Kenny Bednarek is on a roll. Three Grand Slam Track meets, three dominant wins—including another sub-20-second cruise in Philly. But despite his smooth stride and growing win streak, even “Kung Fu Kenny” had to admit: Franklin Field felt a little… off. The venue is legendary—home of the iconic Penn Relays and steeped in history as the first double-decker stadium, the first to air a college football game on radio, and the first to televise one. But for Bednarek, it wasn’t the legacy that stood out!

After a swooping win in the Grand Slam Track’s Philadelphia leg this week, Kenny Bednarek has extended his lead to 5-0. Appearing in an interview after the race, the athlete was asked about his experience being a part of the GST, especially here in Philadelphia. To which he answered, “It’s amazing. I mean, like I said, I get the opportunity to run both events, which is something I always wanted to do. Uh, clearly getting represent 100 has helped me out a lot. And then just seeing the different, the fans get to see a different side of us, the personality, and everything else. And especially Philly, like I’ve never been here before.” 

But there was a little something that bothered him. He then said in the interview that the track was a little bit different, something he hadn’t been on before. He said, “Oh, I like it. Like I said, the first day I came, I was kind of like, what the heck is this? ’Cause the lanes are kind of further back. It just looks weird. Uh, and I felt a little awkward when I was doing practice rest, but usually during the race, like I don’t think about any of that stuff.” Unlike standard tracks, where lane 1 measures 400 meters, Franklin Field’s 400-meter distance is achieved in lane 4.

But why is it different here? Franklin Field was originally a six-lane track, but space constraints prevented outward expansion. To accommodate nine lanes, extra lanes were added inward, making lane 4 the official 400-meter lane instead of lane 1. He further said, “I just ran, so that’s how I felt. Just ran there’s no uh issues with going on top of the turn and getting off of it, so it felt good.”

Kenny Bednarek continued his dominance in the men’s 200m, securing victory with a time of 19.95 seconds in the Philadelphia Slam. He outpaced Britain’s Zharnel Hughes and Canada’s Aaron Brown, both of whom finished in 20.50 seconds to extend his streak.

Kenny Bednarek’s Grand Slam Track streak so far

Kenny Bednarek has dominated the 2025 Grand Slam Track series, remaining undefeated in the men’s short sprints across all three meets. At the inaugural Kingston meet in April, he clinched the 100m title with a time of 10.07 seconds, narrowly edging out Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, who finished in 10.08 seconds. Kung-fu Kenny then went on to continue his dominance in the 200m, clocking 20.07 seconds to surpass Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (20.37 seconds) and Fred Kerley (20.39 seconds).

In May’s Miami meet, Bednarek delivered a wind-assisted 9.79 seconds in the 100m, outpacing Seville (9.84 seconds) and Ackeem Blake (9.85 seconds). He then set a Championship Record in the 200m with a time of 19.84 seconds, defeating Hughes (20.13 seconds) and Seville (20.13 seconds). The Philadelphia win has made him stand at 5-for-5 now in all his Grand Slam Track races. Do you think he will end his 2025 GST season undefeated?