Noah Lyles called 'arrogant' and 'loud' by Olympics rival as comments come back to bite Team USA star
Noah Lyles has been called 'arrogant' and 'loud' by Letsile Tebogo after the Botswana star won gold at the Olympics on Thursday night
BBC
Letsile Tebogo has brutally dubbed Noah Lyles 'arrogant' and 'loud' after beating the Team USA star to 200m gold at the Paris Olympics on Thursday night.
Lyles opted to take part in the race, despite testing positive for coronavirus.
The Team USA star had been hoping to win his second bronze medal of the games, having secured gold in the 100m earlier in the week.
But it was Tebogo who ended up claiming the ultimate prize, with the Botswana star finishing ahead of Kenny Bednarek - who was forced to settle for silver.
Noah Lyles has been called 'arrogant' and 'loud' by Letsile Tebogo after the Botswana star won gold at the Olympics on Thursday night
BBC
Speaking after the event, Tebogo insisted he couldn't be the 'face' of the sport because he wasn't 'loud' and 'arrogant' like Lyles.
He said: "For me, I can't be the face of athletics because I'm not an arrogant or loud person like Noah
"So I believe Noah's the face of athletics."
Bednarek, who was sat next to Tebogo, gave a wry smile as the new 200m champion addressed the room.
Lyles had previously stoked the flames by saying that none of his rivals would be winning.
But the 27-year-old laboured to third on a tricky night at the Stade de France.
Lyles confirmed after the event that he'd tested positive for Covid.
He said: “I tested positive around 5am on Tuesday.
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"I woke up feeling chills, aching, sore throat. Those were a lot of the symptoms I have had before getting Covid.
"I was like: ‘I need to test this one.’ It came back positive so we quickly quarantined in a hotel near the village and they got me on as much medication as they legally could to make sure my body was able to keep the momentum going.
“I still wanted to run, they said it was still possible so we stayed away from everybody and took it round by round.
"I have definitely had better days but I am walking around again. I was quite light headed after that race and the chest pain was definitely active.
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Noah Lyles' Team USA team-mate Kenny Bednarek gave a wry smile after Letsile Tebogo's comments
BBC
"After a while I was able to catch my breath and get my wits about me.
"I am feeling a lot better now. It definitely affected my performance.”
Lyles was also asked if he had any regrets about racing.
But the Team USA star insisted that wasn't the case, with the 100m champion insisting precautions were taken to protect other athletes.
Noah Lyles tested positive for coronavirus before racing in the men's 100m at the Paris Olympics
REUTERS
"No, no. We just said we were going to quarantine as much as possible and not try and pass it on," he added.
Tebogo's triumph was Botswana's first medal of the games.
Team USA currently sit top of the medal table with 103, including 30 golds.