Noah Lyles looking on at Olympics.Noah Lyles (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
In one of the biggest stunners of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, American runner Noah Lyles failed to secure a second gold medal at the games, losing to 21-year-old Letsile Tebogo of Botswana.

Letsile Tebogo took gold with a remarkable time of 19:46, just narrowly finishing ahead of American Kenneth Bednarekd, who finished at 19:62. Noah Lyles claimed the bronze with a time of 19:70.

After the race, a visibly fatigued Lyles was seen being carted off. It was later reported that he had been diagnosed with COVID-19 two days earlier, and Lyles was actually seen with a mask on before the 200-meter race:

Speaking to reporters after his heartbreaking defeat, Noah Lyles revealed that he tested positive around 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, per ESPN’s Coley Harvey. Lyles was quarantined in a hotel and revealed that he kept the COVID-19 diagnosis a secret to avoid giving his opponents an advantage:

“One, we didn’t want everybody to go into a panic, we wanted them to be able to compete. And then two, we wanted to be able to make it as discreet as possible. And, you never want to tell your competitors you’re sick. Why would you give them an edge over you?”

Hoping to get himself close to full strength for the race, Lyles took several legal medications after the diagnosis. On top of that, Lyles said isn’t sure yet if he will compete in Friday’s 400-meter race.

Tebogo’s victory marked the first gold medal for Botswana at the Olympics. Nijel Amos was the country’s first Olympic medalist, winning the silver in the 800-meter race at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Noah Lyles Finishes Just Short Of Doubling Down On Gold

The three-time world champion long ago cemented his legacy as one of the all-time great American Olympians. Lyles also claimed gold in this year’s games in the 100-meter race, and he should be applauded for a phenomenal effort today despite having to fight COVID-19 during the race.

The 27-year-old Lyles has nothing to be ashamed of, with gold and silver medals in this year’s games already in his back pocket. Now, we wait and see if he’ll be cleared and given the green light to race in the 400-meter event.