'Don't Do That to Me' - Kenny Bednarek Reveals What He Told Noah Lyles After Dramatic 200m Final

'Don't Do That to Me' - Kenny Bednarek Reveals What He Told Noah Lyles After Dramatic 200m Final

Abigael Wafula 11:21 - 04.08.2025

Kenny Bednarek has broken his silence after the US Championships 200m final, calling out Noah Lyles for unsportsmanlike behaviour and vowing to beat him next time.

Kenny Bednarek has responded to Noah Lyles following the staredownin the men’s 200m final at the US Championships.

The Olympic 200m silver medallist came in second in a time of 19.67 seconds behind Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles, who won the race in 19.63. Robert Gregory rounded up the podium in 19.80.

After crossing the finish line, a heated confrontation erupted between Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek, with the latter shoving the former after they crossed the finish line.

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Kenny Bednarek has since revealed the details of the argument after they crossed the finish line, as he insisted that he has no problem with Noah Lyles winning, but his reaction is what sparked what happened after the race.

Kenny Bednarek Breaks Silence About Noah Lyles’ Incident

Kenny Bednarek
Kenny Bednarek

“I mean, grand summary is just don't do that to me. I don’t do any of that stuff. I think it's not good character right there…that's pretty much it,” Kenny Bednarek revealed in an interview shared by Citius Mag.

“I mean, at the end of the day, he won the race, so I got to give him his props and, you know, he was a better man today.”

Kenny Bednarek Confident He Will Beat Noah Lyles in Next Encounter

Kenny Bednarek
Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Kenny Bednarek

The former world 200m silver medallist revealed he was about 90% satisfied with his performance, noting that he tightened up slightly toward the end of the race due to fatigue from running five rounds.

Reflecting on his recent efforts, Kenny Bednarek described the trials as a success overall, highlighting that he ran two fast times and qualified in both events, which made him happy.

He acknowledged the need to clean up some minor issues, return to training, and focus on the finer technical details, as he felt the speed was already there, just a bit of rust to shake off.

“Noah's going to be Noah. If you want to stare me down, that's fine. But, you know, I ran five rounds. He's fresh. He can line up again when he is fresh and see what happens because I'm very confident I can beat him,” Kenny Bednarek said.

“That's all I can say. Little personal stuff, and we'll figure it out. What he said doesn't matter. It's just what he did. That's it. That’s unsportsmanlike, and I don't deal with that.

“The last time he lined it up, I beat him. So, that's all I can say. You know, next time we line up, I'm going to win. That's all that matters to me.”

The last time Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles competed before the US Championships was at the Paris Olympic Games men’s 200m final, where Bednarek won silver as Lyles came in third. Letsile Tebogo won the race.