In October 2022, Kenneth Bednarek was asked about the sprinters he watched growing up, and he had only one answer. “For me, it was always about the big four – Bolt, Gatlin, Gay, and Blake.” In the years since, Bednarek has gone from a fledgling to an Olympic medalist, but his admiration for one man in particular hasn’t changed. And now, amid rumors of his retirement, Bednarek has taken the time to pay his respects to the track icon.

Because while Usain Bolt may be a sprint god, for Kenneth Bednarek, it’s always been Yohan Blake. That’s the one thing the 27-year-old has constantly admitted to over the years. And he reiterated it in a recent interview, showing Blake some love once again.

“For me, when I was watching track, you know, I know a lot of people say Usain, but I said for me it was Yohan,” Bednarek said as per Revonews.ai.

“Uh, you know, he was the second fastest person on the planet at that time. I mean, he still is technically, but I don’t know, something about him that I really liked, and I gravita- that gravitated me towards him.”

This comes on the back of track expert Owen reporting that the 36-year-old Blake has retired. There has been no official confirmation from Blake or his team, but it has sparked attention around his career. Owen further added that the world’s second-fastest man has already made the transition into coaching, joining Michael Frater.

The Olympic gold medalist has been coaching at Dynamic Speed Track Club, and Blake has now reportedly joined the team. But the news doesn’t come as a surprise because, despite his status as the second fastest man ever, Yohan Blake’s powers have faded.

A major reason for that is likely his hamstring issues in the mid-2010s, but he didn’t quite feel it until the 2020s. So much so that he failed to make the cut for the 2022 World Championship 100m final and failed to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Meanwhile, Kenny Bednarek has been on the up and up. The 27-year-old has steadily improved over the years, becoming one of the fastest sprinters in the 200m. His 2025 season defined that, finishing second in the 200m worlds with a time of 19.58 seconds, which was about 0.14 seconds behind his idol’s record but marked a remarkable improvement from the 19.68 he clocked in 2021.

But despite turning into one of the best 200m sprinters around, Bednarek is still a fan at his core. That’s exactly what he turned into when he recently met Yohan Blake at one of his races.

“And I mean, even now, j- I remember seeing him at one of the races,” Bednarek said. “It was cool just to kind of see him and get to know him as a person, but he’s somebody that I’ve always looked up to.”

It’s kinda exactly how Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and several other NBA superstars treated Kobe Bryant during his retirement tour. The NBA icon announced that he would be retiring a quarter of the way into his twentieth season. And it turned the remaining 66 games into an adoration tour as normally hostile fans and players gave him long ovations.

For many, it was like watching their idol retire. And if meeting his idol left Bednarek starstruck, it’s only sharpened his hunger to match the greats he grew up watching. 

Kenny Bednarek opens up on what motivates him

Ever since he made his professional debut in 2019, Kenny Bednarek has steadily improved. It hasn’t been a sudden turn of pace, thanks to him transitioning from the 400m to the 200m. That decision paid off in the long term, though, as by the end of the 2021 season, he had taken over the No.1 spot in the 200m category in the world.

That was thanks to the fact that Bednarek ran not one but 10 wind-legal sub-20 performances in the season. To put that figure in perspective, Usain Bolt’s most prolific 200m sub-20 season saw him run 5. Noah Lyles ran 7, Michael Johnson also ran 5, and Justin Gatlin ran 6. It marked a startling season, and since then, the now-27-year-old has only maintained that pace.

That showed in his 2025 season, as Kenny Bednarek finished outside the podium just once in 22 races. And that fourth-place finish? It came in the 100m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where he finished 0.03 seconds behind Noah Lyles. It’s raised questions about what motivates him to keep improving, but Bednarek’s answer was simple.

“My motivation has always been the best version of myself, ah, when I step on the track,” Bednarek said. “I’ve always been about self-improvement, ah, whether it’s being a better man, better h- ah, better, ah, better son or a better athlete.

“And when it comes to, like, being a professional track and field athlete, you know, I wanna be the best I can be, break records … um, you know, set those goals high because I know they’re attainable.”

For Bednarek, the message is as much about respect as it is inspiration because it’s clear that Blake’s legacy is still shaping the way he approaches the track. And if the Jamaican legend is indeed stepping away, there may be no better tribute than watching one of his biggest admirers chase greatness with the same hunger.