Olympics viewers slam athlete for ‘celebrating too early’ before finishing third

An Olympian is being criticised online for ‘celebrating too early’ and placing third.

Noah Lyles, a runner for Team USA, has been on the receiving end of social media jibes following his performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

27-year-old Lyles was a favourite to win the race but ultimately finished third in the men's 200m and took home bronze.

Lyles' a time was recorded as 19.70 - 0.17 off his season best.

The winner of the race was Botswana's Letsile Tebogo,

Despite placing third still being an incredibly impressive feat - many people are focusing instead on Lyles' early celebration.

Pre race, when his name was announced, Lyles sprinted across the width of the track and jumped in the air as the other competitors stood by and watched.

People in the crowd could be heard clapping and cheering for Lyles.

Some viewers think it was too much too soon from somebody who didn't win the race.

Before running, it circulated that Lyles had an unknown illness - which has now been confirmed to be Covid, and he'd been diagnosed on Tuesday morning.

When the race ended, Lyles received medical attention and was taken away in a wheelchair.

Lyles was permitted to race under Olympic rules.

The Guardian reported Lyles as stating: "I do have Covid. I tested positive around 5am on Tuesday. 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."

He continued: “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. 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.”

Winner Tebogo made comments about Lyles in a press conference post-race.

Discussing whether or not he could become the face of track and field after his win, Tebogo said: "I can't be the face of athletics because I'm not an arrogant or a loud person like Noah [Lyles]."