Paris Olympics: Noah Lyles, running with COVID, upset by Letsile Tebogo in 200, taken off in wheelchair

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SAINT-DENIS, France — Noah Lyles’ historic pursuit of an Olympic sprint double ended with a humbling defeat.

The world’s most unbeatable 200 meters runner, the man who just four days ago insisted he’d leave his rivals “depressed” when he came off the turn, lost his signature race.

Lyles didn’t appear to have his usual burst right from the start of Thursday night’s Olympic men’s 200 meters final. The American fell behind early and struggled to make up ground rounding the turn, leaving himself too far behind Letsile Tebogo of Botswana to overtake him before they reached the finish line.

Tebogo won in 19.46 seconds. American Kenny Bednarek claimed silver in 19.62. Lyles settled for bronze in 19.70, well shy of his personal best and even further away from the Usain Bolt world record that he had aspirations of breaking.

After the race ended, Lyles sat on the track and appeared to receive medical attention. After several minutes, he was taken off the track in a wheelchair. In the bowels of Stade de France, Lyle’s mother could be seen running down a hallway.

Lyles, who suffers from asthma, was diagnosed with COVID on Tuesday. Prior to his 200 preliminary heat Wednesday and Thursday’s final, Lyles could be seen wearing a mask.

“It’s taken it’s toll for sure,” Lyles said some 50 minutes later in an interview with NBC.” I’ve never been more proud of myself for coming out here and getting a bronze medal.”

Lyles said he never considered not running the 200.

In retrospect, the first sign something wasn’t quite right came in that Wednesday preliminary heat when he finished second to Tebogo. He then skipped the post-race mixed zone interview session. According to USA Track & Field, he went “straight to medical.”

Lyles had hoped to become the first American man to complete the Olympic sprint double since Carl Lewis 40 years ago. He seemed to be well on his way after he won the closest 100 meters in Olympic history on Sunday night, dipping at the finish line to edge Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by five thousandths of a second.

Lyle’s was expected to win the 200 going away. It is his specialty, his first love, the event that comes most naturally to him.

The 100 penalizes Lyles for struggling to accelerate out of the blocks as quickly as other world-class sprinters. He has spent years tinkering endlessly with his start in an effort to find a way to remain in striking distance at 30 meters without sacrificing his ability to reach maximum speed and sustain it.

The 200 reduces the impact of Lyles’ mediocre starts and emphasizes the qualities that make him special. The two-time reigning world champion in the 200 holds his speed as well as any sprinter since Usain Bolt, typically enabling him to swallow up anyone in front of him as he rounds the curve and streaks toward the finish line.

When asked Sunday after the 100 how confident he felt about winning the men’s 200, Lyles grinned and said, “Pretty confident, can’t lie.”

That was before the reported COVID diagnosis.

Thursday, he got out of the block fine, rounded the turn in contact with Tebogo and Bednarek, but lacked his signature ability to swallow and pass the field coming down the stretch.

Lyles was expected to be part of the U.S. men’s 4×100 relay final on Friday. Now that race is very much in question for him.

“At the moment, I don’t know,” Lyles said. “I’m feeling more on the side of letting Team USA do their thing. They’ve proven with great certainty that they can handle it without me.”