The Paris Olympics is the first Games that let Covid run free, and it impacted how the event played out

By Simon Smale in Paris, ABC News

Nobody would have failed to be alarmed at seeing Noah Lyles being wheeled from the Stade de France track after the 200m final on Thursday night in Paris.

The brashest man in athletics. The fastest man in the world. Cowed by the effects of Covid. This was not supposed to happen.

After the Covid Games of Tokyo, delayed and contested in silent sterility, followed by the hazmat-suited yet thoroughly successful Beijing 2022 Winter Games, everything was supposed to be back to normal.

And, mostly, they are.

Full houses of raucous supporters, packed media zones with mask-less athletes and more mingling than a university freshers week.

It was reported that during the men's and women's road races last weekend, about half a million people packed the side of the roads - and there was certainly no social distancing there.

Indeed, there have been very few, if any, concessions made to the existence of Covid at these Games - it is barely mentioned anywhere.

It is, after years of masks and social distancing, being treated just like any other respiratory illness. Paris is alive and the Games are kicking.

And yet - Covid was still there, lurking.

The first confirmed case - a phrase that probably carries enough trauma on its own - involved the Australian women's water polo team in the days leading up to the Games officially getting underway.

The virus proceeded to rip through the Stingers, albeit at arguably just the right time.

By the time the Olympic finalists took to the pool for the first time in competition, all athletes that had caught the disease had returned negative PCR tests and were fit and firing.

The Aussies seemed to have dodged a bullet. But that is not where it finished.

Britain's breaststroke king Adam Peaty was confirmed to have tested positive just 24 hours after he won silver in the 100m on the first Sunday of competition.

He returned to the pool for the relays, but told Reuters "it's probably the worst week of my life in terms of how my body is".

The following day, a handful of coaches were seen on pool deck wearing masks, some from Team GB, the Netherlands and Germany, and one from Australia.

This was simply a response to Covid cases popping up in the village, but despite those precautions, a day later, on Tuesday, 30 July, Lani Pallister was forced to withdraw from the 1500m after being confirmed to have contracted the virus.

Later in the meet, Ella Ramsay withdrew from the 200m medley final on account of having Covid, while 200m breaststroke silver medallist Zac Stubblety-Cook only completed a five-day course of antivirals for Covid the day before his final.

Even Saya Sakakibara was felled by Covid, admitting that she thought it was all over before the antivirals kicked in and allowed her to win a magnificent and emotional BMX gold.

It has not just been Covid though that has caused dramas for the Australian team and others.

Rower Josh Hicks had to pull out of the men's eight due to gastroenteritis, while Belgium had to miss the mixed team triathlon relay after Claire Michel withdrew, but not, as most suspected, due to the River Seine.

On Tuesday, 13 August, AOC (Australian Olympic Committee) team doctor, Caroline Broderick said 85 athletes and officials had been tested for various illnesses.

Of those, 44 (31 athletes) returned positive tests, 16 of which were Covid and 15 classified as "other".

"Our testing has been the most extensive and accurate of any Games, allowing early and targeted treatments," Dr Broderick said in a statement.

"Some illnesses were detected on arrival [at the Games], others during training or competition, and some after competition.

"With more than 1000 Australians in team accommodation, these results are modest and in line with expectations.

"We have kept this team training and competing."

Pallister, who feared she would be out completely after contracting the virus, was full of praise for the way the AOC helped her deal with the illness.

"My symptoms were very mild and the AOC were incredible with the medication they were able to give us, some Covid anti-viral," Pallister said.

"They got on top of it so quickly, definitely helped my case. So I wasn't scared."

That rapid testing comes from the learnings after Tokyo and was in action during the Beijing Winter Olympics, where skier Katie Parker and curler Tahli Gill both tested positive.

Lyles, meanwhile, said he tested positive on Tuesday after a bad night of chills and headaches in the Olympic village.

"We tested it, came back positive and we quickly quarantined in a hotel nearby the village," Lyles said.

"[They] tried to get me on as much medication as we legally could to make sure my body could keep the momentum going.

"I still wanted to run, it was still possible, we just stayed away from everybody."

Until the end though, when he was pictured hugging his rivals.

The BBC reported that USA Track and Field said it enacted all possible protocols to isolate and treat Lyles, who has asthma, and that it was his decision to compete.

The sensibility of that decision appeared to be questionable when he looked in quite severe distress at the finish.

"I was quite light-headed after that race," he said.

"Shortness of breath, chest pain, but after a while I could catch my breath and get my wits about me. I'm a lot better now."

Nevertheless, Lyles, who had stated his intent to win gold in both sprints and both 4x100m and 4x400m relays, acknowledged that his Games is now over.

"I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics," Lyles posted on social media.

After at least three years of Covid frustration, for the majority of competitors at these Games, the show did go on.

- ABC