American sprinter Noah Lyles needed a wheelchair to leave the tracks of Stade de France after surprisingly finishing third in the 200-meter final.
It was revealed later that Lyles was struggling with his breathing after being diagnosed with COVID 19 earlier in the week.
He told an American news channel, NBC, about how bad he felt in the wee hours of Tuesday morning and knew it was not normal.
“I woke up early, about 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning, and I was just feeling really horrible. I knew it was more than being sore from the 100.”
Lyles admitted it took toll on his performance, a blantant truth that anyone who has ever experienced COVID before would know, and though he had ran in worse conditions, he chose not to panic and finished at a faster time of 19.31, improving his Tokyo 2020 record.
