"It’s still so hard to watch"- Noah Lyles opens up about missing out on the gold medal in the men's 200m at the Paris Olympics 

Noah Lyles opened up about missing the gold medal in the men's 200m at the Paris Olympics. The American athlete was in peak form during his early appearances at the French capital, having won the gold medal in the men's 100m.

However, a setback occurred after the 200m semi-finals when Lyles tested positive for COVID-19. Despite this diagnosis, he made the decision to compete in the final. Ultimately, he finished third with a time of 20.08s, behind Letsile Tebogo and Kenny Bednarek.

The news about his diagonsis wasn't made public until team USA released an official statement after the conclusion of the race. Lyles was visibly struggling for breath after the race and was escorted out of the stadium in a wheelchair by the medical team.

Months after the conclusion of the quadrennial games, Lyles spoke about the 200m and revealed that he still thinks about the 200m finals even though he is very proud of his performance.

“I’m proud of the moment,” he says, “but it’s still so hard to watch because I can only constantly just think what if. What if I didn’t get [Covid]?” he said. (via theguardian)

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Noah Lyles opens up on his decision to compete in the 200m finals despite COVID diagnosis

Noah Lyles at the Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 13 (Source: Getty)

In an interview with Olympics.com, Noah Lyles spoke about his decision to compete in the 200m finals despite testing positive for COVID-19. The American athlete admitted to initial panic, but his past experiences overcoming setbacks helped him regain composure.

"My first thought was not to panic and I was thinking I've been in worse situations, I've run with worse conditions I felt and we just took it day by day and trying to hydrate as much quarantined off. I definitely say that it's taken its toll for sure, but I've never been more proud of myself for being able to come out here and, and getting a bronze medal where last Olympics, I was very disappointed."

Moreover, he shared that his condition had improved since the initial diagnosis, although he had not fully recovered.

"This is by far the best I’ve felt out of the last 3 days. I still wouldn’t say I’m 100%, but I’d definitely say I’m closer to 90-95%. Honestly, that only works for one shot, I only have one load to blow and then I gotta settle down for a while. No, I was gonna compete regardless. If I didn’t make it to the finals, that would’ve been the sign not to," he told reporters.

Noah Lyles subsequently withdrew from the 4x100m relay, bringing his Olympic campaign to an end following the 200m finals.