Diamond League Final: Kenny Bednarek defeats Letsile Tebogo to 200m title in Brussels
American speedster Kenny Bednarek finally got his first befitting win of the season over Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo by storming to the 200m Diamond League title in Brussels.
Bednarek showed his class and supremacy in the mouthwatering clash with a perfect curve to take the lead into the home straight and cross the finish line first in an impressive 19.67s.
Tebogo had no response with his usual top-end speed, settling for the second position in 19.80s, while Dominican Republic's Alexander Ogando was third in 19.87s.
Kenny Bednarek 🇺🇸 wins the Diamond League men's 200m title in a time of 19.67s (0.7)!
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) September 14, 2024
2. Letsile Tebogo 🇧🇼 19.80
3. Alexander Ogando 🇩🇴 19.97pic.twitter.com/WgYnmfe7fp
Following his loss, the Motswana speed king fell short of winning Africa's first Diamond League title in either the men's or women's sprint, and it was his first defeat after five races post-historic achievement at the Olympics.
It's Kenny's night 🌙@kenny_bednarek stuns the Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo at the @MVDbrussels to win the men's 200m in 19.67 🤯
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) September 14, 2024
The American wins his second Diamond League 💎 trophy as he reclaims his 2022 title 👏
📸 @GorczynskaMarta#DiamondLeague pic.twitter.com/6P5ogvo3qf
For Bednarek, it's a perfect end to an exceptional season after his silver medal in Paris and puts him in the league of the world's best 200m runners alongside Noah Lyles and Tebogo, thus boding for exciting matchups to watch out for between the speedsters next season.