“Unreal”: Coco Gauff, Miles Chamley, & Others React as Noah Lyles Bids Goodbye to Paris Olympics

“I told you, America, I got this.” After today, these lines will not be heard at the Paris Olympics. The reason is that the speaker of those lines, Noah Lyles, has been scratched from the biggest sporting affair. Today, he was scheduled to compete in the men’s 200m final, entering the Stade de France as the favorite to claim the gold medal. His past performances and showmanship had earned him this distinction. But today, in the crucial moments leading up to the race, Lyles fell short in his most familiar event.

He finished the race in third place, trailing behind the leaders. However, the real shock came later when medical reports revealed that Noah Lyles was dealing with something much deeper. These developments quickly caught the attention of many prominent figures (no, Lyles’ retirement is not in question!) interested in his condition.

Noah Lyles stops a distance ahead of his promise 

After the men’s 200m event concluded, Noah Lyles was taken to the medical tent. His 19.70-second finish had already raised questions about his form, and the medical report later confirmed that he had been running while suffering from COVID. That illness dented his chance to further compete at the Olympic event this time. Noting that, on his Instagram post, Lyles said, “I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics. It is not the Olympic I dreamed of but it has left me with so much Joy in my heart.” That put an end to the dream the 27-year-old athlete had borne. 

As he mentioned in the past, Noah Lyles had been after “all the medals” at the Paris Olympics. But his bowing out today will not make that happen. COVID impeded his route. However, as far as his disease is concerned, Lewis Johnson, the NBC Olympics’ host, registered a few points. 

Lewis couldn’t hold his disbelief while talking about Lyles’ fever. The host added, “Noah had been diagnosed with COVID two days ago.” The further updates claimed that since Tuesday, the 100m Olympic gold medalist has been suffering from COVID, but he kept zipped. He was adamant enough to continue, despite his limited physical strength. 

Today, Noah Lyles stood in the third position, although just before the event he had to go to the medical camp for intervention. Also, that medical reason barred him from competing in the men’s 4x100m relay final, scheduled on the calendar. So the 27-year-old will leave Paris with two medals. But this achievement has stood to be enough to earn him praise for the big names. 

One such came from the tennis sensation Coco Gauff. She is also carrying out the captain’s role for Team USA at the Paris Olympics. Wearing that responsibility, she said, “unreal 🥇🇺🇸” pointing at Lyles’ performance. Soon, a few more voices appeared to share the moment with the athlete. 

“well done Noah!!!”–Good wishes are raining on Noah Lyles from top athletes 

Noah Lyles’ story of growing up or his theatrics in front of the audience made him more acceptable. All these months leading up to the Paris Olympics, his fans cried with him and smiled with him. So the emotions might have come out as most normal on his bidding adieu moment. Apart from Coco Guaff, a few other big stars also acknowledged his role. Miles Chamley-Watson is one of them. 

The three-time Olympic fencer penned down, “Keep being a ⭐️ bruv.” Gwendolyn Berry supported the claim and awarded Lyles with her best one, “So very proud of you!! 🙌🙌🙌”. 

Notably, in his two appearances in the Olympics this time, Noah Lyles earned two hardware. In the 100m, he reclaimed the gold medal, becoming the second American after the 2004 Athens Olympics. In the 200m event, he defended his bronze medal despite his limited ability because of COVID, leaving Matt Baiamonte impressed.

The world champion boxing trainer left a sign of his feelings by etching, “Thanks for all you have done. Get better and God Bless 🙏🥊”. The Nigerian-American sprinter Morolake Akinosun echoed the same satisfaction and wrote, “well done Noah!!! 🎉🎉🎉 the world LOVES watching you!” Not just from the sporting world, Noah Lyles received good wishes from other platforms as well. 

One such came from Sway Callaway. The American radio personality and journalist mentioned, “What an amazing journey. Thank you for giving us your blueprint to greatness! Looking forward to witnessing your future. Peace to you and your family”. Let those messages be Noah Lyles’ guiding light to make his return on track soon.