Noah Lyles ran the men’s 200m final with Covid and had to be wheeled out of the Stade de France after finishing third in the race.
NBC said it spoke to Lyles’ mother, who confirmed he had the virus before Lyles himself spoke on the news. He said he has no regrets about competing, despite the inevitable risk of spreading the virus to other athletes, whom he hugged and shook hands with after the race.
The USA star told NBC, wearing a face mask: “I woke up early around 5am on Tuesday morning, feeling really horrible. I knew it was more than just pain from the 100. My first thought was not to panic, I’ve been in worse situations, I’ve been in worse conditions.
“I took it day by day, tried to hydrate as much as I could. I would say it took its toll, for sure, but I’ve never been more proud of myself for coming out here and getting a bronze.”
Lewis Johnson asked him if he was planning to retire and he gave a blunt answer: “No. No. We just said we were going to quarantine ourselves as much as possible and not try to spread the virus.”
Noah Lyles ran the men’s 200m final in Paris with Covid, his mother says
The American had to be taken away in a wheelchair in the moments after the race in shocking scenes.
Lyles was clearly struggling to breathe after finishing third in Thursday’s event.
Lyles admitted the virus could force him out of the 4x100m relay on Friday.
“I don’t know at this point, I’d rather let Team USA do their thing,” he said. “They’ve proven they can do it without me.”
Moments earlier, NBC’s Johnson revealed Lyles’ condition: “We saw Noah being taken away in a wheelchair. I met his mother, who was distraught.
‘She confirmed that Noah had been diagnosed with Covid two days ago, but he decided he was going to run anyway.
“I ran under the stadium to try to find where he was. We found Noah Lyles in the infirmary and he was being treated.
“Obviously, what he has there may have affected his performance. He is now with medical personnel, but that is the problem. Noah has Covid.”
The American star made his trademark theatrical entrance to the race, jumping into the stadium when his name was announced and shouting to the crowd for the race in which many had him as the favourite.
But after being outclassed by Letsile Tebogo, who won gold, and fellow American Kenny Bednarek, Lyles was seen lying on the track and struggling to breathe after congratulating his fellow competitors.
But the American star was seen hugging gold medal winner Letsile Tebogo before turning heads.
Lyles was seen wearing a mask in the moments before his competition began in Paris.
Moments later, he was photographed needing a wheelchair to get off the track. He arrived at the race wearing a face mask.
Lyles tweeted earlier this week, after winning gold in the 100 meters, that he is asthmatic.
Michael Johnson questioned Lyles’ decision to go ahead and compete, telling the BBC: “It’s very strange, Covid is still a dangerous disease. It’s just strange, the whole thing is really strange.”
‘There’s going to be this whole Noah hater thing out there, and he prepared for that, there’s going to be people saying it’s not real and he’s faking it or whatever.
“But putting that aside, having Covid and still coming here and being in close proximity to other people, I know there’s probably no policy on that at these Games, but morally I’m not sure.”
Medics rush to help Lyles after he fell to the ground and struggled to catch his breath.
After receiving medical attention, Lyles was seen standing again and wearing a mask.
Lyles was seen shaking hands and hugging his fellow competitors before falling to the ground.
Earlier this week, it was reported that more than 40 athletes had tested positive for the virus.
British swimmer Adam Peaty tested positive a day after winning silver in the 100m breaststroke because he was not feeling well, his team said.
Australian medal hopeful Lani Pallister has withdrawn from the women’s 1500m freestyle after falling ill.