The first sign of trouble on Thursday night came when Noah Lyles started rounding the curve in the Olympic final of the 200 meters, a race that has always been his best.

Normally, at this point, Lyles begins to gain ground and then pulls away from his competitors, who have been game but overmatched for the last three years.

This time, however, his momentum stalled.

Instead of Lyles catching up to the runner two lanes to his right, Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, Tebogo pulled further away.

The American favorite, who had gone three years without losing in the 200 meters, struggled to the finish and collapsed on the track after ending up in third place.

The insidious specter of COVID, the virus that upended the globe four years ago and impacted the last Olympics, struck at the Paris Games as well.

In a stark reminder that the virus is still a factor, even if its deadly impact has been reduced, the world's marquee sprinter, racing on the world's biggest sports stage, revealed he had tested positive two days before his shocking, but now understandable, bronze-medal finish in the 200 meters.

'I still wanted to run,' Lyles said, wearing a mask as he spoke to reporters, whose mere congregation in a packed scrum underneath the stadium was unthinkable three years ago at the delayed Tokyo Games.

'They said it was possible.

'With the blessing of officials at USA Track and Field and the U.

S.

Olympic and Paralympic Committee, who said they followed protocol, Lyles did run.

He finished in 19.

70 seconds, which was 0.

39 seconds off his personal best and 0.

24 seconds behind the 21-year-old Tebogo.

Lyles' U.

S.

teammate Kenny Bednarek finished second, marking the second straight Olympics in which he and Lyles finished 2-3.

'When I saw Kenny fade, I knew Noah was far, far, far behind us,' Tebogo said.

'So that means I'm the Olympic champion.

'An hour after that shock, American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone lowered her world record for the sixth time, finishing the 400-meter hurdles in 50.

37 seconds for another Olympic blowout.

Tara Davis-Woodhall jumped 7.

10 meters to capture the long jump and join the ranks of Olympic greats like Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Brittney Reese.

Grant Holloway cruised to gold in the 110 hurdles, claiming the Olympic title that eluded him three years ago in his only major championship loss.

Coming into Paris, Lyles, the three-time world champion with the American record and the world's best time of 2024 on his resume, seemed like a sure thing in the 200 meters, as sure as any single athlete in track this side of McLaughlin-Levrone.

After opening with a scintillating win in the 100 meters four nights earlier, he was trying to become the first man to complete the 100-200 double since Usain Bolt did it eight years ago.

A troubling sign, however, came the night before when Lyles finished second in his semifinal heat, also to Tebogo.

It marked the first time he had lost a 200-meter race of any sort since his disappointing third-place finish in Tokyo.

He also hurried out of the stadium after that loss and went to the medical tent, a rare occasion when he didn't stop to talk to reporters.

His coach said he was fine.

Turns out he wasn't.

Lyles said he tested positive early Tuesday morning and quickly went into quarantine.

He drank fluids, rested as much as possible, and tried to gear up for the race.

USA Track and Field said in a statement that Lyles was given 'a thorough medical evaluation' and chose to compete.

The scene after the race was jarring.

Usually one of the most energetic guys on the track, both before and after any sprint, Lyles collapsed, rolled onto his side, and gasped for breath.

He turned over on his hands and knees, then went to one knee, and balanced himself with his fist.

He finally stood up and wobbled toward the medics, signaling for a cup of water.

Then, he left in a wheelchair.

'It definitely was an effect,' Lyles said.

'But I mean, to be honest, I'm more proud of myself than anything for coming out and getting the bronze medal with COVID.

' There's still a chance Lyles could end up as the bigger-than-track superstar he set out to become after his disappointment in Tokyo three years ago.

Those Games, staged in front of no fans while the COVID pandemic raged, took a mental-health toll on Lyles, one he said made him less than himself and led to his disappointing finish in Tokyo.

After he won the 100 meters on Sunday night, he took that Tokyo bronze medal out during his news conference, dropped it on the table, and explained it was the thing that motivated him to become a new person and a new sprinter for this Olympic cycle.

The 100-meter thriller sealed the first half of the deal.

But instead of breezing through the 200 meters, just getting to the starting line became a product of 'trying to get me on as much medication as we legally could to make sure that my body was able to just keep the momentum going.

'As Thursday turned to Friday in Paris, Lyles took to social media and posted his thanks to fans for their supportive messages and his congratulations to Tebogo and Bednarek.

He also said, 'I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics,' where he was supposed to run the anchor leg in the final of the men's 4x100 on Friday.

'It is not the Olympic I dreamed of but it has left me with so much joy in my heart,' he wrote.

'I hope everyone enjoyed the show.

Whether you were rooting for me or against me, you have to admit you watched, didn't you?'The spectacle Lyles headlined struck a sobering chord at a revitalized Olympics that were supposed to be all about the return of fans and the return of the Games as we used to know them.

Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem put together the best meet of his life in winning the men's javelin at Stade de France.

Nadeem set a new Olympic record in winning gold.

His throw of 92.

97 meters in his second attempt smashed the old mark of 90.

57 set by Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway in 2008.