Noah Lyles suffered a shocking medical condition that ended his quest for the ongoing Paris Olympics. Diagnosed with COVID-19, Lyles could not compete in his full capacity in the 200m discipline. Soon after the end of his sprint yesterday, the US track sensation was seen struggling to keep himself on his feet. With visible breathlessness, Noah Lyles was helped off the track in a wheelchair. While this unexpected moment robbed Lyles of his Olympic sprint double glory, it also shattered his dreams of making an Olympic quadruple. 

Following his 200m event, the US track sensation revealed that he came to know the COVID test results prior to the race. However, unwilling to miss out on his chance of glory, Lyles decided to participate in the race despite his illness. Reflecting on his initial reaction after his reports came back positive, Lyles said, “My first thought was not to panic. I was thinking, I’ve been in worse situations. You know, I’ve run in worse situations, I felt…Last Olympics I was very disappointed and this time I couldn’t be more proud.” Lyles further stated that he and his team took the setback in a calm manner and looked to address the situation one day at a time.

As part of the training routine, Lyles was asked to keep himself hydrated enough and was guided into a proper quarantine routine. And although Lyles admitted that the virus has made him weaker than before, the US star expressed being utterly happy and proud of his performance in Paris. Despite his illness taking its toll, Lyles still managed to be fast enough to beat most of the competition. 

Finishing at third place, Noah Lyles clocked 19.70s to clinch an Olympic bronze medal. Making the most of Lyles’ illness, Lestile Tebogo went full throttle to win the gold medal for Botswana, clocking an impressive 19.46s. Lyles’ fellow countryman, Kenny Bednarek, finished second with 19.62s to take home the silver. Well, Lyles does have a solid reason to be proud of his performance in Paris. 

Back in Tokyo, Lyles won a bronze in the 200m discipline and apparently broke the world record clocking 18.90s. Unfortunately, Lyles was found to start the race 15m ahead. Thus, turning around from the setback to reach the pinnacle in Paris was a praiseworthy feat for the young US track icon. After all, Noah Lyles will be leaving Paris as a 100m gold medal winner. 

Noah Lyles’ tryst with Olympic gold

Noah Lyles faced constant bashing for his slow timings in the 100m events before Paris. Looking at his timing, a significant portion of the fans started to mock his claims of winning the Olympic gold. Before the US trials, Lyles was placed quite low in the 2024 world lead list. But it all turned around as Lyles showed his character in the trials. The 27-year-old stormed into the Olympics recording his personal best 100m time of 9.83s. This placed Lyles right back in the medal contention and the world was once again hyped. 

Coming to Paris, Lyles featured in the first semi-final with the likes of Oblique Seville. While Lyles did repeat his 9.83s timing, Seville seemed faster as he took the pole position with 9.81s. But once it came down to the finals, Lyles showed who the champion was. It was a stacked 100m final with Kishane Thompson, Akani Simbine, Fred Kerley, Oblique Seville, Kenny Bednarek, and more. 

Touted as the fastest 100m race of the Olympics, both Kishane Thompson and Noah Lyles had a photo finish. However, taking the crown was Lyles, who went ahead of the Jamaican by 0.005 seconds. Earning his maiden Olympic gold, Noah Lyles seems extremely elated. And while he leaves Paris with his story unfinished, Lyled will surely come back stronger to finish his story when the games come to his homeland in 2028.