A sprint double is out of the question for Noah Lyles.
The Olympic 100m gold medalist was unable to win his first Olympic gold medal in the 200m, finishing with bronze behind fellow American Kenny Bednarek and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, whose gold medal time of 19.46 seconds was the fifth fastest in history.
For Lyles, history repeats itself.
Lyles is already one of the greatest 200-meter runners of all time, the third-fastest of all time, but the only thing he’s yet to win is an Olympic gold medal. He was the favorite to win in Tokyo, but lost to both Bednarek and gold medalist Andre DeGrasse (who did not compete in this year’s final). It was only the second time Lyles has lost a 200-meter final since turning professional after the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Lyles diagnosed with COVID-19 two days before final
In Wednesday’s semi-final, Lyles put in an uncharacteristic performance to finish second to Tebogo. Let’s Run At the time, Lyles said he “was stopped in the mixed zone while undergoing a medical.”
After the final, Lyles, who has asthma, had difficulty breathing and lay on the course while receiving medical attention and was then carried away in a wheelchair.
During the NBC broadcast, reporter Louis Johnson told viewers that Lyles was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Tuesday, which was Lyles’ day off between the 200-meter heats and semifinals. With no restrictions in place around positive COVID-19 tests, Lyles chose to run anyway.
This is the second time Lyles has contracted the virus, having contracted COVID-19 just before the 2023 U.S. World Championships qualifiers in Eugene.
“I’ve been sick ever since. [the] new york [Grand Prix]”The truth is, I did contract COVID-19,” Lyles told reporters afterward. “I didn’t get cleared until Sunday, and then I flew out on Monday, so it’s been a really rough week.”
Lyles finished third and earned her first spot on the U.S. 100-meter team en route to winning three gold medals in the 100, 200 and 4×100 meters at the World Championships in Budapest.
In an interview with Louis Johnson, Lyles explained what happened and how he felt after his diagnosis.
“I woke up early Tuesday morning feeling absolutely terrible,” Lyles said. “I knew it wasn’t just soreness from running 100 miles. The doctor woke me up and I got tested and unfortunately it came out positive for COVID-19.”
“My first thought was, don’t panic. We’ve been in much worse situations and we’ve run in much worse conditions. We just took it day by day and tried to stay as hydrated and isolated as possible. Of course it takes a toll but after being very disappointed at the last Olympics, I’ve never been more proud to get this far and get the bronze medal. I couldn’t be prouder this time around.”
Lyles said he never considered withdrawing from the finals, but anchoring the 4×100 relay on Friday was a different story.
“I don’t know right now,” Lyles said. “I’m more inclined to let the U.S. do it. They’ve proven with confidence that they can do it without me. If that’s what happened today, I’d be happy to say, ‘Hey, you guys, do your thing. You guys are fast enough to win the gold medal.'”
Letsile Tebogo’s historic and emotional victory
This is a monumental win for Tebogo. He said: My mother died suddenly in May.The 21-year-old is one of the most promising sprinters of recent years. He holds the 100m world record of 9.91 seconds and won silver in the 100m and bronze in the 200m at last year’s world championships.
With this victory, Tebogo became Botswana’s first ever Olympic gold medalist and the first African Olympic champion in the 200 metres. He will no doubt be Lyles’ greatest rival in both sprints for years to come, and he produced one of the greatest performances of all time in the 200 metres.
