NO ONE WANTS TO BE famous for finishing 2nd. Not Adlai Stevenson or Susan Lucci. Not Ralph Metcalfe or Jim Ryun.
And certainly not Kenny Bednarek.
Narratives sometimes override facts, and a case could be made that Bednarek’s story is misrepresented. He is not the only sprinter finishing 2nd. Or the miffed runner-up pushing a rival. Or the Kung Fu Kenny wearing a headband.
More accurately, he could be characterized as one defying odds to emerge as a sprinter who could win not just one, or two, but three gold medals in the upcoming World Championships.
After running to his first national title — against type, in the 100m —Bednarek said: “It’s about damn time, you know? I’ve been 2nd for a very long time.”
The 26-year-old had finished 2nd 7 times in the 100 or 200 at national and global championships since ’21. Granted, his résumé is distinguished — two silver medals at the Olympics and one at World Championships — but not what he sought.
Grand Slam Track supplied a platform to race the 100 more regularly. Although Bednarek hasn’t collected the $300,000 he was supposed to earn for being 6–0 in three meets, the series paid off otherwise.
“I always knew I had the capability of doing it,” he says. “I just needed to believe in myself. And this year, I finally started living up to my expectations.”
At the USA Championships, despite feeling leg cramps at 60m, Bednarek won the 100 in 9.79 — tying Noah Lyles’ PR from the Paris Olympics. Among Americans, only Tyson Gay, Justin Gatlin, Christian Coleman and Fred Kerley have ever sprinted faster.
Five broke 9.90, something that had happened only once previously (in the Paris final). Bednarek was 7th at Paris in 9.88, a disappointment that left him in tears.
“Sometimes when you’re running at high speed, you’ve gotta find a balance to where you’re not tensing up too much,” Bednarek says. “You tense up, you start braking, decelerating, and people can pass you here and there. Or you’re not really getting that top-end speed that I usually have.
“I didn’t have it in the final because I did something completely different, I wasn’t relaxed. That’s what I mean, wanting it too much.”
Later, in the 200 at Eugene, Lyles came from behind to beat…
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