Beaten American sprinter has Covid
The first sign of trouble came when Noah Lyles started rounding the curve in the Olympic final of the 200m — the sprint that has always been his best race.
Normally at the curve, Lyles starts making up ground, then pulling away from what have been, for the last three years, game but overmatched contenders.
This time, his momentum stalled. Instead of Lyles reeling in the runner two lanes to his right, Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, Tebogo pulled farther way. The American favourite, who had gone three years without losing in the 200m, laboured into the finish and collapsed onto the track after ending up in third.
The insidious specter of Covid, the killer virus that upended the globe four years ago and made the last Olympics part of its collateral damage, struck at the Paris Games, too.
In a bracing reminder that the virus is still very much a factor, even if its deadly fingerprint has been blunted, the world’s marquee sprinter, racing on the world's biggest sports stage, revealed he had tested positive two days before his shocking, but now not-inexplicable, bronze-medal finish in the 200m.
“I still wanted to run,” Lyles said, wearing a mask, as he spoke to reporters, whose mere congregation in a jam-packed scrum underneath the stadium was unthinkable three years ago at the delayed Tokyo Games. “They said it was possible.”
With the blessing of officials at USA Track and Field and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, who said they followed protocol, Lyles did run.
He finished in 19.70. That was 0.39secs off his personal-best, and 0.24secs behind the 21-year-old Tebogo. Lyles' US teammate Kenny Bednarek finished second, marking the second straight Olympics in which he and Lyles finished 2-3.
“When I saw Kenny fade, I knew Noah was far, far, far away behind us,” Tebogo said. “So that means I’m the Olympic champion.”
An hour after that shock, American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone lowered her world record for the sixth time, finishing the 400m hurdles in 50.37secs for another Olympic blowout.
That was one of three gold medals and eight overall the US won on a night filled with big events.
Tara Davis-Woodhall jumped 7.10 meters to capture the long jump and get in the Olympic win column next to some greats, including Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Brittney Reese.
Grant Holloway cruised to gold in the 110m hurdles, claiming the Olympic title that eluded him three years ago in his only major-championship loss.
Coming into Paris, Lyles, the three-time world champion with the American record and the world's best time of 2024 on his resume, had seemed like as sure a thing in the 200m as any single athlete at track this side of McLaughlin-Levrone.
After opening with a scintillating win in the 100 four nights earlier, he was trying to become the first man to complete the 100200 double since Usain Bolt did it eight years ago.
A troubling sign, however, came the night before when Lyles finished second in his semifinal heat, also to Tebogo. It marked the first time he had lost a 200m race of any sort since his disappointing third-place finish in Tokyo.
He also hurried out of the stadium after that loss and went to the medical tent — a rare occasion when he didn't stop to talk to reporters. His coach said he was fine.
Turns out he wasn't. Lyles said he tested positive early Tuesday morning and quickly got into quarantine. He drank fluids, rested as much as possible and tried to gear up for the race. USATF said in a statement that Lyles was given “a thorough medical evaluation” and chose to compete.
The scene after the race was jarring.
Usually one of the most energetic guys on the track, both before and after any sprint, Lyles collapsed, rolled onto his side and gasped for breath. He turned over on his hands and knees, then went to one knee, and balanced himself with his fist.
He finally stood up and wobbled toward the medics, signaling for a cup of water. Then, he left in a wheelchair.
“It definitely was an effect,” Lyles said. “But I mean, to be honest, I’m more proud of myself than anything for coming out and getting the bronze medal with Covid.”
There's still a chance Lyles could end up as the bigger-than-track superstar he set out to become after his disappointment in Tokyo three years ago.
Those Games, staged in front of no fans while the Covid pandemic raged, took a mental-health toll on Lyles, one he said made him less than himself and led to his disappointing finish in Tokyo.
After he won the 100 Sunday night, he took that Tokyo bronze medal out during his news conference, dropped it on the table and explained it was the thing that motivated him to become a new person and a new sprinter for this Olympic cycle.
The 100m thriller sealed the first half of the deal. But instead of breezing through the 200m, just getting to the starting line became a product of “trying to get me on as much medication as we legally could to make sure that my body was able to just keep the momentum going.”
As Thursday turned to Friday in Paris, Lyles took to social media and posted his thanks to fans for their supportive messages and his congratulations to Tebogo and Bednarek.
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem put together the best meet of his life in winning the men’s javelin.
Nadeem set a new Olympic record in winning gold. India's Neeraj Chopra, the 2020 Olympic champion, took silver.