Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, Kenneth Bednarek and Noah Lyles of the United States cross the finish line to finish first, second and third respectively in the men's 200 metres final of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 8, 2024.
Odd Andersen | AFP | Getty Images
PARIS — Two days after Noah Lyles said he tested positive for Covid, the American sprinter finished third in the 200-meter final at the Paris Olympics, unable to catch gold medalist Letsile Tebogo of Botswana.
Lyles ran 19.70 seconds to take bronze, behind Tebogo, who clocked 19.46 seconds to claim Botswana's first ever gold medal. American Kenny Bednarek took silver in 19.62 seconds.
Lyles said that after her positive test, she moved to a hotel away from the Olympic Village to quarantine and arrived to warm-ups before Wednesday's semifinal wearing a mask. She said she never considered not competing in Thursday's final and intentionally did not disclose information about her diagnosis.
“You should never tell your competitors that you're sick,” he said. “Why would you give them an advantage over you?”
Lyles, 27, was his usual energetic self when he was introduced before the final, jumping and running around the track before working himself into form as a sellout crowd at the Stade de France fell silent. Lyles ran from the back from the start, looking little like the sprinter who had won 26 consecutive races dating to 2021 until finishing second in Wednesday’s semifinal, also behind Tebogo, and had a 38-5 all-time record against the other seven sprinters in Thursday’s final.
At the finish line, Lyles collapsed, gingerly got up while asking for water and sat back down on the track. He was placed in a wheelchair and wheeled on a cart beneath the stadium. It was a stark contrast to Sunday night, when Lyles won the first Olympic gold medal of his career by winning the 100 meters by five thousandths of a second and then guaranteed he would win the 200 meters as well.
USA's Noah Lyles reacts after competing in the men's 200 metres final of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 8, 2024.
Jewel Samad | AFP | Getty Images
“The fact that I tested positive for COVID-19 affected my performance,” Lyles said. “But to be honest, I'm more proud of myself than anything else for going out and getting the bronze medal with COVID-19 in three days. It's been an incredible Olympics.”
In a statement, USA Track & Field said it and the U.S. Olympic Committee had followed guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and the International Olympic Committee to “prioritize their health, the well-being of our team and the safety of our fellow competitors.”
“Our primary commitment is to ensure the safety of Team USA athletes and uphold their right to compete. After a thorough medical evaluation, Noah has decided to compete tonight. We respect his decision and will continue to closely monitor his condition.”
Lyles was attempting to become the first man to win both sprint events at an Olympic Games since Jamaica's Usain Bolt in 2016, and the first American since Carl Lewis 40 years ago. Winning bronze also ends Lyles' much-discussed ambition to become the first track athlete to win four gold medals at a single Olympics since 1984.
He said he would let USA Track & Field decide whether he should run on the U.S. 4×100-meter relay team that qualified for Friday's final with the fastest time in the preliminaries.
