Noah Lyles Feared Bronchitis After Positive COVID-19 Test

TIME

Asthma didn't stop Noah Lyles from taking on the 200 meter at the Paris Olympics, even after testing positive for COVID-19. Despite fears of bronchitis and conflicting reports about his fever, Lyles won a bronze medal just two days after his positive test.

Transcript

00:00I've always known that I'm the fastest man in the world.

00:03It's everybody else who's just figuring that out,

00:06because they usually like a title associated with it.

00:09And in my head, I'm like, well, if that's what you guys need,

00:12I'm going to get it.

00:13I'm going to get the proof.

00:15But to me, I'm still the same guy.

00:17I hope the message that they got is,

00:20no matter what obstacles or hurdles that you have

00:23and you're facing, that you don't believe that you're

00:25going to be stuck with them forever.

00:26That that shouldn't diminish what

00:28you believe to be accomplished as you go on through life.

00:33I know a lot of people who get stuck in that space

00:35because they feel this is a disability

00:39or this is the cap as far as they can go,

00:42just because they have such a thing as depression, anxiety.

00:47Maybe they are amputee.

00:50Maybe they deal with being on the spectrum.

00:53That shouldn't matter.

00:55Your goals should not be limited to the situation

00:58that you're in, because you can always shoot for more.

01:01And if you don't, why should you hurt yourself

01:05or blame yourself for not trying?

01:07Anytime I've gotten COVID, it's never been

01:09about the temperatures.

01:09It's always been about the body aches, the chills,

01:13the headaches, the cold, and then asthma joining in on that

01:17and making it even worse.

01:19That's our worst fear.

01:21I mean, when I was back in the medical bay

01:25underneath the track, their biggest concern

01:27was me getting bronchitis, because we didn't want something

01:32to get infected and the asthma really start to take form.

01:36So we had to really jump on top of that,

01:38because if that was the case, I probably

01:41would have had to get a trip to the hospital for sure.

01:46And of course, no, this is not how

01:49I envisioned my Paris Olympics.

01:51But I'm just as proud of myself as I

01:55would have been if I obtained four or three gold medals.

01:59Grabbing the 100 was, I think, the most important thing.

02:01As my mom used to say, the higher

02:03you go up on the ladder, the more your underwear show.

02:06So regardless, people are going to have opinions.

02:10And to be honest, they've never met me,

02:13so they wouldn't know.

02:14But everybody who's ever met me comes away saying,

02:16oh my gosh, I feel so inspired.

02:18That was the coolest guy I've ever met.

02:21I think the thing that I'm the most proud of for him

02:24is that he has a teachable heart.

02:26So that is something that you can't really parent,

02:29you can't really coach.

02:31So if I say something to him, I'm like,

02:33Noah, I think you might want to consider X, Y, and Z.

02:35Then he'll actually sit down and listen.

02:38Or if I say, Noah, I think this came off inappropriately.

02:42Or Noah, let's not do this.

02:45Then instead of saying, oh mom, you

02:46don't know what you're talking about, he'll actually listen.

02:48And I might be right and I might be wrong.

02:50But the fact that he actually listens to myself

02:54and his pops is what makes the difference.

02:57And I really appreciate the fact that he'll even

02:59send a text message after we have

03:01the uncomfortable conversations.

03:03He'll say something like, thank you for telling me the things

03:06that I didn't want to hear.

03:07Thank you for being honest with me.

03:09Thank you for being part of my family.

03:11Because those show emotional maturity.

03:14So yeah, this is all great and the medals and everything,

03:16but it's those moments that I'm the most proud of him for.

Category

Transcript

Recommended