US sprinter, Noah Lyles, earned a bronze medal in the men’s 200m at Olympics 2024. Lyles, who has asthma, ran the race despite testing positive for Covid on Tuesday.
Lyles quarantined in a hotel near the Olympic Village, he said, and started taking Paxlovid to treat the symptoms. “I still wanted to run,” said Lyles.
Lyles ran in the semifinals—with Covid—on Wednesday night.
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A day ago, he marked the end of his 2024 Olympic journey in an Instagram post.
There’s no blanket Covid protocol for athletes at these Paris Olympics. Each federation can sort of make its own rules, and it seems that teams have handled decisions on a case-by-case basis. Since Lyles participates in an outdoor event, rates of transmission and risk of infection to others are relatively low.
Lyles kept the news of his diagnosis in a tight circle; his family, medical staff, and coach knew, he said after the race. “We didn’t want everybody to go into a panic,” he said.
Although Lyles said he avoided people, he was seen embracing gold medal Letsile Tebogo after the race.
