Athletics-Bednarek labels Lyles 'unsportsmanlike' after post-200m scuffle
(Reuters) -American sprinter Kenny Bednarek labelled Noah Lyles "unsportsmanlike" after their heated 200 metres showdown at the USA Track & Field Championships almost led to blows on Sunday.
Lyles, the three-times world champion in the event, stormed past Bednarek to win in a world leading 19.63 seconds, turning his head to stare down Bednarek as they crossed the line.
Bednarek shoved Lyles in the back before the two exchanged what looked like heated words.
"Noah's going to be Noah. If he wants to stare me down, that's fine," Bednarek told reporters.
"The summary is, don't do that to me. 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.
"What he said didn't matter, it's just what he did," Bednarek added. "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."
Sunday's final set the stage for what is sure to be a fiery rematch when the two race again at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Both have also qualified in the 100m, with Lyles also the reigning world champion in that event.
After Bednarek's shove, Lyles turned around and raised his arms to his U.S. rival and bounced up and down like a fighter. Their anger spilled into their trackside interview with NBC.
"I tell ya, if you've got a problem, I expect a call," Bednarek said.
Lyles replied: "You know what, you're right. You´re right. Let´s talk after this."
When asked later about the scuffle, Lyles said: "On coach's orders, no comment."
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Baseball-Pawol to become first woman to umpire in regular-season MLB game
FILE PHOTO: Mar 2, 2024; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) has a few words for home plate umpire Jen Pawol after striking out in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) -Jen Pawol is set to become the first woman to be an umpire in a regular-season Major League Baseball game this weekend, working for the Atlanta Braves' three-game series at home against the Miami Marlins beginning on Saturday. She will work the bases in both games of Saturday's doubleheader and will be stationed behind home plate on Sunday, MLB said. Pawol, who has umpired in the minors previously, was the first woman to umpire in a Spring Training game for 17 years during a meeting between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals in 2024. The 48-year-old New Jersey native played college softball and has been a minor league umpire since 2016. The barrier-breaking news comes 10 years after the National Football League hired its first full-time female official, Sarah Thomas, who would go on to become the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl in 2021. The NBA was the first of the "big four" men's professional leagues in North America to add women to its full-time officiating staff, hiring Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner in 1997. (Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Soccer-German Mueller signs season-long deal with Vancouver Whitecaps
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Bayern Munich Training - Saebener Strasse, Munich, Germany - April 7, 2025 Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller during training REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File Photo (Reuters) -Former Germany and Bayern Munich forward Thomas Mueller has signed a season-long deal with Major League Soccer (MLS) side Vancouver Whitecaps, the Canadian club said on Wednesday Mueller, who turns 36 next month, decided to leave Bayern at the end of last season after 25 years with the German champions, helping them win 13 Bundesliga titles and two Champions League trophies. "I'm looking forward to coming to Vancouver to help this team win a championship," Mueller said in a statement. "I've heard great things about the city, but first and foremost I'm coming to win." Mueller made 131 appearances for Germany, scoring 45 goals, and was instrumental in their 2014 World Cup triumph. (Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Motor racing-Mercedes upbeat after binning suspension upgrade
FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary - August 3, 2025 Mercedes' George Russell in action during the race REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -Former champions Mercedes hope to be challenging for wins again when they return from Formula One's August break after binning a rear suspension upgrade that made the car slower. The upgrade was introduced at Imola in May after George Russell had finished in the top three in four of the first six races. The Briton finished only seventh in that Italian race and Mercedes dropped the upgrade for the next two rounds before bringing it back for Canada, a race Russell won. That proved misleading, and Russell struggled in the following four races until Mercedes reverted to the old package for Hungary last weekend and he finished third. Rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli was also back in the points at the Hungaroring, finishing 10th after three races without scoring. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the upgrade would "be ending up in a bin somewhere. "We were misled a bit by the Montreal win... we came to the conclusion it needed to come off, it went off and the car's back to solid form," said the Austrian. Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said in a Hungarian GP debrief on Wednesday that the car was now easier to work with and the drivers more confident in attacking the corners. "If we make a new suspension, we're doing it to make the car go quicker... and clearly there's something that wasn't right," he added. "And it's not something that was dead obvious. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had the issue in the first place." Shovlin said the learning would help Russell in his battle with Red Bull's Max Verstappen for third place overall behind the McLaren drivers, and Mercedes chasing second in the constructors'. "Budapest showed that we've got a good car when we land it in the right place," said Shovlin. "And then hopefully there'll be an opportunity to build on our tally of race wins. "We had a great time in Montreal. There's other circuits that are a bit more like that coming up over the remaining 10 races and hopefully we'll have a few more highlights." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
