Noah Lyles is sharing why he decided to keep his COVID-19 diagnosis to himself during the Olympics over the summer. The gold medalist made headlines when he tested for COVID-19 two days before he was scheduled to race in the men’s 200m final. He shared the reason behind his controversial decision on Netflix’s “Sprint.”
“I can’t tell anybody,” the Olympian said in a new episode of Netflix’s ‘Sprint,’ which was released on Wednesday, November 13. “I don’t wanna give my competition that idea that, you know, they could beat me now because I’m sick.”
“I want to go in with everybody believing that this is Noah, and this is the Noah that you faced every other year,” he continued.
However, despite the diagnosis, he was convinced he could just power through it as he had done in the past with other illnesses.
“I’m always under the belief that God does things for a purpose and a reason,” Lyles explained. “I have been sick before. I’ve fought through sickness. I’d be very upset if I didn’t at least take the first chance of saying, ‘Maybe I can run through this.’”
While his teammates and other athletes were unaware of his diagnosis, Lyles told his now-fiancee Junelle Bromfield at the time.
“He text[ed] me, ‘I have COVID,’” the Jamaican sprinter who also competed at the 2024 Olympics. “Then I’m like, ‘Oh, gosh.’
Lyles told Bromfield that he did not want to alert the media about his diagnosis and continued onto the track, where he placed third, earning a bronze medal.
How Is Life After The Olympics For Noah Lyles?
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Besides winning a gold medal in the men’s 100m and a bronze in the men’s 200m, life for the boisterous pro athlete has been on the rise. Last month, it was revealed that Lyles proposed to fellow athlete Bromfield after dating for two years.
“I Will Love You Forever [ring emoji],” he wrote in the caption. The video showed him and Bromfield holding hands into an outside space that was decorated with flowers, candles, and rose petals. As they walked into the backyard, family and friends had their phones out ready to capture the moment as they stood on the side. Lyles walks Bromfield in front of a large heart display which in front reads, “Will you marry me?”
Lyles proposed in front of their family and friends which went into an uproar in congratulatory applause.
