Lyles misses second gold: Botswana celebrates

Athletics star Noah Lyles will no longer be able to achieve his gold medal series at the Olympic Games in Paris after his narrow triumph over 100 meters. The American (19,70 seconds) was beaten over 200 meters by Letsile Tebogo.

August 08, 2024

From: do

There will be no double winner over 2024 and 100 meters at the 200 Olympic Games in Paris. After Noah Lyles (19.70 seconds) had celebrated over the shorter distance, the American "only" managed bronze on Thursday evening. The 27-year-old from Florida was no match for Letsile Tebogo from Botswana, who ran strongly to victory in the Olympics. Lyles was also beaten by fellow countryman Kenneth Bednarek (19.62 seconds).

The world record for the longer of the two sprint distances is an incredible 19.19 seconds, which was set by athletics legend Usain Bolt in 2009. The athletes were not that fast on Thursday, but Tebogo's winning time of 19,46 seconds was still impressive. He escaped his prominent American pursuers in the first half of the race and did not let anyone take away his big moment.

Noah Lyles (second from right) crossed the finish line in third place. © ANSA / MOHAMMED BADRA

Noah Lyles, on the other hand, was considered the big loser. The American was undoubtedly aiming for a double victory and, as usual, spoke confidently and unwaveringly about his chances of gold. The 27-year-old also started better than he did in the 100 meters, but when he came out of the bend onto the home straight, he was already several meters behind his competitors. This time, Lyles was unable to sprint to the finish line and had to settle for bronze.

Lyles had Corona

After the competition, the US federation confirmed that the sprint star was suffering from a corona infection. According to the report, Lyles had already tested positive for the virus on Monday. In the interview zone, he spoke to reporters wearing a mask.