NOAH LYLES WAS WRONG IN SECRETLY RUNNING AN OLYMPICS 200 WITH COVID-19
He did so with cowardice, after testing positive Tuesday, and he wants America to be proud that he won a bronze medal with the still-active disease — though the winner thinks he’s an “arrogant” dope
PARIS — A man isn’t honest when he runs the 200 meters, in creepy silence, with a fresh onrush of COVID-19 at the Olympic Games. We are long past the mask-or-crash expirations earlier this decade, yet significant case loads rise in America and beyond. Does he not recall how seven million people died? That the public was banned from venues in Tokyo, only three years ago? That he could have spread the coronavirus to other competitors? Or does he simply not care?
He is a liar, of sorts. A Lyles, you can say.
The race was run Thursday night with hushed intentions. Noah Lyles said he tested positive “around 5 a.m. Tuesday, just feeling really chills, aching, sore throat.” This came only a day and hours after he won the 100 meters for the United States in a wild photo-finish dash. Once he was confirmed by a team doctor, well, all of us should begin asking questions about 2024 priorities. He was issued Paxlovid, as confirmed by USA Track & Field, and allowed to keep his situation silent. He quarantined at a hotel and wore a mask to heats, but the coronavirus already had impacted more than 40 athletes testing positive in France. In fear of COVID-19, the Netherlands forbid hugs, high-fives and handshakes among team members.
It’s political and profoundly foolish for the Olympics to forgo testing and abandon protocol when, so quickly, a debilitated Lyles pulled a bizarre drape on history. He was allowed to show up as if he had a common cold, yet only finished with a bronze medal when he was expected to win his best event. Then he was carted off in a wheelchair, wobbly after spending distressed moments on the track, while his mother cried for help from officials. Wasn’t the scene eminently avoidable? If a sprinter can be doomed by the coronavirus, maybe keep him out of the race.
“I still wanted to run. They said it was still possible," Lyles said. “So we just stayed away from everybody and just tried to take it round by round. Keep it as close to the chest as possible. One, we didn't want everybody to go into a panic; we wanted them to be able to compete. And 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?”
So much is wrong here. What if he took a deep breath on the Stade de France track and spread the disease? Gamblers bet on the Olympics, including major races where he was trying to become the first sprinter since Usain Bolt to win the 100 and 200. If they don’t know how weak he feels, why are they wagering on Lyles? A health bubble should have been required.
“It definitely was an effect,” Lyles said. “But I mean, to be honest, I’m more proud of myself than anything for coming out and getting the bronze medal with COVID. I was quite lightheaded after the race, and the shortness of breath and chest pain was definitely active. It’s not the Olympics I dreamed of, but it has left me with so much joy in my heart. I hope everyone enjoyed the show. Whether you were rooting for me or against me, you have to admit you watched, didn’t you?”
The champion, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, thought Lyles was using his outlandish braggadocio to boost his global image. Everywhere I go in Paris, I see Lyles’ photo on advertisements. What planet is he living on? Why make a deal of finishing third with COVID-19 three years after no one dared to catch it? “I can’t be the face of athletics because I’m not an arrogant or loud person like Noah,” Tebogo said. “So I believe Noah is the face of athletics.”
He took another shot when told Lyles was ill. “I don't know he put anyone at risk. We are Africans. We are strong,” he said.
Never pausing in urging him to run, USATF is satisfied Lyles was given a “thorough medical evaluation.” In a statement, the organization said, “We respect his decision and will continue to monitor his condition closely.”
As it was, we saw Lyles conduct his own Eras Tour in Europe, saying at a media conference, “Where’s the intro music? Duh duhduhduh da-duh! The champ is here!” He dared to paint “I-C-O-N” on his fingernails when he wasn’t yapping, Then he barked: “To be honest, when Noah Lyles is being Noah Lyles, there’s nobody. I beat everybody else I touch.” And barked: “Everybody has their own vibe. I’m a showman. I almost feel like an artistic director. You have all these other athletes as stars, rock stars, popular wherever they go. Track and field needs to be the same. And I won’t be happy until I see that accomplished.” And barked: “This is Noah Lyles, fastest man in the world, and we are out here in Paris getting ready to go on our tour of the world, introducing America to the Olympics.”
Now he has America wondering about his place in lore. After a history of Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and Bob Hayes in sprints, Lyles barely won the 100 and stumbled with the menace. As it was, he angered the U.S. men’s basketball team when he said NBA champions shouldn’t be declared world champions. “World champion of what?” he said. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker asked which global league is remotely better and believe, like the rest of us, that Lyles is out of whack. Why is a “Dragon Ball Z” goofball and a Settlers of Catan guy trying to run the world’s fastest times, anyway?
“People see me as being corny,” he said. “Shoot, I’m corny.”
There had to be a better way after winning the 100. Simone Biles overcame her twisties. Katie Ledecky kept winning races. America will win the most golds and the most medals, shoving aside China and France and whatever stands for Vladimir Putin.
Noah Lyles?
No liars, please.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.