US sprinter Noah Lyles has prematurely exited the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after testing positive for COVID, nbcnewyork.com reports.

According to the American media outlet, Noah’s mother confirmed that his son tested positive for COVID two days before the race but still decided to go ahead and compete in the 200m race.

Lyles also disclosed that he was suffering from COVID.

"Yeah, I woke up early about 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning, and I just feeling really horrible. I knew it was more than just being sore from the 100. You know, woke up the doctors and we tested and unfortunately, it came up that I was positive for COVID.

"My first thought was not to panic...And we just took it day by day, trying to hydrate as much as possible, quarantined off. And I'd definitely say it's taken it's toll for sure, but I've never been more proud of myself," Lyles said as quoted by nbcnewyork.com.

This comes after Lyles, despite being the favorite for the 200m race, could not deliver gold but instead finished third with a time of 19.70 seconds.

The US sprinter was behind Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, who took gold with a time of 19.46 seconds, and teammate Kenneth Bednarek’s time of 19.62 seconds placed him in second place.

Lyles was taken off in a wheelchair underneath the stadium to the dressing room after the race, which raised eyebrows among the public.

The sprinter is regarded as the fastest man in the world after winning the 100m race at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

SB/OGB