Noah Lyles was fresh out of winning the Olympic Gold of the 100m dash final, he was finally about to fulfill his destiny and his dream. In fact, he always claimed that the 200m dash was his favorite to compete. But as it turns out, Noah Lyles came back positive for Covid-19 and this sparked significant controversy because of it. He did race but Noah was nowhere near the gold medal or from the level of performance we know from him. The one who took the gold from him is Batswana’s Letslie Tebogo after finishing the race in 19.46 seconds. Noah Lyles was very happy before the race and had to receive medical assistance right after it. Due to the flamboyant way in which he entered the final, Noah Lyles is being questioned about his Covid diagnosis.
Right after the final, it was announced that Lyles has Covid and many of the athletes beside him have complained about it. Racing like that and putting everybody at risk of being infected should result in a considerable punishment for Lyles. Fans were also deeply unhappy with lyles for still making the decision to race despite testing positive for Covid before the race. But more important than how this made everybody feel was teh reaction from the rest of the world for lyles’ irresponsible behavior. What did the athlete do? He decided to take the high road and not even mention the issues he has caused with his decision to compete despite having Covid.
Noah took to instagram to make the announcement he is bowing out of the Olympics with the 100m gold and the 200m bronze. He still had the team competition to perform but he will not be doing that. Here’s what he wrote: “First I want to thank God for getting me through this entire Olympics! Second I want to congratulate Lestlie Tebogo, Kenny Bednarek and everyone else on an amazing Olympic 200m final. 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.”