JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The man who calls himself the fastest man on Earth, American Noah Lyles, tonight suffered a big upset at the Paris Olympics in the 200-meter final. In front of 80,000 people at the Stade de France, Lyles was trying to pull off the sprint double - a rare Olympic feat - by winning the 100-meter and the 200-meter races. He was beaten by a runner from Botswana. I am here not far from the Stade de France, where I have been watching all of the action on the track with our colleague, Brian Mann. Hi, Brian.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Hi Juana. Wow. What a night.
SUMMERS: It has been quite a night, indeed. I mean, Brian, there's been so much anticipation around this race for Noah Lyles, the 100-meter champion. He was going for the double in the 200-meter final. We saw him bound out when he was introduced. He was full of that characteristic energy, that showmanship that he is known for, hoping to be the 10th man ever to win both of those races in a single summer games. Brian, why don't you pick it up from here? Walk us through what happened.
MANN: Yeah, it was clear, Juana, right from the start, that something was different with Noah Lyles. He had that dominant showing Sunday in the 100-meter race. But today, he trailed behind Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and Kenny Bednarek of the U.S. - never seriously challenged them for the lead. That powerful late kick that he's famous for never came. Then, at the finish line, he collapsed. He stayed on the ground, then rose to one knee, had to call for help. He was later helped off the field.
SUMMERS: Yeah, he seemed to be having a really tough time at the end there, and it's not like what we're used to seeing from him, Brian. What can you tell us about what happened?
MANN: Yeah, so Noah Lyles has now confirmed in an interview with NBC that he competed after being diagnosed with COVID. He said, two days ago, he woke up feeling terrible, and he was tested. We also have a statement from U.S. Track and Field, saying they were aware of this test. They knew that he was running sick today. They say that was his choice. U.S. Track and Field says they did follow all the necessary safety and health protocols. But Noah Lyles was around a lot of these other athletes, so there are going to be some big questions asked about this decision to have him included in this race. Remember, Juana, Noah Lyles has suffered from asthma and allergies in the past. He's talked about that. Despite all this, he still managed to win bronze.
SUMMERS: That's right. I'm sure we're going to be hearing a lot more about this story. Brian, I do want to ask you to put his performance into context - what he was attempting to do. Just how difficult would it have been and how rare would it have been for Lyles to pull off wins in both the 100-meter, as he did earlier in the week, and the 200-meter, which he attempted to do today?
MANN: Yeah, winning these two races in one Olympics is so rare. Only nine men have done it before. One of those men, Jamaican Usain Bolt, did it at three straight Olympics. The last time an American pulled this off was Carl Lewis 40 years ago, in 1984. Lewis was actually here in the stadium tonight watching. But again, along with the rest of us, he saw something very different happen - Noah Lyles coming in with a bronze-medal finish.
SUMMERS: Brian, while I have you, I do want to ask you about something else that happened here tonight. Minutes after the 200-meter men's race, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the women's 400-meter hurdle race in dominant fashion. It was incredible to watch. Tell us what happened.
MANN: Yeah, American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been remarkable this year. In national trials just a few weeks ago, she set the world record in the 400-meter hurdles. Juana, she actually runs the 400-meter hurdles faster than many professional athletes run 400 meters even without hurdles in their way. She was dominant again, once again broke the world record and took gold for the United States. A very powerful week - despite the setback for Noah Lyles, we've seen just some incredible performances from American athletes on the track so far.
SUMMERS: That's NPRs Brian Mann. We are both part of the NPR team that has been here covering the Paris Summer Olympics. Brian, thank you.
MANN: Thank you, Juana. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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