Botswana's Tebogo wins men's 200m gold; Lyles, battling through COVID, lands bronze

Noah Lyles lost the Olympic 200 meters Thursday, falling to Botswana's Letsile Tebogo, then being tended to by medics who carted him off the track in a wheelchair. Later, wearing a mask as he spoke with reporters, Lyles said he had COVID-19.

After crossing the line third for the second straight Olympics, Lyles fell to his back and writhed in pain, staying down for nearly 30 seconds before getting up, asking for water and getting to the wheelchair.

"It definitely affected my performance," he said.

He also won the bronze in the Tokyo Olympics, and he has said the empty stands and the year-long delay before the Games led to depression that hampered his performance and inspired his road to Paris.

Lyles said he tested positive early Tuesday morning and quickly got into quarantine, though the U.S. track federation (USATF) said he tested positive on Monday.

"I still wanted to run," he said. "They said it was possible."

The USATF released a statement saying it and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee adhered to all Olympic and Centers for Disease Control guidelines.

The men's 4x100 relay is set for Friday, and Lyles was expected to run the anchor leg in what many thought would be a quest for a third gold medal in Paris. He said that decision had not been made as of late Thursday.

"I want to be very honest and transparent, and I'm going to let them make the decision," Lyles said, describing himself as being at around 90 or 95 per cent.

WATCH | Botswana's Tebogo upsets American stars to win 200m gold:

In the 200, Tebogo, 21, led wire-to-wire and won in 19.46 seconds, the fourth-fastest time in history, but .15 slower than Lyles' top time. Kenny Bednarek finished in 19.62 for his second straight silver, and Lyles, four