U.S. track star Noah Lyles takes bronze in 200-meter, says he tested positive for Covid

PARIS — Two days after Noah Lyles said he tested positive for Covid, the American sprinter finished third in the 200-meter final at the Paris Olympics, unable to chase down gold medalist Letsile Tebogo of Botswana. 

Lyles ran 19.70 for bronze, behind Tebogo’s 19.46, which earned the first gold medal in Botswana’s history. American Kenny Bednarek earned silver in 19.62.

Following his positive test, Lyles said he moved into a hotel away from the Olympic Village to quarantine himself and arrived for warmups before Wednesday’s semifinal with a mask on. He said he never considered not competing in Thursday’s final and intentionally did not disclose information about his diagnosis.

“You never want to tell your competitors you’re sick,” he said. “Why would you give them an edge over you?”

Lyles, 27, appeared his usual energetic self when he was introduced before the final, jumping and sprinting down the track before getting into his blocks as a sold-out crowd inside Stade de France grew silent. Lyles was running from behind right from the start, looking little like the sprinter who had won 26 consecutive races dating to 2021 until he finished second in Wednesday’s semifinal — also to Tebogo — and had been 38-5 all-time against the seven other sprinters in Thursday’s final. 

At the finish line Lyles collapsed, then gingerly stood while asking for water and sitting back down on the track. He was put into a wheelchair and carted off underneath the stadium. It was a stark contrast to Sunday night, when Lyles won the first Olympic gold medal of his career by winning the 100-meters by five-thousandths of a second and afterward guaranteed that he would win the 200 meters, as well. 

Testing positive for COVID “definitely affected my performance,” Lyles said. “But I mean, to be honest, I’m more proud of myself than anything coming out and get the bronze medal with COVID in three days. It’s been a wild Olympics.”

In a statement, USA Track & Field said that it and the U.S. Olympic committee had adhered to guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and the International Olympic Committee to “prioritize his health, the wellbeing of our team, and the safety of fellow competitors.” 

“Our primary commitment is to ensure the safety of Team USA athletes while upholding their right to compete. After a thorough medical evaluation, Noah chose to compete tonight. We respect his decision and will continue to monitor his condition closely.”

Lyles was attempting to become the first man to sweep both sprints at an Olympics since Jamaica’s Usain Bolt in 2016, and the first from the U.S. since Carl Lewis 40 years ago. Earning bronze also ends Lyles’s much-discussed ambition of becoming the first track athlete to win four gold medals at a single Olympics since 1984.

He said he would let USA Track & Field decide whether he should run on the U.S. 4×100-meter relay team that qualified for Friday’s final with the fastest time in preliminaries.