Eugene (US), Aug 4: Noah Lyles landed the day’s biggest blow on the track, passing Kenny Bednarek for the win, then looking his way to talk some trash.
Bednarek’s answer was a two-handed shove in the back after the finish line, some more heated words and a challenge for a rematch that can’t come soon enough.
US track championships turned physical Sunday, with Lyles and Bednarek getting involved in a shoving and shouting match as they crossed the finish line of a hotly contested 200-meter final at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
“Like I’ve said before, Noah’s going be Noah,” Bednarek said. “If he wants to stare me down, that’s fine.”
Lyles reeled in Bednarek and crossed in 19.63 seconds for a .04-second victory that sets up a rematch at world championships, on September 19 in Tokyo.
The best action in Round 1 came after the finish line. There was jawing, the shove and, then, Lyles turning around, backpedaling, reaching his arms out and bouncing up and down like a boxer before lobbing a few more choice words at Bednarek.
Their argument bled into the start of what is normally a celebratory NBC winner’s interview.
“I tell ya, if you’ve got a problem, I expect a call,” Bednarek said, as the network’s Lewis Johnson moved the mic between the runners.
Lyles replied: “You know what, you’re right. You’re right. Let’s talk after this.”
Though they shook hands during that tense post-race, Bednarek was fired up well after the sprinters had left the track.
“The summary is, don’t do that to me,” he said. “I don’t do any of that stuff. It’s not good character right there. That’s pretty much it. At the end of the day, he won the race. I’ve got to give him props. He was the better man today.” (AP)
