Noah Lyles Done with Olympics After Positive COVID Diagnosis

Noah Lyles’ 2024 Olympics journey has come to an end, for now.

The Team USA sprinter, 27, made the announcement on his Instagram account Thursday, Aug. 8 following his bronze medal win in the men’s 200-meter final. Lyles had tested positive for COVID two days prior but still competed after resting and quarantining.

“First I want to thank God for getting me through this entire Olympics! Second I want to congratulate @tebogo_letsile_ , @kenny_bednarek and everyone else on an amazing Olympic 200m final,” Lyles wrote, tagging the gold and silver medalists in the race.

“Finally I want to thank everyone for the supportive messages. I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics. It is not the Olympic I dreamed of but it has left me with so much Joy in my heart. I hope everyone enjoyed the show. Whether you were rooting for me or against me, you have to admit you watched, didn’t you? 😉 See you next time,” he added.

Lyles told NBC he woke up feeling sick on Tuesday, Aug. 6.

“I woke up early, about 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning, and I was feeling really horrible and I knew it was more than just being sore from the 100[-meter race], ya know,” the sprinter told NBC’s Lewis Johnson. “Woke up the doctors and we tested. Unfortunately, it came up that I was positive for COVID.”

When Johnson asked if he would participate in the men’s 4×100 meter relay final on Friday, Aug. 9, Lyles, who did not run in the qualifier, said he was okay stepping aside.

“They’ve proven with great certainty that they can handle it without me,” he said of his Team USA teammates. “If that’s the case, coming off today, I’m perfectly fine with saying, “Hey you guys do your thing, you guys have more than enough speed to win the gold medal.”

The team of Christian Coleman, Fred Kerley, Kyree King and Courtney Lindsey handily won their heat on Thursday to advance to the final.

Lyles had mixed results in the Olympics, narrowly winning the 100-meter final in a photo finish against Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson on Sunday, Aug. 4.

The win marked Lyles’ first gold medal in the Olympics and the first time Team USA has won gold in the event since the Athens Games in 2004. Lyles previously won bronze in the 200-meter final in Tokyo in 2021.

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