Shots were fired not just before the Men’s 200m sprint began but also after it, with a verbal tiff among the athletes.
The race witnessed Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo ace through the group to bag the gold, closely followed by USA’s Kenny Bednarek swooping in on the silver. What shocked fans was his teammate, Noah Lyles, lagging, managing the third place on the podium.
This caused some commotion among the crowd, wondering what caused Lyles to slow down despite being in high spirits a few days ago.
It turns out that doctors had diagnosed him with COVID-19 hours before the race, leading him to fight through his health to get a place on the podium.
Post-victory, Tebogo, and Bednarek were present at a press conference that Lyles skipped due to his state of health. Amidst a couple of questions surrounding the race and their prep, reporters asked Tebogo if he felt he was the face of athletics now that he had won gold.
For the longest time, track and field was a distinct sport due to the participation of Usain Bolt, along with his accolades. The Jamaican’s records across various sprinting competitions have made him an iconic figure across the world.
Now that he isn’t in the competitive scene anymore, this has probably prompted a movement to look for another face to represent the track.
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However, the question triggered an unexpected reply from the Botswana-native. Instead of keeping things subtle, Tebogo fired shots at his rival, Lyles, by explaining why he didn’t see himself as the face of the sport.
“I can’t be the face of athletics because I’m not an arrogant or a loud person like Noah.”
True to his words, he felt Lyles was better as the face of the sport rather than him. The reply caused quite some ruckus in the comments, some even laughing about how the culture of banter between athletes has transcended beyond a sport like UFC to the track.
However, many seemed to agree that Tebogo didn’t necessarily mean for his statement to sound crass. Instead, his message about Lyles being a bolder personality got lost in translation.
Yet, the statement might have created quite a stir in the track and field world after the rivals battled it out on the field. Unfortunately, one won’t get to see them go head-to-head in the relays and future races at the Paris Olympics.
Lyles’ COVID diagnosis has led him to withdraw from future events, as per an announcement on his social media pages. Meanwhile, teammate Bednarek is all set to prepare for the relays, eyeing the gold as he prepares to zoom through, to the finish line.
