While the 2024 Paris Games was touted to be the first “normal” Olympics after COVID-delayed Tokyo, we’ve been learning over the last two weeks that it’s not the case: COVID is still here—and it’s never been more visible as it was during the men’s 200-meter final on August 8, when star sprinter Noah Lyles was seen by the medical team and then removed from the track in a wheelchair just minutes after earning bronze.
About 15 minutes later, Lyles, who won the 100-meter dash on August 4, reappeared wearing a black KN95 mask and confirmed on the NBC broadcast that he had been diagnosed with COVID-19 at 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, prior to the Thursday final.
“I just was feeling really horrible. I knew it was more than just being sore from the 100. … I woke up the doctors and tested and unfortunately it came up positive,” he said to NBC.
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“My first thought was not to panic. I’ve been in worse situations,” he continued to NBC, adding that he never considered not running in the 200-meter final. “I’d definitely say that it’s taken its toll for sure, but I’ve never been more proud of myself for being able to come out here and get the bronze medal.”
“We just took it day by day, trying to hydrate as much, quarantined off,” he said.
Lyles was wearing a surgical mask in the pre-race area. At the end of the race, Lyles—who finished third, though he was favored to win—remained sitting and kneeling on the track, and looked to be having difficulty catching his breath. Then he was taken off the track in a wheelchair; according to an NBC reporter on-site, his mom was looking for him.
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