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

PARIS — Two days next Noah Lyles mentioned he examined certain for Covid, the American sprinter completed 3rd within the 200-meter ultimate on the Paris Olympics, not able to chase ailing gold medalist Letsile Tebogo of Botswana. 

Lyles ran 19.70 for bronze, in the back of Tebogo’s 19.46, which earned the primary gold medal in Botswana’s historical past. American Kenny Bednarek earned silver in 19.62.

Following his certain check, Lyles mentioned he moved right into a resort clear of the Olympic Village to quarantine himself and arrived for warmups sooner than Wednesday’s semifinal with a masks on. He mentioned he by no means regarded as no longer competing in Thursday’s ultimate and deliberately didn’t reveal details about his prognosis.

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

Lyles, 27, gave the impression his common full of life self when he used to be presented sooner than the overall, leaping and sprinting ailing the monitor sooner than coming into his blocks as a sold-out nation within Stade de France grew tranquil. Lyles used to be working from in the back of proper from the beginning, having a look tiny just like the sprinter who had gained 26 consecutive races relationship to 2021 till he completed 2d in Wednesday’s semifinal — additionally to Tebogo — and have been 38-5 all-time towards the seven alternative sprinters in Thursday’s ultimate. 

On the end order Lyles collapsed, later gingerly stood pace soliciting for H2O and sitting backpedal at the monitor. He used to be put right into a wheelchair and carted off beneath the stadium. It used to be a stark distinction to Sunday evening, when Lyles won the first Olympic gold medal of his career by way of successful the 100-meters by way of five-thousandths of a 2d and later on assured that he would win the 200 meters, as smartly. 

Checking out certain for COVID “definitely affected my performance,” Lyles mentioned. “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 commentary, USA Monitor & Grassland mentioned that it and the U.S. Olympic committee had adhered to pointers poised by way of the Facilities for Illness Keep an eye on and the Global 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 used to be making an attempt to grow to be the primary guy to comb each sprints at an Olympics since Jamaica’s Usain Bolt in 2016, and the primary from the U.S. since Carl Lewis 40 years in the past. Incomes bronze additionally ends Lyles’s much-discussed ambition of changing into the primary monitor athlete to win 4 gold medals at a unmarried Olympics since 1984.

He mentioned he would let USA Monitor & Grassland come to a decision whether or not he must run at the U.S. 4×100-meter relay staff that certified for Friday’s ultimate with the quickest presen in preliminaries.