Noah Lyles explains his energetic entry in Paris Olympics 200m final despite previously testing positive for COVID-19

Noah Lyles has explained the reason behind his energetic entry for the 200m finals on August 8, at the Paris Olympics. Just two days earlier, Lyles had tested positive for COVID-19.

Despite testing positive, Lyles didn’t give up and went on to bag a bronze medal in the 200m, just days after becoming the 100m Olympic champion. The 27-year-old ran a time of 19.70 seconds, to bag his second successive bronze in the distance at the Olympics, finishing behind Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (19.46s) and compatriot Kenny Bednarek (19.62s).

In the Sprint season 2 docuseries, Noah Lyles spoke on the reason why he entered the race with so much energy despite suffering from an infectious disease. He said (Episode 4 starting at 39:41):

“I had to come out running. If I didn't come out running, I wasn't gonna find the energy that I need for the biggest fight of my life.”

Notably, in an interview post the 200m race, Lyles revealed that he returned a positive test for COVID-19 at 5 am on August 6. He decided to go for a test after waking up in the middle of the night after getting chills, aches and sore throat. However, he decided against telling the media about his condition.

During the Netflix docuseries, Lyles also said explained why he didn’t want to let go of this opportunity and chose to compete.

“I'd be very upset with myself if I didn't at least take the first chance of saying "Maybe I can run through this,” he said. [28:51].

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Noah Lyles shares his thoughts after becoming the Paris Olympics 100m gold medalist

Noah Lyles with his gold medal at the Paris Olympics. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

On August 4, Noah Lyles displayed his brilliance by winning the gold medal in the men’s 100m at the Paris Olympics. However, the race was a nail-biting contest, ending in a photo finish between Lyles and Kishane Thompson. In the post-race interview, the American sprinter said:

“I just had to keep running like I was going to win it. Something told me, ‘You need to lean’. This is how close first and second is going to be. It was a crazy moment. I did think that Kishane had that. I was like, ‘I’m going to have to swallow my pride’, which I don’t have a problem doing.”

He added:

“I saw my name and was like, ‘I didn’t do this against a slow crowd, I did this against the best of the best, on the biggest stage with the biggest pressure.’”

Noah Lyles ran a personal best of 9.79s (9.784), while Thompson clocked 9.79s (9.789), but the American’s torso crossed the finish line first, making him the winner.