Noah Lyles reveals he had Covid but chose to compete in 200m final
Noah Lyles revealed he had Covid after collecting Olympic 200m bronze on Thursday night.
The American sprinter said he tested positive around 5am on Tuesday morning and woke up in the middle of the night “with chills”.
Lyles, the Olympic 100m champion, said he quickly quarantined in a hotel, but insisted on competing in the final won by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo.
The 27-year-old, who was hoping to become the first man since Usain Bolt to win both Olympic sprint titles, said the illness had affected his performance.
He said: I do have Covid. I tested positive around 5am on Tuesday morning. Woke up in the middle of the night feeling chills, aching, sore throat and those were a lot of the symptoms I’ve always had right before getting Covid.
“We tested it and it came back positive so we quickly quarantined in a hotel near the village and get me on as much medication as we legally could to make sure that my body was able to keep the momentum going.
“I still wanted to run, we decided it was still possible, so we just stayed away from everybody and tried to take it round by round. I knew if I wanted to come out here and win I would have to give everything I’ve had from the get go. I didn’t have any time to save energy. That was the strategy.
“It definitely affected my performance. I am more proud of myself than anything. Coming out and getting the bronze medal with Covid.
“We tried to keep it close to our chest. The medical staff, my coach and my mum knew.
“We didn’t want everybody to go into a panic. We wanted to be able to compete. We wanted to be able to make it discreet as possible and you don’t want to tell your competitors you are sick.
“Why would you give them an edge?”
The American world champion at the distance was