SAINT-DENIS, France – The first sign of trouble on Thursday night came when Noah Lyles he began to turn the corner in the Olympic 200 meter final – a sprint that was always his best event.
Typically on the corner, Lyles begins to gain ground and then pulls away from what has been, for the last three years, a match but outmatched opponent.
This time, his momentum stalled. Instead of Lyles staggering into the aisle two lanes to his right, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, Tebogo pulled further away. The American favorite, who had gone three years without losing in the 200 meters, struggled to finish and crashed on the track after finishing third.
The insidious specter of COVID, the killer virus that brought down the globe four years ago and made the last Olympic Games part of its collateral damage, has also reached the Paris Games.
In a bracing reminder that the virus is still a factor even if its deadly fingerprint has been blunted, the world’s most famous sprinter, racing on the world’s biggest sporting stage, revealed that he had tested positive two days before his shock. , but not now – inexplicable bronze medal in the 200 meters.
“I still wanted to run,” said Lyles, wearing a mask, as he spoke to reporters, whose mere congregation in a packed crowd beneath the stadium was unthinkable three years ago at the postponed Tokyo Games. “They said it was possible.”
With the blessing of USA Track and Field officials and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, who said they followed protocol, Lyles ran.
He finished in 19.70. This was 0.39 below his personal best and 0.24 behind the 21-year-old Tebogo. Lyles’ U.S. teammate Kenny Bednarek finished second, marking the second consecutive Olympics in which he and Lyles finished 2-3.
“When I saw Kenny disappear, I knew Noah was way, way, way behind us,” Tebogo said. “So that means I’m the Olympic champion.”
An hour after that shock, the Americans Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone lowered her world record for the sixth time, finishing the 400 meter hurdles in 50.37 seconds for another Olympic victory.
It was one of three gold medals and eight in total that the USA won in a night full of big events.
Tara Davis-Woodhall jumped 7.10 meters to capture the long jump and get into the Olympic win column alongside some big names including Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Brittney Reese.
Grant Holloway won gold in the 110 hurdles, clinching the Olympic title that eluded him three years ago in his only major championship defeat.
Arriving in Paris, Lyles, the three-time world champion with the American record and 2024 world-best time under his belt, looked as certain in the 200 meters as any athlete on the track this side of McLaughlin-Levrone.
After opening with a sparkling beat the 100 four nights beforehe was trying to become the first man to complete the 100-200 double since Usain Bolt did it eight years ago.
A worrying sign, however, came the night before when Lyles finished second in his semi-final heat, also to Tebogo. It was the first time he had lost a 200 meter race since a disappointing third place in Tokyo.
He also ran out of the stadium after the loss and went to the medical tent – a rare occasion in which he did not stop to speak to reporters. His trainer said he was fine.
Turns out he wasn’t. Lyles said he tested positive Tuesday morning and quickly went into quarantine.
He drank fluids, rested as much as possible and tried to prepare for the race. The USATF said in a statement that Lyles received “a complete medical evaluation” and elected to compete.
“We respect his decision and will continue to monitor his condition closely,” the statement said.
The scene after the race was shocking. Normally one of the most energetic guys on the track, before and after any race, Lyles passed out, rolled onto his side and became out of breath. He rolled over onto his hands and knees, then knelt down and balanced himself with his fist.
He finally got up and staggered towards the doctors, asking for a glass of water. Afterwards, he left in a wheelchair.
“It was definitely an effect,” Lyles said. “But I mean, to be honest, I’m more proud of myself than anything for coming out and getting the bronze medal with COVID.”
It will take some time for the full repercussions of this race to manifest themselves.
There’s still a chance Lyles ends up as the superstar he set out to become after his disappointment in Tokyo three years ago.
These Games, held without fans as the COVID pandemic raged, took a toll on Lyles’ mental health, something he says made him less than himself and led to a disappointing final in Tokyo.
After winning the 100 meters on Sunday night, he took out the bronze medal from Tokyo during his press conference, threw it on the table and explained that this was what motivated him to become a new person and a new sprinter in this Olympic cycle.
The 100 meter thriller sealed the first half of the deal. But instead of going over 200 meters, just getting to the start line became a product of “trying to get myself on as many medications as we legally could to make sure my body was able to keep up.”
When Thursday turned to Friday in Paris, Lyles turned to social media and posted his thanks to his fans for your messages of support and your congratulations to Tebogo and Bednarek.
He also said “I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics,” where he was supposed to run the anchor leg in the men’s 4×100 final on Friday.
“It’s not the Olympics I dreamed of, but it left me with a lot of joy in my heart,” he wrote. “I hope everyone enjoyed the show. Whether you’re rooting for me or against me, you have to admit you watched it, don’t you?
The spectacle that Lyles starred in struck a worrying chord in a revitalized Olympics that should be about the return of fans and the return of the Games as we knew them.
Lyles reminded us that there will never be “post-COVID” Games.
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem had the meet of his life when he won the men’s javelin throw at the Stade de France.
Nadeem set a new Olympic record by winning gold. His throw of 92.97 meters on his second attempt broke the old mark of 90.57 set by Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway in 2008.
Indian Neeraj Chopra, 2020 Olympic champion, took silver in the 89.45 meters, the best of the season.
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