In an Aug. 9 social media post, Noah Lyles signaled the end of his Paris Olympic competition. Lyles thanked his supporters after winning the 100m, testing positive for COVID-19 two days later and then earning a 200m bronze amid the illness.
“It is not the Olympic(s) I dreamed of,” he posted, “but it has left me with so much Joy in my heart.”
Lyles was asked to unpack that statement on Wednesday. If he was to journal about his Olympic experience, what would he write?
Lyles then told the story of his Games in a four-minute answer.
He talked about being “an Olympian among Olympians” in the athletes’ village.
“It was a very big shock for me” to be so recognized, he said.
So Lyles took to wearing a hat, glasses and mask. He also sat in the back of the cafeteria to have meals with his girlfriend, Jamaican Olympic sprinter Junelle Bromfield.
He discussed more topics aside from his success on the track.
Such as his training group finding a place to practice, which was a little harder given the cadre includes athletes from different countries.
He expressed gratitude for help from U.S. officials — including providing mattress toppers in the village — and the medical staff.
“Of course, catching COVID was never (in the plan), but having every option available to me to get as healthy as possible as I could in that moment was very reassuring to have,” he said.
Though he won a 100m thriller by five thousandths of a second over Jamaican Kishane Thompson, Lyles spent more time talking about the 200m bronze — “probably the hardest-fought medal I’ve ever earned” — and the ensuing 4x100m relay that he lamented missing due to the illness.
“It wasn’t the Olympics I dreamed of,” he said, “but even still coming away with the gold medal and still being able to get the bronze medal on top of that, I could have never been more proud of myself. If I told my previous self about all these things, I think that he would be very shocked and happy at the same time.”
Lyles has said he will not race again this summer. Olympic gold medalists often take extended breaks after the Games. Lyles hasn’t decided yet if he plans to return at winter indoor competitions.
“If anything, I might, like, run one race, and that would be the New Balance Grand Prix (typically in early February in Boston), but I can’t see myself having a very long indoor season,” he said.
Lyles can afford to take a slower approach once the outdoor season starts in the spring.
For one, he is the reigning world champion in the 100m and three-time reigning world champ in the 200m. Traditionally, reigning world champions receive byes onto the U.S. team for worlds.
Plus, worlds will be held later than usual, in September in Tokyo.
As for the Olympics, Lyles knows nothing is guaranteed for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. He’ll have to qualify for that team to continue his Olympic story.
“I’d definitely say it’s unfinished business, me and this Olympic 200m,” said Lyles, who also won 200m bronze in his Olympic debut in Tokyo. “I always thought it was going to be the 100m that was going to be the hardest one for me to obtain. I never thought that I’d be 100m Olympic gold medalist before I became a 200m Olympic gold medalist.”
