SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Noah Lyles lost the Olympic 200 meters on Thursday, falling to Botswana’s Letzile Tepoko and then being attended to by medics who carted him off the track in a wheelchair. Later, wearing a mask, Lyles told reporters he had COVID, but decided to compete anyway.
After crossing the line third for the second straight Olympics, Lyles fell on his back and rolled on the floor trying to catch his breath. He got down on one knee, stayed there for about 30 seconds, got up, asked for water and got into a wheelchair.
“It’s definitely an effect,” Lyles said. “But to be honest, I’m more proud of myself than anything for coming out and getting a bronze medal with Covid.”
It was his own world record against Sidney McLaughlin-Levron
An hour after that shock, Sydney McLaughlin-Levron lowers her world record For the sixth time, he completed the 400m hurdles in 50.37 seconds.
Hurdler finished third as her toughest challenger Femke, who was 1.5 seconds behind McLaughlin-Levron and American Anna Cockrell.
It was McLaughlin-Levrone’s second straight gold and the second straight Olympics where a virus played a major role in Lyles’ athletic journey.
He also won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, and his empty stands and a year’s delay before the Games led to depression, which hampered his performance and discouraged him en route to Paris.
Four nights earlier, after a thrilling 100-meter victory, Lyles arrived at a press conference, pulled out the bronze medal from Tokyo, slapped it on the table and said it was the motivation to add the short sprint to his repertoire. A star bigger than a track.
Now, he has two of those bronze medals, though the story played out very differently.
Lyles said she tested positive two days after the 100 final
Lyles said he tested positive early Tuesday morning and was soon isolated.
“I still wanted to run,” he said. “They said it was possible.”
The U.S. Track Federation issued a statement and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee followed guidelines for all Olympics and the Centers for Disease Control.
“After a thorough medical evaluation, Noah has elected to compete tonight,” the statement said. “We respect his decision and will monitor his condition closely.”
The men’s 4×100 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 he will talk to his teammates and take a decision.
“I want to be very honest and open, I’m going to let them make the decision,” Lyles said, describing himself as 90 or 95%.
In the 200, Tebogo, 21, won wire-to-wire and clocked 19.46 seconds, the fourth-fastest time in history but .15 slower than Lyles’ best time. Kenny Bednarek finished in 19.62 for his second straight silver, and Lyles ran the curve in 19.70.
The first sign that something might be wrong was when Lyles finished second in a lackluster semi, then left the track without speaking to reporters to go to the medical tent. His coach said he was fine.
It was clear he wasn’t when Teboko and Bednarek reached the crease in the final.
Lyles was trailing heading into the homestretch, usually putting in a trademark final finish, which is always the best part of a race, and he hasn’t lost since finishing third in Tokyo earlier this week. .
This time – nothing. Only a desperate push to the line and then a slide down the purple lane.
“To be honest, I knew I had to give it everything I had if I wanted to come here and win,” he said. “I don’t have time to conserve energy. So that was the strategy today.”
Davis-Woodhall and Holloway earned two more U.S. gold medals
Tara Davis-Woodhull cleared 7.10 meters on her fourth jump to take the gold medal, joining Diana Bartoletta, Brittney Reese and great Jackie Joyner-Kersey as Americans to win the event.
Grant Holloway of the United States won gold in the 110 hurdles, winning the Olympic title that eluded him in his only major championship defeat three years ago. He won the World Championship in 2019, 2022 and 2023. Team USA’s Daniel Roberts won silver.
Gold for Pakistan, Silver for India in javelin
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won a career-best meet in men’s javelin at Stade de France.
Nadeem won gold in the Olympics and set a new record. He threw 92.97 meters in his second attempt, breaking the old mark of 90.57 set by Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen in 2008.
India’s 2020 Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra won the silver medal with a throw of 89.45m.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
