Opinion: Noah Lyles collapse with Covid: How not to manage health at the Olympics
Noah Lyles, a 27-year-old from Gainesville, Florida, has had himself quite an Olympics. He won a gold medal in a photo finish in the 100-meter dash on August 4. He went on to win a bronze medal in the 200-meter dash four days later, then collapsed in a heap and needed a wheelchair to get off the track, suggesting that sports officials and team doctors have put athletes’ health last, not first, during the Paris Olympics.
Lyles ran the 200-meter race knowing he had Covid. At 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning, August 6, Lyles tested himself for Covid-19 after waking up with a sore throat, an aching body, and chills. When the test came back positive, Lyles says he decided to isolate in a hotel near the Olympic Village, took Paxlovid, and tried to get as much rest and fluids as he could. But knowing he had tested positive for Covid-19 — and had asthma — put him at risk of serious complications from Covid.
