LEILA FADEL, HOST:
To Paris next, where the Olympics are in the final days.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Last night, there was triumph for the U.S. in track and field, including three gold medals and a stunning new world record. But it was also a night when COVID reared its ugly head at the Summer Games. And the U.S. basketball team, packed with all those NBA stars, flirted with disaster against Serbia.
FADEL: NPR's Brian Mann is at the Games in Paris. Hi, Brian.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Hi, Leila.
FADEL: OK, so let's start with American sprinter Noah Lyles. He was hoping for a historic finish in the 200-meter final. What happened?
MANN: Yeah, this did not go as Noah Lyles planned. He calls himself the fastest man on Earth and triumphed Sunday in the 100-meter sprint. So last night, he was hoping to win what's known as the Olympic sprint double - taking gold in the 100 and the 200. Leila, only nine men have ever done this before. But right from the start, it was clear something was wrong. We saw none of that power and speed he's famous for. And then he collapsed at the end of the run. He had to be helped off the field. And U.S. Track & Field later confirmed that Lyles tested positive for COVID ahead of...
FADEL: Oh, no.
MANN: ...The race. The man who took gold, Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, said after the race that it was clear something was off with Lyles.
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LETSILE TEBOGO: I didn't want to make assumptions of what he could be going through, but I thought maybe it's just one of those days when he's not having a great day. So I didn't think of COVID.
MANN: U.S. Track and Field says it was Lyles' choice to run. He ended up with bronze, and American Kenny Bednarek took silver.
FADEL: So when I covered the Olympics in Tokyo three years ago, it felt like everyone was getting taken down by COVID - isolated - not to mention the rules, the constant testing. Is this the first time COVID has impacted these Olympics?
MANN: You know, we have seen COVID pop up here and there. A top British swimmer, Adam Peaty, got sick. He also competed but said it affected his performance. So COVID hasn't reshaped these games the way it did Tokyo and Beijing, but it's definitely here. And it - there just aren't special COVID rules here. These athletes are allowed to decide whether or not to compete.
FADEL: OK. The U.S. still had a big night on the track - a bunch of gold medals. Tell us about the world record set last night.
MANN: Yeah, this was big. I was in Eugene, Ore., a couple of months ago when Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone set a world record in the women's 400-meter hurdles. And then last night, on the biggest possible stage, she did it again, gliding over the hurdles. She broke away from the other runners and again shattered her own world record.
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SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE: I just always want to continue to try to improve and figure out ways to just continue getting better.
MANN: McLaughlin-Levrone won by a second and a half. That's just bonkers. She's already single-handedly redefined this race. And, Leila, the U.S. now has more than a hundred medals in these Olympic Games, with three days of competition to go.
FADEL: OK. We have to talk about that big scare on the basketball court last night. The latest version of the American Dream Team nearly lost to Serbia. What happened?
MANN: Yeah, the U.S. team is stacked with NBA talent, but they've been erratic. Last night, they showed all those weaknesses. Their shooting was off. They had shaky defense and a lot of turnovers. The final quarter opened with the U.S. down 17 points. And remember, the Serbian team also has NBA players. So a comeback was not a sure thing. But Steph Curry wound up with a huge night - he really carried them - 36 points. The U.S. eked out this narrow four-point win. They'll now move on to play host country France - that's tomorrow night - for the gold medal.
FADEL: NPR's Brian Mann in Paris. Thank you, Brian.
MANN: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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