The anticipation was real. Could Noah Lyles hold off an in-form Kenny Bednarek in the 200m final at the USATF Championships? Bednarek’s 19.59 and unbeaten streak made him the favorite. But Lyles, no stranger to doubt, stepped onto the track with quiet confidence. In a thrilling finish at the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Lyles clocked a world-leading 19.63s to edge out Bednarek’s 19.67s. The drama didn’t end there—social media lit up with a post-race moment where Lyles looked back and Bednarek appeared to lightly push him. What was it all about?

Noah Lyles confessed that this was one of his toughest 200s, second only to the Olympic final in 2021. After the first round, he was exhausted and thought, “Yeah, I can’t be this tired.” He reminded himself, “I need to get up for this one,” and returned to the warm-up area to stay cool, focused, and ready, saying he needed that “pop to come from.” But what about the thing with Kenny?

“Um, on coach’s orders, no comment,” said Noah Lyles in the post-race interview with LetsRun today when he was asked about the incident with Bednarek. His head coach is Lance Brauman, but why would he ask Noah to do such an act? Maybe to send a message? He might have wanted Kenny to be warned that Noah is still the Olympic gold medalist and a three-time world champion.

Lyles was also asked if he would run faster if he ran earlier. The 100m World Champion had to sit out of a few meets because of his injury. Answering the question, he said, “I don’t know. Oh, it’s um, I mean I I definitely say I’m racing into every race right now. Like I have to give 100% every time I run, so I couldn’t really tell you what I would have run. Um, yeah, we’ll just have to see when we get to Tokyo.”

Kenny Bednarek would be waiting for him in Tokyo. He is not very happy with Lyles about what happened and has made a frustrated confession.

Kenny Bednarek sends a message to Noah Lyles

“I mean, you know, like I said before, for years, Noah was going to be Noah. You know, if you want to scare me down, that’s fine, but I ran five rounds, he was fresh. You know, he can line up again or go fresh and see what happens. I’m very confident I can beat him. That’s all I can say. A little personal stuff, and we’ll figure it out,” Bednarek confessed when he was asked about what happened between the two. Bednarek had run a total of five sprint rounds across both 100 and 200 sprints at the time the 200 m final began, while Noah Lyles withdrew after the 100m heats.

Talking of respect, Kenny also said, “I mean, at the end of the day, like I said, he’s fresh. Last time he lined it up, I beat him, so that’s all I can say. Next time he lines up, I’m going to win. That’s all that matters to me.” The two had earlier faced each other at the 200m finals of the Paris Olympics, where Letsile Tebogo won gold in 19.46 s, with Kenny Bednarek taking silver in 19.62s and Noah Lyles earning bronze in 19.70s. For now, Kenny has been criticized by the fans for his actions. 

The Olympic silver medalist finished with a suggestion for Noah. He said, “I mean, grand summaries, 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. 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.” What are your thoughts on this entire incident?