Noah Lyles Finishes Race in Wheelchair After Winning Bronze Despite COVID Infection
Even under the weather, Noah Lyles brought home another medal for Team USA.
After the 27-year-old finished in third place in the men’s 200-meter final, he dropped to the track where he appeared to be taking gasping breaths before lying on his back. Medics soon helped him off the track in a wheelchair, with a Paris Olympics spokesperson telling NBC News Noah had been unable to walk on his own following his efforts.
However, his mother Keisha Cane Bishop, who was cheering him on at the race, quickly gave insight into his condition, telling NBC Sports’ Lewis Johnson that her son had been diagnosed with COVID-19 two days before his final.
The Team USA star—who has already won a gold medal in the men’s 100-meter race—later spoke to his health.
“I woke up early, about 5am on Tuesday morning,” he told Lewis during the broadcast through a mask, “and I was just feeling really horrible and I knew it was more than just being sore from the 100. Woke up the doctors and we tested, and unfortunately it came up that it was positive for COVID.”