Immediately after winning the bronze medal, Lyles needed medical attention. He was taken off the track in a wheelchair and news later broke that he tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the race.
“It definitely affected my performance," Lyles said after the race, adding that he stayed in an offsite hotel and tried to keep his illness "close to the chest" after testing positive on Tuesday. His teammates and opponents did not know he was sick.
Lyles does suffer from asthma, which can make respiratory illnesses worse.
"Why would we give them an edge?" He said when asked about the secrecy, adding they also didn't want everyone to go into a panic and wanted everyone to be able to compete.
There are no restrictions on competing at the Paris Olympics with COVID-19.
this is a horrifying fucking failure on every fucking level.
first of all, i don't care how competitive you are, as one person with asthma to another, doing any kind of athletic event with COVID is a fucking terrible idea. what a delicious easy-bake recipe for long COVID, just rolling the dice to maybe never professionally race again. i am always concerned when athletes talk about how they just had to push themselves harder through injuries, and this is among the most horrifying examples of that mindset.
except it's worse because lyles put everyone else in that race at risk of infection too! what lyles (and I guess Team USA trainers, probably?) is framing as Way Cool Athletic Willpower to Fight On kinda feels like reckless disregard for the health of every single person in that race! including himself! he knew hours before the event and kept it quiet because he was thinking about Strategy? did it occur to him that someone else might have preferred not competing to competing with COVID? cool that he wore a mask while talking to the press i guess. horse, barn door, etc.
but then, is it even fair of me to chide lyles in particular for pulling this shit and using this defense when....this is pretty much what the IOC encourages with its total lack of precautions! it's just another institution unwilling to prioritize the health of thousands of people over its own bottom line. we don't even know how many cases were spread so far in the crowd. why should I even be surprised or especially mad in this case? it's not like the IOC is some bastion of ethics. (eta: lyles was also likely facing pressure to compete anyway on a scale i can't personally understand!)
maybe it's just the framing, the inspiration-pornification of a COVID diagnosis. noah lyles got a bronze with covid, what a man. don't think too hard about the wheelchair part immediately after. why are you people so afraid? covid is basically over. only like forty athletes got it at the games so far. it's just the flu.
it's just the flu.
i really hope everyone is gonna be okay.
this kinda shit is why im pretty sure i will never participate in public life again
not just that it happened, with reckless disregard for his own health and the health of everyone around him, but the way this is being presented as almost a triumph rather than recklessly dangerous behaviour
like fuck, this is just how everyone out there thinks now. how am i supposed to ever feel safe around people again
Yeah fuck. I miss conventions but I don't think I'll ever go to another one.
See also: everyone I personally know who went to GEN*CON got covid. I don't see the appeal of conventions when the "con crud" is now a disease acknowledged to carry significant risks of permanent disability and increased cancer risk even if your symptoms are mild due to vaccination. Let alone how bad the risk is for the vast swathe of my acquaintanceship circle who have one or more increased risk factors.
