Lyles bids farewell to Olympics as he leaves stadium in wheelchair

Olympic track and field champion Noah Lyles, who won gold in the 100m and bronze in the 200m, announced that he is ending his participation in the Summer Olympics. He left a farewell message of gratitude under a photo on his personal Instagram page (owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist in Russia and banned).

Lyles, 27, won gold in the 100m with a time of 9.79 seconds. Jamaican Kishane Thompson came in second. Lyles and Thompson had the same time (9.79), separated by 0.005 seconds. Fred Curley of the United States won bronze (9.81).

Noah Lyles won bronze in the 200m with a time of 19.7 seconds, but began breathing heavily after finishing. Medical staff took the sprinter away in a wheelchair, and later BBC Sport, citing the US federation, reported that Lyles had been diagnosed with COVID-19 .

"First, I want to thank God for getting me through this whole Olympics! Second, congratulations to Letsilie Tebogo, Kenneth Bednarek and everyone else on an amazing 200m Olympic final. Lastly, I want to thank everyone for their support. This will be the end of my 2024 Olympics ," Lyles wrote on social media.

The sprinter added that the Games were not what he had dreamed of, but they still filled the athlete's heart with joy. "I hope everyone enjoyed the show. See you next time," the Olympian concluded.

Lyles took up track and field at age 12, but dreamed of competing in the Olympics in the high jump rather than the sprint. In 2019, he became world champion in the 200m.

At the Tokyo Games, the American won bronze in the same distance, and such success lit a fire in the athlete . "I started winning gold left and right, breaking American records, and became one of five runners who won the 100 and 200 meters at the World Championships. I approached the Paris Games as the leader not only in the 200 meters, but also in the 100 meters," the champion said.

Olympic medal table