U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles was unable to compete the Olympic double, but did earn a bronze in the men’s 200m for the second straight Olympic Games. Lyles, who has asthma, ran the race despite testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
Team USA track and field star Noah Lyles is opening up about his health after an eventful Paris Olympics.
The 27-year-old, now crowned the "fastest man alive," is ending his 2024 Olympic journey with two medals and a COVID-19 diagnosis — but the superstar sprinter wants everyone to know about the obstacles he overcame to get there in the first place.
Following his gold medal finish in the men’s 100-meter final on Sunday, Aug. 4, Lyles posted the following on X, formerly Twitter: "I have Asthma, allergies, dyslexia, ADD, anxiety, and Depression. But I will tell you that what you have does not define what you can become. Why Not You!"
Days later, on Thursday, Aug. 8, Lyles collapsed on the track after coming in third in the men's 200-meter final, which was considered his strongest event.
Lyles won the bronze medal, but was visibly depleted immediately after the race and was taken away from the track in a wheelchair, TODAY.com previously reported.
Lyles tests positive for COVID-19 at the Olympics
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On Thursday, Aug. 8, USA Track and Field confirmed to TODAY.com that Lyles tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, Aug. 6. Despite his diagnosis, Lyles opted to race in the men's 200-meter final.
"After a thorough medical evaluation, Noah chose to compete tonight. We respect his decision and will continue to monitor his condition closely,” a USATF spokesperson said.
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In an interview with NBC’s Lewis Johnson, Lyles described his initial symptoms. “I woke up early, about 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning and I was just feeling really horrible. I knew it was more than just being sore from the 100,” Lyles said.
Lyles is one of at least 40 athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Olympics and Paralympics Committee told TODAY.com that following Lyles' positive test, "USOPC and USATF swiftly enacted all necessary protocols to prioritize his health, the wellbeing of our team, and the safety of fellow competitors."
Lyles chose to withdraw from the men's 4x100-meter relay on Friday. Team USA was disqualified after coming in seventh place.
On Thursday, Lyles announced that his 2024 Olympic journey was over in a post on Instagram. “I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics. It is not the (Olympics) I dreamed of but it has left me with so much Joy in my heart,” Lyles wrote in the caption.
Lyles has severe asthma
A lifelong battle with asthma did not stop Lyles from becoming the world's fastest man. Lyles, who was born in Florida but grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, suffered from asthma since childhood.
"I didn't get to participate in sports 'till I got about seven or eight... there wasn’t a time that I can remember where asthma was not an issue," Lyles said in the first episode of the Netflix documentary series “SPRINT.” He went on to describe the many nights he spent as a child in the hospital, receiving medication to calm his asthma episodes.
Asthma is a chronic lung disease which causes inflammation and and narrowing of the airways, per the Cleveland Clinic.
During an asthma attack, the the muscles in the airways tighten and the lining of the airways becomes swollen, and the body produces more mucus. This can cause wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath and chest pain.
Possible triggers for an asthma attack include dust, allergies, air pollution, weather, pet dander and other irritants.
Lyles eventually started nebulizer treatment, which involves inhaling aerosolized asthma medication through a mask. Lyles’ mother, Keisha Caine Bishop, told ESPN's Aishwarya Kumar she did everything she could to get rid of dust in the home to minimize his attacks — including ripping up the carpets, taking down the curtains and throwing away his stuffed animals, ESPN reported.
Asthma cannot be cured, but it can be treated and managed. Medications, as well as avoiding triggers and preventing attacks, can help control the symptoms, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
In addition to taking asthma medication, Lyles had his adenoids and tonsils removed as a child to help his breathing, ESPN reported. Lyles started running at the age of 12, he told Olympics.com.
Exercise can trigger asthma, but many athletes can still compete and succeed in sports with the condition. According to a 2023 study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Sports, asthma affects about 15–30% of Olympians.
Lyles said he has ADHD and dyslexia
In his now-viral tweet following his men's 100-meter final, Lyles opened up about having "dyslexia (and) ADD." Lyles told TIME that he was diagnosed with the disorders as a child, around the time he was in middle school, and that these made school "difficult."
ADD is an outdated term for ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, per the Child Mind Institute. ADHD is one of the most commonly diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorders in children and symptoms often continue into adulthood.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder which can cause difficulties reading and writing due to problems processing speech sounds and how they relate to words or letters, per the Mayo Clinic.
People with ADHD have impaired executive functioning and may have trouble paying attention, struggle to control impulsive emotions or behaviors or be overly active, per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ADHD symptoms may also include being easily distracted, having difficulty following instructions or conversations, interrupting people, being restless and struggling with organization and finishing tasks, TODAY.com previously reported.
“I just knew this kid had a lot of energy,” Bishop said in the Netflix documentary “SPRINT.” Sports, particularly running, were an outlet for Lyles, his mother said.
Studies have shown that exercise can help improve symptoms of ADHD, especially in children. In a 2022 meta-analysis published in the journal Psychiatry Research, researchers found that exercise may help improve attention, executive functioning and motor skills.
Lyles has struggled with depression
Lyles has always been open about his mental health struggles throughout his career, especially on social media.
After winning two gold medals at the 2019 World Championships, Lyles was set on dominating at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, isolation caused Lyles to lose his "twinkle," his longtime therapist Cheryl Tardosky-Anderson told TIME.
“The Noah leading up to Tokyo was depressed,” Lyles told NBC4 Washington in June.
After the murder of George Floyd caused Lyles to fall into a deeper depression, he started medication, which he shared in a tweet in August 2020. However, Lyles cycled off his antidepressants in preparation for the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, TODAY.com previously reported.
Lyles was a favorite for the men’s 200-meter race and hoped to take home a gold medal in Tokyo, but finished third behind Team USA's Kenny Bednarek and Canada's Andre de Grasse.
After winning the bronze medal in 2021, Lyles broke down in a teary 15-minute post-race interview, opening up about his brother and his mental health struggles. Lyles’ younger brother Josephus is also an elite sprinter, but did not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. “This should be him," he said.
A teary Lyles continued: “Somebody asked me why I told people on Twitter that I was on antidepressants ... I knew there were a lot of people out there like me who were too scared to say something or even start that journey."
"I wanted them to know if you guys see me in a big light, I want you to know that it’s OK not to feel good and you can go out and talk to somebody. ... This is a serious issue. You don’t want to wake up one day and think, ‘I don’t want to be here anymore.’”
In an interview with TODAY a few days later, Lyles told Craig Melvin why he chose to speak out. “Now, as I got more and more popular, I got more and more attention, people watching me. So I feel that I was able to reach an even bigger audience."
"I know that there’s somebody out there who is probably struggling (with) the same issues I was and I want them to know that there is ways to feel better. They don’t have to keep feeling that way.”
Lyles also thanked his mother, his girlfriend, and his multiple therapists, for supporting him. "It takes a village."
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
