On Shannon Sharpe’s podcast of August 18, 2024, Noah Lyles talked about his debacle at the 200m finals where he collapsed after the race, losing the gold to Letsile Tebago. Later, it came out that he had tested positive for Covid before the race. In the podcast, he admitted that the signs were already present post the 100m final.

He said, “Now looking back, there were signs on the day of the final of the 100m that this was taking too much energy to produce what I normally produce. I just threw it to the side. Then, I woke up the next day and it’s Monday now after the finals and I have a sore throat. I’m thinking, ‘OK. Maybe I just cheered a little too much. Maybe I was yelling a little too much.’ Even though I didn’t really feel like I was I just put it off to that because I had a job to do.”

Lyles continued, “It wasn’t until I woke up in the middle of the night on Tuesday morning and my body was aching. I’ve got chills. I’ve got a headache. My sinuses are running. My throat is super sore. I’m like, ‘Oh no. These are all the signs I get before I get COVID.’ I called up the doctors in that moment and said, ‘We need to test. We need to test now.'” He now seems to have recovered but was genuinely struggling in Paris. However, despite that he still had a great campaign.

Noah Lyles’ great Olympics campaign which ended with two medals

Noah Lyles entered Paris as the favorite to win both the 100m and the 200m gold. It was obvious as he had established himself as the fastest track star in the world. Many believed that the race was merely a formality and Lyles would win at the end. But, it wasn’t so easy at all. At 100m, Lyles faced tough competition from Jamaican track star Kishane Thompson. He had run a 9.77 seconds just before Paris and was looking to win the gold too.

The race ended up being decided at the tiniest of margins as both the athletes finished at the same time at 9.79 seconds. But Lyles’ upper body was further ahead of Thompson giving him the gold medal. However, this luck did not favor him in the 200m category.

The American track star could only manage a bronze medal in the longer race finishing at 19.70 seconds. Botswana’s Letsile Tobago and fellow American Kenny Bednarek both came before him with gold and silver. But after the race, Lyles collapsed in the track and had to be carried out in a wheelchair. It was later revealed that he had tested positive for covid. The fact that an athlete who suffers from Asthma could have covid and still pull through a medal is impressive and should be appreciated. Lyles has etched his name in history and is still the best in the world.