U.S. Olympic sprinter Noah Lyles claims he was afraid he might expose his competitors to his case of COVID during his bronze medal-winning 200M run, yet despite that, he hugged some of them after he finished the race.
Lyles announced ahead of the race that he had been diagnosed positive for the coronavirus, but he went ahead and competed in Paris anyway. He even said he had a 102-degree fever during the event.
The U.S. sprinter did not win gold in the event — though he did secure bronze despite the sickness — but after the race, he was seen hugging gold medal winner Letsile Tebogo and then hugging Team USA teammate Kenny Bednarek, the Daily Mail reported.
However, even as he seemed to be hugging other people with abandon, Lyles claims he feared passing his virus to other Olympians.
“I wanted to get my medal but we were very wary of not interfering with – because these are older people who are giving me the medals,” Lyles told the Today Show.
This morning, Noah Lyles @LylesNoah is in Studio 1A talking to @hodakotb and @craigmelvin about the Paris Olympics, his dreams coming true, the support he receives from his loved ones, including his mom, how it felt getting COVID-19 during the Olympics and more. pic.twitter.com/eBWkUj8S0c
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 21, 2024
Lyles added that he was upfront with Olympic officials ahead of time.
“We asked the IOC if they were OK with it, anybody who was presenting. Even the other athletes that were getting their medals, we wanted to make sure that they were aware, that they felt comfortable with me even showing up,” he explained.
Lyles did wear a medical mask when he ran the event and did not stand near the silver and gold medal winners after the race.
He also noted that he was under constant medical supervision during the outbreak. While he only took bronze in the 200 m, he had won gold in the 100 m a few days before. He also pulled out of the 4×100 relay after losing the 200 m.
Yet, only a few days later, he was seen dancing at a Paris nightclub on the last day of the International Games.
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