"He's not gonna get far" - Noah Lyles issues warning to Kenny Bednarek following his win over the latter in their fiery faceoff at USATF Championships

Noah Lyles shared his experience of storming to the 200m victory by a narrow margin, but boldly stated that he can keep his rival Kenny Bednarek grounded and not let him take the pole position. Lyles won the 100m at the 2023 Worlds and received an automatic qualification in the 100m in the 2025 edition.

Lyles was initially scheduled for the 100m and 200m, but after topping the 100m heats, he pulled out of the finals to focus only on the half-lap. He toppled 100m titlist Kenny Bednarek with a glance at him in the final seconds, taking home his fifth National title.

The drama unfolded as Bednarek shoved Lyles and called out his behaviour, leading to tension between them. In a recent post-race interview, Lyles claimed that he can keep Bedanrek grounded and take the win despite the latter's multiple attempts.

The six-time World medalist also shared that he was still not at his best but ran one of the hardest races in four years.

"It was by far one of my hardest races right behind Olympic Trials in 21, I'd say going into it, I had to produce something that I hadn't been producing all year. I had to find that pop, that acceleration, that drive, and I knew I'd been producing it in practice, but it hadn't been coming out in the actual races, and I'm like, I gotta make it happen."

He added:

"This time, I feel like I got a little bit of it, I still haven't got as much as I've been seeing in practice, but it finally came out, and just making sure when I came off the turn, I was like, alright, I know Kenny's gonna try and run up on me, he gets out in front of me, I'm like, as long as I keep him in my pocket, he's not gonna get far enough away and I can always come back."

Lyles took a significant time off the track after his Paris Olympic heroics. He even began his 2025 season due to an ankle injury, and his 100m season opener saw him finish second behind Oblique Seville.

However, he earned a dominant victory in his first 200m of 2025 at the Monaco DL stop before taking the track for the US Nationals. Noah Lyles has earned qualification in both the 100m and 200m at the 2025 World Championships.

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Kenny Bednarek called Noah Lyles' glance 'unsportmanlike' after both finished first and second in the 200m

Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles at the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships - (Source: Getty)

Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek, toe-to-toe rivals of each other, met 12 times in their careers, and the former leads head-to-head by winning 10 of those match-ups. At the Paris Olympics, while Lyles finished in bronze, having run with deteriorating health, Bednarek took the silver.

At the recently concluded 2025 USATF Championships, Lyles stared down at Bednarek before touching the 200m line first, prompting the latter to call the 100m champion's action 'unsportsmanlike'. Issuing a warning, the two-time Olympic silver medalist said:

"What he said didn't matter, it's just what he did. Unsportsmanlike **** 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."

Noah Lyles will also have an opportunity to defend the 4x100m relay title at the 2025 World Championships.

Edited by Tushhita Barua