The Paris Olympics saw a series of ups and downs for the otherwise confident and outspoken Noah Lyles. Having promised four golds across four events, he unfortunately had to prematurely end his journey due to a COVID-19 diagnosis.
But only recently did he open up on the chain of events that led up to the tough decision. In a conversation with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson on the ‘Nightcap‘ podcast, Lyles recounted the details of his sickness.
Unlike what many track and field enthusiasts misunderstood about his over-excited introductions before races, he admitted that he had been struggling before the 200m sprint transpired.
On the day of the 100m finals, when he won his first gold, the 27-year-old began seeing signs of what was about to end his Paris Olympics run.
He recalled how he needed a little more energy and push to perform his regular tasks, which seemed odd. But it wasn’t until after the finals and his roaring victory that things truly fell apart.
A sore throat was all it took to alert him of the impending issue, which he still went on to attribute to his cheering and over-the-top yelling. That night, Lyles woke up to all the tell-tale symptoms of the sickness, leading to a panicked plan B preparation.
“It wasn’t until I woke up in the middle of the night on Tuesday morning and my body was aching. I’ve got chills. I’ve got a headache. My sinuses are running. My throat is super sore.”
This kicked forth a series of calls with the team doctors and a realistic plan on how he could tackle both COVID-19 and his participation in further races. Keeping in mind that his asthma could worsen matters, Lyles had to take a call on how he’d handle things from there on.
“They put me on the COVID medication…I’m trying to go through warmups and trying to get as normal as possible each round.”
To his luck, the rules had slightly shifted since the Tokyo Olympics, where athletes went through stringent checks for the virus. This time around, the authorities allowed him to participate, given he had permission from his contingent’s seniors.
Once he got all the clearance, Lyles made up his mind that he at least wanted to take the chance to redeem himself. Four years of preparation had led up to this moment, and he did not want to regret not participating when he could’ve.
The bronze was more than a win – it was a sign of how strong he was with his underlying condition and sickness on top of that.
He also clarified that while he had come under a lot of fire for participating despite his Covid-19 diagnosis, he wasn’t the only one doing so. Several other people in the Olympic Village, famous or not, pulled off the same stint without saying anyone.
But it was clear that Lyles was there to dominate the track, and he did so to the best of his abilities. As for his sickness, he has recovered and has already started eyeing further competitions, including the World Championships, to showcase what he missed out on.
