Noah Lyles shows true colors with message to 200m Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo

Team USA sprinter Noah Lyles clinched bronze in the men's 200m final but showed his class with a touching message to gold medalist Letsile Tebogo.

Tebogo of Botswana, 21, won with a time of 19.46 to win his first-ever Olympic medal and was closely followed by Kenny Bednarek (19.62) and Lyles (19.70). Lyles was hoping to do the double after winning the men's 100m final, but despite missing out he congratulated Tebogo following a tough year.

"LETSILE TEBOGO congratulations," Lyles wrote on X. "I know you have had a very rough year off the track, and despite that you overcame it all!"

Just over two months ago Tebogo’s mum, Seratiwa, passed away and he had promised to win a gold medal for her. Not only did he follow through with his emotional promise, he became the first African to ever win gold in the 200m.

READ MORE: Noah Lyles beaten in Olympics 200m final as confident world record plan ruined
READ MORE: Noah Lyles taken away in wheelchair after losing 200m final at Paris Olympics

Lyles grabbed his second medal of the Paris Olympics but did so after testing positive for COVID-19. The Team USA sprinter fell to his knees after finishing the race and was transported in a wheelchair to the medical holding area.

"I woke up about 5 am on Tuesday morning and was feeling really horrible. I knew it was more than being sore from the 100m," Lyles said after the race. "We woke up the doctors and tested, and unfortunately it came up that I was positive for Covid. My first thought was not to panic.

"I've been in worse situations, I've run with worse conditions I've felt. We just took it day by day, tried to hydrate, quarantined off and I would definitely say it's taken its toll for sure. But I've never been more proud of myself to come out here and get a bronze medal. Last Olympics I was very disappointed and this time I couldn't be more proud."

Follow us on X for the best and latest in sports news

Lyles said not running was never an option as he deserved to be in the final, and instead, he tried to quarantine and avoid contact with other athletes. However, after admitting he had COVID-19 it might put Lyles out of the 4x100m relay in order to protect the health of other competitors, including his Team USA teammates.

"At the moment, I don't know. I'm feeling more on the side of letting Team USA do their thing," Lyles said when being asked whether he would compete. "They're proven with great certainty that they can handle it without me. If that's the case coming off of today, I'm perfectly fine with saying "You guys do your thing, you guys have speed to be able to get the gold medal."

Covid cases have been reported in Paris, with it seemingly spreading throughout the Olympic Village. Some athletes refused to stay in the Olympic Village and instead funded alternative accommodation, but Lyles was one of the high-profile athletes to stay with the other competitors.