Noah Lyles knew he could ‘still put on a great performance’ despite COVID (exclusive)

Noah Lyles didn’t let COVID stop him from winning an Olympic medal in Paris.

The 27-year-old U.S. track and field star was only two days away from competing in the men’s 200-meter final on August 8 when he tested positive for COVID – and despite the aches and pains, he was able to take home a bronze medal in the race.

In an interview with PEOPLE on Sunday, August 11, Lyles, who works with Tide, said that despite some fatigue, he is finally feeling “a lot better.”

“I just said to my girlfriend, ‘I’m so tired,’ and she said, ‘Well, you just won the 100m despite COVID and you’re still not resting as much as you can,'” says Lyles, who has been dating Olympic sprinter Junelle Bromfield of Jamaica since 2022.

The athlete had just won the gold medal in the men’s 100-meter final when he realized he had COVID. To stay positive, he said, he did everything he could to avoid thinking about his positive test.

“(I thought) ‘Let’s try to keep this as normal as possible,’ because I know I’ve dealt with this kind of stuff in the past,” he says. “I’ve been close to getting COVID many times. (It’s about) knowing that I’m built for these kinds of moments and I’ve trained my whole life. I know I can go out there and still have a great performance, and it’s an all-or-nothing scenario because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. So I might as well take advantage of today.”

Lyles says there was never any doubt in his mind that he would compete, despite battling fatigue, chills, pain and the need to manage his asthma to avoid risking respiratory problems such as bronchitis.

“As long as I knew I was allowed to do it, I tackled it,” he says about the 200-meter run.

Of course, he took part in the competition and ended up on the podium. However, due to his COVID illness, he had to sit out the final of the men’s 4×100 relay – a decision that proved difficult a day later when the team was disqualified during the race for a botched handover.

Two days later, Lyles describes the race as a “bad time,” but admits that “unfortunately, that happens” in this sport.

“When you have a stage as big as the Olympics and the crowd is so loud you can’t even hear your own thoughts, it’s hard to prepare for that,” he says. “In a relay, it’s four people all trying to work together and since I unfortunately had to step down because of COVID, it was up to the relay coach and the relay team to decide how best to adapt to the situation. So yeah, it really sucks and everyone is going to have an opinion. But believe me when I say everyone is really trying their best and doing their best.”

Lyles, who praised the team’s refusal to blame anyone, says he is already looking ahead to the 2028 Los Angeles Games, which he says will be games of “pure entertainment.”

For Lyles, life in the spotlight has also brought some perks. In June, he starred alongside track legend Carl Lewis in a Tide commercial in which the pair happily accept that stains on their shirts are inevitable, no matter how many medals you’ve won.

“I want to see the older generation and the current generation mixed all the time because I feel like in some sports that works really well, but in our sport we don’t see that as much,” he says. “So I thought it was really cool (to be in the ad with Lewis).”

Lewis, 63, has had harsh words for the USA track and field team on social media following the failed relay, but Lyles brushes aside any concerns about the program, pointing to a dominant performance in Paris that saw 34 medals, including 14 gold.

“I couldn’t be prouder to be part of this team. With each race, the expectations were even higher. We exceeded all expectations and won medals that no one thought we could,” he says. “It’s so cool to see history being made and to know that I was able to help shape that process.”

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