American sprinter Noah Lyles revealed he ran in Thursday’s 200-meter Olympic race—and placed third—despite testing positive for COVID earlier this week.
He followed up that announcement by writing in a post on Instagram that his Olympics was likely over, implying that he would not partake in the 4X100 relay race he was scheduled to participate in Friday.
“I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics,” he wrote. “It is not the Olympics I dreamed of but it has left me with so much Joy in my heart. I hope everyone enjoyed the show.”
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After crossing the finish line Thursday behind Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and Team USA’s Kenneth Bednarek, Lyles immediately laid down on the track. The 27-year-old athlete, who remained fully conscious, had to be helped off the track in a wheelchair by medical personnel, and was taken to a medical holding area.
Wearing a black medical mask, he told Olympic broadcaster NBC News that he was “quite lightheaded after that race, and shortness of breath and chest pains were definitely active.
“But after a while underneath [the stands], I was able to catch my breath and get my wits about me. So I’m feeling a lot better now.”
Lyles told reporters that he first tested positive after waking up “feeling horrible” around 5 a.m. on Tuesday. “I knew it was more than just being sore from the [100-meter race],” he said. “I woke up the doctors and we tested, and unfortunately, it came out that I was positive for COVID.”
The runner moved out of Paris’ Athletes Village and into a hotel to isolate, taking “as much medication as we legally could,” including Paxlovid, under observation by USA Track & Field’s medical team.
Still, there was no question that Lyles would compete in the 200-meter, his signature event. On Wednesday, still feeling the effects of the virus, he finished second in his semi-final heat with a time of 20.08. His final time was 19.70, as compared to Tebogo’s 19.46 and Bednarek’s 19.62.
“I knew if I wanted to come out here and win, I had to give everything I had from the get-go,” he said. “I didn’t have any time to save energy, so that was kind of the strategy for today,” he added. “This is by far the best day I felt out of the last three days. I still wouldn’t say I’m 100 percent but I would definitely say I’m closer to like, 90 to 95 percent.”
The northern Virginia native did not break any Olympics protocols by competing in the race. While the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics instituted strict rules regarding testing and masking, the 2024 Paris Games allow COVID-positive athletes to compete at their discretion. At least 19 athletes have tested positive over the past two weeks, according to Scientific American.
USA Track & Field said it supported Lyles’ decision to continue competing. After his positive COVID test, a spokesperson said that officials “swiftly enacted all necessary protocols 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.”
Prior to his test, Lyles was having an exceptional Games, clinching the gold medal in Sunday’s 100-meter dash, which he ran in 9.79 seconds, a personal best. He finished five-thousandths of a second ahead of Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson.
