The tenth-fastest time of all time under any conditions, and two Americans in the one-two, was not the result many fans expected to see at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix. However, given the stacked field in the men’s 100m with two Olympic medalists, a lot was certainly expected. Instead, fans were yet again disappointed by Letsile Tebogo in the 100 as the Olympic champion was upstaged.

The 23-year-old finished fifth in a field of eight runners, clocking 9.95. That was well behind the winner, Kenny Bednarek’s time of 9.72 and Christian Coleman’s 9.84. It meant that for the fourth meet in a row, Tebogo finished well off the pace. That has been a recurring theme for the Botswanan sprinter this season, having lost his last four 100m races now.

In fact, his last major win in the discipline came all the way in 2024 when he finished first at the Rome Diamond League meet. There, the Olympic gold medalist clocked 9.87, which was only 0.01 seconds slower than his personal best. Bednarek, however, made history at the LA Grand Prix when he crossed the line at 9.72 seconds (+2.4).

Had it been wind legal, it would have shattered Kayinsola Ajayi’s world lead time of 9.84 (+0.7) and made Bednarek the fastest American in 2026. However, the wind-assisted time still equals the 9th-fastest 100 meters of all time under any conditions. That puts him level with Ajayi and Asafa Powell, but well behind Usain Bolt’s 100m world record of 9.58 seconds.

However, what is surprising is that Bednarek was behind at the starting gun. The 27-year-old had a poor start with Christian Coleman flying out of the blocks. Despite that, ‘Kung-fu Kenny’ found his stride near the 50m mark and blitzed his rivals soon after. He surged forward, and by the time he crossed the line, Bednarek had a decent lead over the pack.

Bednarek wasn’t the only one who did well, as Coleman’s 9.84 was his best time in years. In fact, the 30-year-old hadn’t come anywhere close to that mark since September 2023, when he clocked 9.83 at the Prefontaine Classic and Xiamen Diamond League meets.

It does mark a remarkable improvement for the former 100m World Champion, especially after his struggles earlier in the season. So far, Coleman has clocked 10.19 and 10.08 at the Shanghai and Xiamen Diamond League meets in May, finishing well off the podium. This could mark a return to form for him and raise the anticipation for how well he performs next.

While Bednarek’s performance grabbed the headlines, the American sprinter was far more interested in what it represented. After crossing the line ahead of an Olympic champion and a former world champion, he opened up about what it meant for his season moving forward.

Kenny Bednarek reflects on his 100m win at the LA Grand Prix

Despite having consistently run the 100m since 2015, Kenny Bednarek has never broken below 9.79 in the discipline. In fact, the 27-year-old has struggled to consistently go sub 9.9, hitting that mark just four times in 2025 and three times in 2024. It’s why his 9.72 at the USATF LA Grand Prix marks a great improvement for the American sprinter.

However, that isn’t all that surprising considering the form he has been in. The Olympic silver medalist has run eight races this season and lost just three. In fact, he’s finished off the podium only once, winning five, which includes two 200m races in the Diamond League. 

The LA Grand Prix marked his first 100m win of the season, and Bednarek was quite confident coming into the race.

“I already knew coming in here that if executed, I was going to do quite good,” he told Olympics.com after the race. “It felt pretty easy, so that’s good for the rest of the season.”

“I knew I was in 9.8 shape. So the 9.7 makes sense since it was a little bit windy, but I think I’m in 9.7 shape – if it was wind-legal – for sure.”

Meanwhile, Tebogo left LA with more questions than answers as his struggles in the 100m continued. Bednarek, however, walked away with the statement he wanted.