Noah Lyles has Covid-19, wins bronze in 200m at Paris Olympics

Before and during Thursday’s men’s 200-meter race at the Paris Olympics, American sprinter Noah Lyles faced an additional competitor with several points. Not running spikes, but increasing protein all over yourself – like in severe acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Lyles finished third in the bronze medal race behind gold medalist Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and silver medalist Kenny Bednarek of the U.S. And after the race, Lyles revealed he had tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday morning just two days earlier. .

It was clear that Covid-19 had affected Lyle’s performance in the race. His breathing seemed labored and shortly after crossing the finish line he received medical attention. This culminated when Lyles was wheeled off the track. Yes, SARS-CoV-2 can catch even the fastest person in the world, namely Lyles, who earlier in the Olympic Games had won the gold medal in the 100 meters.

When Lyles spoke to reporters later, he wore a black face mask and said, “It definitely affected my performance,” he added. “I had to take a lot of vacations [to receive] juice.”

This also affected his lead up to 200 meters. Shortly after he tested positive for Covid-19 early Tuesday morning, Lyles was moved from the Olympic Village to a hotel where he could remain in isolation. He is also said to have been taking Paxlovid and other medications to treat his symptoms.

Lyles kept the positive news of the test from those outside his inner circle. Adam Kilgore writing for Washington Post quoted Lyles as saying, “We didn’t want everyone to panic. We wanted them to be able to compete.” Lyles continued with, “And then two, we wanted to be able to do this as discreetly as possible. You never want to tell your competitors that you are sick. Why give them an advantage over you?”

It was no surprise that Lyles would do everything he could to not put himself at a competitive disadvantage. Athletes spend years training and competing to make it to the Olympics for a shot at a medal in a particular event. This is their way of life. So you can expect them to do everything they can within the limits of any rules set by the Paris Olympics and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

And the Paris Olympics have not required athletes to report positive Covid-19 tests or withdraw from events when they test positive. When it comes to Covid-19, the Paris Olympics appear to be leaving it up to the various countries and national Olympic committees to decide how to handle testing, prevention and treatment of Covid-19. This has made it difficult to say how many athletes have been infected during the Olympics and if and when outbreaks of Covid-19 may occur.

This also means that you may not be able to tell how Covid-19 may affect these Olympics. Those infected can range from having no symptoms to becoming severely ill with many options in between. There is also the risk of a prolonged Covid after recovery from the initial infection. This can mean a variety of persistent symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, headache, tremors, increased heart rate, palpitations, stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation, cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, hearing problems, sleep problems, fever, sweating, chills, urinary problems, vision problems, depression, anxiety, and leg swelling. And you can imagine how any of these symptoms can affect athletic performance.

Again, for Lyles, who also has a history of childhood asthma, it was clear that Covid-19 was affecting his performance in the 200m. Would he have won the race if he was fully healthy? Without the Quantum Realm or a DeLorean time machine, that would be impossible to tell. What is not yet clear is how Covid-19 will affect the rest of his Olympics and beyond. Lyles still has the men’s 4 x 100m relay to run in Paris. And it is difficult to predict what will happen with Covid-19 and the possibility of a long Covid until the infection passes, which can take up to 10 to 14 days.