Noah Lyles Wins Bronze Medal In 200M Race Despite Having COVID

Noah Lyles has secured another medal for Team USA with his third place win in the men’s 200-meter race. Following the finish, multiple outlets reported that the runner tested positive for COVID-19.

Clocking in at 19.70 seconds for the bronze medal, Lyles was defeated by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo’s golden running time of 19.46 and fellow USA athlete Kenny Bednarek, who captured the silver with a time of 19.62.

Per USA Today, the 27-year-old sprinter ran the race knowing he had the disease. “I woke up early about 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning and I was feeling really horrible. I knew it was more than being sore from the 100,” Lyles said after the race. “Woke up the doctors and we tested and it came back as positive for COVID. My first thought was not to panic. I’m thinking I’ve been in worse situations. I’ve run with worse conditions, I felt, and we just took it day by day, tried to hydrate as much, quarantined.”

He added, “Its taken its toll for sure, but I’ve never been more proud of myself to be able to come out here and getting a bronze medal.” Check out the full race above.

On Sunday (Aug. 4), Lyles won his career-first gold in the men’s 100m final. The highly publicized race garnered traction for its extremely close result, with Lyles securing his win by just .005 of a second. He beat Jamaica‘s Kishane Thompson, who previously held the world’s fastest time in 2024.