Team USA track and field star Noah Lyles would compete in his final event at the 2024 Paris Olympics with or without COVID-19.
“[I was like] ‘Let’s try and keep this as normal as possible,’ knowing that I’ve handled stuff like this in the past,” Lyles, 27, said in an interview with People on Sunday, August 11, about competing in the men’s 200-meter final. “I’ve run very close to after having contracted COVID, many times.”
For Lyles, there was never any doubt for him about whether or not he would compete. “[It’s about] knowing that I was made for moments like this and I’ve trained all my life,” he added. “I know that I can go out there and still put on a great performance, and it’s an all-or-nothing scenario because nothing is promised tomorrow. So, I might as well take advantage of today.”
Lyles took home the bronze medal in the men’s 200-meter final on Thursday, August 8, despite testing positive for COVID-19 just two days prior. He told People of the event, “As long as I knew that I was allowed to, I was gonna tackle it.”
He added on Sunday that he was feeling “a lot better” despite some lingering fatigue. “I was just telling my girlfriend, I’m like, ‘I am so tired,’ and she’s like, ‘Well, you did just win the 100 with COVID, and still not getting as much rest as possible,” Lyles told People. (Lyles has been dating fellow Olympian, Team Jamaica sprinter Junelle Bromfield, since 2022.)
According to Lyles, his COVID symptoms included fatigue, aches and chills, and the virus triggered his asthma as well. After winning the men’s 200m bronze, Lyles was escorted from the track in a wheelchair.
Lyles was unable to participate with Team USA in the men’s 4×100 relay final and later announced via Instagram that he would not be participating in any further events at the 2024 Olympics, including the men’s 4×100 relay final. Unfortunately, due to a baton hand-off gone wrong, Team USA was disqualified during the race. “Unfortunately, it does happen,” Lyles told People on Sunday.
“When you have a stage as big as the Olympics and the crowd is so loud that you can’t even hear your own thoughts, it’s hard to prepare for that,” he said. “In a relay, you have four people all trying to work together, and unfortunately with me having to step back because of COVID, it was up to the relay coach and the relay team to make a decision on how they were best going to adapt to the situation.”
He concluded, “So yes, it does suck and everybody’s going to have an opinion. But trust me when I say everybody is truly trying their best and they are giving their best foot forward.”
