SAINT-DENIS, France — Noah Lyles trailed out of the turn and into the final 100 meters, but he was well in his range. Usually, close enough means he wins. But as the road straightened out beneath his feet, and the finish line of history drew closer to him, something you just don’t see happening with Lyles. He faded.
Advertisem*nt
It was a jarring sight, Lyles visibly laboring. In a race that would immortalize him, the power and grit usually ever present in his 200-meter runs were conspicuously absent.
These Olympics have shown Lyles can lose. What you don’t see is him running out of gas. He wasn’t close to the Lyles he needed to be for this monumental task.
Noah Lyles provides an update on his condition after the 200m final. #ParisOlympics
📺 NBC & Peaco*ck pic.twitter.com/9Qs1vcBycf
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024
It was clear with 50 meters to go that Lyles — the spectacular 100 champ — would not complete his double. Carl Lewis, who was on hand at Stade de France to get the festivities going, remains the last American to win the 100- and 200-meter races in the same Olympics, doing so in 1984 in Los Angeles. Lyles was beaten by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, who ran a 19.46 to earn the gold. Lyles was beaten by his teammate, Kenny Bednarek, who ran a 19.62 to claim silver.
Lyles was beaten by COVID-19.
He revealed after the race he tested positive for the coronavirus. As word of his diagnosis whisked through the rumor mill, suddenly his performance made sense.
The way he couldn’t find the extra gear, the same one that powered his legendary win in the 100 meters Sunday. The way he fell to his back at the end of the race, completely spent after running a 19.70. The way he dropped to one knee as he walked off the track because it was too hard to breathe.
LETSILE TEBOGO WINS THE MEN’S 200M FOR BOTSWANA! 🇧🇼 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/jL9jm4bTKZ
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024
The trauma from the pandemic makes that sound like a pretty wild statement. An athlete hiding a COVID diagnosis and continuing to compete would’ve been disciplined four years ago. But not long after the 200-meter race, Germany long jumper Malaika Mihambo announced she battled through COVID en route to a silver medal.
Advertisem*nt
“I just said we were going to try and quarantine as much as possible,” Lyles told the NBC broadcast after the race. “Stay away, not try to pass it off and just, to be honest, give it my all. If I wasn’t to make it, then somebody would have definitely taken my spot and that would have been my sign that I didn’t deserve to be in the final.”
When you think about it, that he finished second in the semifinals and gutted his way to a bronze medal might be the most impressive thing he’s done this Olympics.
Deep down, Lyles probably knew he was going to lose. Arrogance is one thing. But to win an Olympic sprint final while compromised is nearly impossible.
Certainly, his hubris can seem boundless. But Lyles is no fool. He saw what happened when he was a little too laxed in the first round of the 100 meters and lost to Louie Hinchliffe. Since that race, he’s been talking about how others bring it. He talks a lot, but he’s a track and field head who completely understands the talent around him.
Which means Lyles took the track Thursday knowing he would lose. Knowing he would endure the opportunity for his detractors to rain on him. Perhaps even knowing his misfortune wouldn’t spare him.
“I can’t be the face of athletics,” Tebogo said in the news conference following his gold medal race, “because I’m not an arrogant or loud person like Noah. So I believe Noah is the face of athletics.”
Yeah, it’s open season on Lyles. But he knew that. His schtick is more calculated than impulsive. He always knew leading with his mouth would mean eating crow if he didn’t back it up. How does the Ethiopian proverb go? If while climbing a tree you insist on going beyond the top, the earth will be waiting for you.
Lyles set his aim on a stratosphere beyond his sport. Thursday night, as fate would have it, he crashed back to earth. Life declaring he can’t have it all. Not yet.
Advertisem*nt
Like or don’t like his approach — either perspective is valid — what’s respectable about Lyles is he doesn’t duck this part. He didn’t join the postgame news conference after getting escorted off the track in a wheelchair. But he won’t hide. And every indication is he’ll be able to handle it. He was ready to swallow his pride when he thought Jamaican Kishane Thompson beat him in the 100.
LETSILE TEBOGO congratulations 🍾
Ik you have had a very rough year off the track and despite that you overcame it all!— Noah Lyles, OLY (@LylesNoah) August 8, 2024
Even with this loss and this illness, which will probably end his Olympics, Lyles accomplished what he set out to do.
He won a gold and a bronze in these Olympics to go with two golds from the World Championships in the 200 meters. His name rings in new ears. His banter extends to new realms. His feats and foils alike are now mainstream news. Paris turned Noah Lyles into a household name. He’s got fans and he’s got haters.
“I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics,” Lyles posted on Instagram after thanking God and congratulating Tebogo and Bednarek. “It is not the Olympic(s) 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?”
That’s transcending the sport.
Required reading
- Noah Lyles reveals COVID-19 diagnosis after bronze medal finish in 200-meter final
- Noah Lyles makes 2 a.m. run for girlfriend — then advances out of 200m first round with ease
- How Noah Lyles became Olympic 100m champion: A 300-page textbook, biomechanics and a stickman
(Photo: Odd Andersen / AFP via Getty Images)
Marcus Thompson II is a lead columnist at The Athletic. He is a prominent voice in the Bay Area sports scene after 18 years with Bay Area News Group, including 10 seasons covering the Warriors and four as a columnist. Marcus is also the author of the best-selling biography "GOLDEN: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry." Follow Marcus on Twitter @thompsonscribe
