It was the final stretch of the 200m race, every muscle tensed, every breath calculated. Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek were locked in a blistering stride-for-stride battle. In the end, Lyles edged the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist by a razor-thin 0.04 seconds. Crossing the line, Lyles fixed an intense stare on Bednarek, as if to stamp his dominance. The gesture didn’t sit well with ‘Kung-Fu Kenny.’ He responded with a shove, sparking the flames of an epic rivalry. But who was right? According to a legendary sprinter, it was simply the heat of emotions at play.

“What he said didn’t matter; it’s just what he did. Unsportsmanlike (expletive), and I don’t deal with that. It’s a respect factor. He’s fresh. Last time we lined it up, I beat him, that’s all I can say. Next time we line up, I’m going to win. That’s all that matters,” Bednarek shared with the media after the dust had settled. When Lyles was asked about the same, he shunned the media, stating that his coach had asked him to stay silent.

The camera did capture what happened between the top athletes, but it failed to record the verbal shots they traded. Now, speaking about this rivalry, Justin Gatlin mentioned that he believed Bednarek should have won the race. “You don’t know what it feels like to come across the line. Kenny should have won. How many people voted that Kenny should have won? A lot of people voted that Kenny should have won that race. The numbers showed that Kenny should have won that race. Kenny failed.”

He continued, “Kenny crossed that line, and frustration kicked in. On top of that, the embarrassment of getting by an individual who just beat you, staring you down. You gotta realise the situations — your emotions are going to flare up. As soon as his emotions flared up, he calmed it down because he knew that he was on television, he knew that he was live. I’m just telling you, people act differently in situations. In our era, that s— would have never happened. You won’t see… You wouldn’t see Tyson pushing me, you wouldn’t see Yohan pushing Bolt.”

The final 30 meters of the race witnessed Bednarek edging Noah Lyles. But the reigning world champion, in his signature late-race surge, closed the gap. Disappointed with his own performance, Bednarek noticed the stare; he couldn’t hold back his emotions, shoving Lyles and prompting a verbal clash. And while Gatlin believes that Bednarek should have won, opinions do not win races, but performances do.

Meanwhile, the Olympic champ believes that Kenny Bednarek vs Noah Lyles has more than just a casual rivalry.

Justin Gatlin believes the rivalry between Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles will carry on for a long time

During a conversation on the Tidal League Podcast, Gatlin shared his opinion on their rivalry and explained that Lyles is someone who pursues dominance rather than speed. “Someone online said, ‘Hey, Noah, why were you leaning across the line looking, you know, towards the inside? Were you looking at the clock?’ And Noah’s response was like, ‘What do I need to look at the clock for?’”

This is in complete contrast to Bednarek, who is passionate about clocking the best time — and he is certainly doing it. Just like he explained, “You’ve got to realize in them situations, your emotions are going to flare up. As soon as his emotions flared up, he kind of calmed it down ‘cause he knew that he was on television.” Lyles thrive on psychological warfare. The only antidote? Beat him. If you beat Lyles, he shuts himself down, but if you keep losing, the mental toll will take you on a downward trajectory.

Justin Gatlin has strongly expressed that their behavior was not unsportsmanlike; however, the way they handled the situation is quite debatable.

Their rivalry will be witnessed again at the World Championship in Tokyo—will Kenny Bednarek have his revenge this time? Time will tell.