Alexandria native and T.C. Williams (now Alexandria City High School) grad Noah Lyles won gold in the Men's 100 meter race in at the 2024 Olympics in Paris Sunday afternoon, but he wasn't able to repeat it Thursday in the longer 200 meter race.
Lyles is coming home with a bronze medal in the 200m, losing to Letsile Tebogo from Botswana (gold) and fellow American Kenny Bednarek.
After the race, Lyles lay down on the track, breathing hard, and was later seen in a wheelchair as NBC Sports reported that Lyles had gotten Covid. The illness could be serious for Lyles, who has battled asthma his entire life.
Before the race, Lyles gave his hometown a shoutout: “Hey Alexandria, I’m getting another one and we’re getting many more. Thank you for all the support, I know you guys are going to be cheering. I can’t wait to see the video of the reactions," he told NBC.
Later, after the race, Lyles told NBC, "My first thought [after testing positive] was not to panic, thinking I’ve been in worse situations, I’ve run with worse conditions, and we just took it day by day, trying to hydrate, quarantined off. It’s taken its toll for sure, but I’ve never been more proud of myself for being able to come out here and get a bronze medal.”
Lyles already had an Olympic medal (bronze in the 200m in the 2020 Toyko Olympics, which were in 2021 due to the global coronavirus pandemic).
Lyles is the son of Keisha Caine and Kevin Lyles and has a brother, Josephus. Lyles holds several records in the 100m and 200m track events. According to his Team USA bio from the Olympics in 2021 (the 2020 Olympics were delayed due to COVID-19), Lyles is a also a fan of “music, art, video games, comics, anime and fashion.” He was also hospitalized with asthma as a child.
Lyles has made several returns to Alexandria in recent years, including a talk at Alexandria City High School regarding mental health.
