told by US Track and Field that Noah Lyles has got Covid,” BBC anchor Gabby Logan said after the race.
Lyles finished in third place behind Letsile Tobago of Botswana and American Kenny Bednarek.
He collapsed to the ground after running his race, and was quickly attended to by a medibal team.
Lyles was eventually taken out of the stadium in a wheelchair before it was confirmed that he had Covid.
He later confirmed himself that he woke up feeling terrible on Tuesday and found out he had Covid.
“I woke up about 5am on Tuesday morning and was feeling really horrible. I knew it was more than being sore from the 100m. We woke up the doctors and tested, and unfortunately it came up that I was positive for Covid,” Lyles said.
“My first thought was not to panic. I’ve been in worse situations, I’ve run with worse conditions I’ve felt. We just took it day by day, tried to hydrate, quarantined off and I would definitely say it’s taken it’s toll for sure.”
“But I’ve never been more proud of myself to come out here and get a bronze medal. Last Olympics I was very disappointed and this time I couldn’t be more proud.”
He shared that there was never a thought in his mind that he would skip the race.
“No. We were just going to try and quarantine as much as possible, stay away, not pass it off and give it my all,” Lyles said.
“If I wasn’t to make it and somebody was able to take my spot, that would’ve been my sign that I didn’t deserve to be in the final.”
The 100m gold medal-winner disappointed fans by coming in third for the 200m race, but many more were shocked that he was allowed to run in his condition.
“Why did they let him race?” one fan said.
“Why the hell was Noah Lyles competing when he knew he had Covid?” another fan said.
“Seems a bit reckless if USATF knew Lyles had Covid before he raced,” a third fan said.
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“If Lyles has COVID why is he allowed to compete?” a fourth fan said.
“Lyles had covid?? I don’t think he’d have beat Tebogo regardless,” a fifth fan said.
Lyles is slated to compete in the 4×100 race for Team USA, but it is possible they reconsider his involvement based on his illness.
During an appearance on NBC following his race, Lyles said himself that he likely won’t participate in the race.
“At the moment, I don’t know. I’m feeling more on the side of letting Team USA do their thing,” Lyles said.
“They’re proven with great certainty that they can handle it without me. If that’s the case coming off of today, I’m perfectly fine with saying ‘you guys do your thing, you guys have speed to be able to get the gold medal.'”
He is likely done competing for the rest of the Paris Olympics.
