Noah Lyles-Kenny Bednarek rivalry: Beef explained as sprinters resume heated rivalry in Silesia
Bednarek pushed Lyles after a heated stare down during the race
Mondo Duplantis jokingly questioned Lyles about the incident
Noah Lyles is set to make his return to the Diamond League. Lyles, who beat Kishane Thompson by a thousandth of a second in the Paris Olympics 100m final, is set to resume his rivalry in Silesia on Saturday, August 16. However, the mood of the competition is slightly different this time around. The story is not between the top two of Olympic 2024, but between two USA athletes who have started to grab attention for a little feud that they have created between themselves.
What is the history, you ask? Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek raced against each other on August 4 in the U.S. Championships athletics meet in Eugene. At the end of the race, as Lyles passed Bednarek from behind, he glanced to his left and stared the athlete down, mocking Bednarek as he passed him. Bednarek did not like Lyles' attitude and gave him a little shove at the end of the race.
As the duo resume their rivalry at the Silesia Diamond League, legendary Mondo Duplantis took a cheeky dig at Lyles during the pre-competition press conference, asking him about the incident.
'Can I ask a question?' Duplantis said at the end of a multi-athlete news conference in Poland, alongside Lyles but not Bednarek, on the eve of the sprinters renewing their rivalry in the 100 on the Diamond League circuit.
'I want to ask Noah about, like, that stare down and that push,' Duplantis said, smiling and looking right along the line to Lyles, 'because that (expletive) was kinda crazy game.'
Lyles repeated the answer he gave August 4 in Eugene, Oregon, after the post-race beef with long-time teammate Bednarek seemed to fuel a must-see track rivalry ahead of the world championships next month in Tokyo.
'As coach said: 'No comment,'' Lyles replied, to laughter in the room.
Duplantis came back for more: 'Fair enough, fair enough. I enjoyed it, though, I enjoyed it.'
Lyles was invited to ask his own question of Duplantis. He suggested not setting another world record Saturday so that he might win the ring awarded by meet organizers for the best performance.
'No comment, no comment,' the U.S.-born Swedish star quipped back, to more laughter.
Duplantis set his 13th world record Tuesday in Hungary, raising the bar to 6.29 meters. One year ago he cleared 6.26 in Poland to add a single centimeter to the record-setting mark that won Olympic gold in Paris last August.
On the track, the men's 100 shapes as the main event Saturday, though Bednarek has since said he made up with Lyles in a long conversation.
It will be the first 100 between Lyles and Kishane Thompson since Paris, when the American took gold by five-thousandths from the Jamaican as both were timed at 9.79 seconds.
Thompson starts Saturday as the fastest man in the world this year â€' 9.75 set in Kingston in June.
Bednarek is second on the season list at 9.79, clocked winning the U.S. national title that was skipped by Lyles, who has an automatic entry for Tokyo as the defending champion from 2023.
'You basically have the Olympic final maybe missing two people, adding in some just-as-fast people,' said Lyles, whose season best so far is 10 flat in London last month. 'It's going to be good, regardless.'
'Of course,' he said, 'having Kishane there makes it even better.' Silesia Diamond League: Livestream
The Silesia Diamond League starts at 5:30 PM on August 16. One can watch the livestream for the league on Wanda Diamond League's official channel on youTube
Noah Lyles is set to make his return to the Diamond League. Lyles, who beat Kishane Thompson by a thousandth of a second in the Paris Olympics 100m final, is set to resume his rivalry in Silesia on Saturday, August 16. However, the mood of the competition is slightly different this time around. The story is not between the top two of Olympic 2024, but between two USA athletes who have started to grab attention for a little feud that they have created between themselves.
What is the history, you ask? Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek raced against each other on August 4 in the U.S. Championships athletics meet in Eugene. At the end of the race, as Lyles passed Bednarek from behind, he glanced to his left and stared the athlete down, mocking Bednarek as he passed him. Bednarek did not like Lyles' attitude and gave him a little shove at the end of the race.
As the duo resume their rivalry at the Silesia Diamond League, legendary Mondo Duplantis took a cheeky dig at Lyles during the pre-competition press conference, asking him about the incident.
'Can I ask a question?' Duplantis said at the end of a multi-athlete news conference in Poland, alongside Lyles but not Bednarek, on the eve of the sprinters renewing their rivalry in the 100 on the Diamond League circuit.
'I want to ask Noah about, like, that stare down and that push,' Duplantis said, smiling and looking right along the line to Lyles, 'because that (expletive) was kinda crazy game.'
Lyles repeated the answer he gave August 4 in Eugene, Oregon, after the post-race beef with long-time teammate Bednarek seemed to fuel a must-see track rivalry ahead of the world championships next month in Tokyo.
'As coach said: 'No comment,'' Lyles replied, to laughter in the room.
Duplantis came back for more: 'Fair enough, fair enough. I enjoyed it, though, I enjoyed it.'
Lyles was invited to ask his own question of Duplantis. He suggested not setting another world record Saturday so that he might win the ring awarded by meet organizers for the best performance.
'No comment, no comment,' the U.S.-born Swedish star quipped back, to more laughter.
Duplantis set his 13th world record Tuesday in Hungary, raising the bar to 6.29 meters. One year ago he cleared 6.26 in Poland to add a single centimeter to the record-setting mark that won Olympic gold in Paris last August.
On the track, the men's 100 shapes as the main event Saturday, though Bednarek has since said he made up with Lyles in a long conversation.
It will be the first 100 between Lyles and Kishane Thompson since Paris, when the American took gold by five-thousandths from the Jamaican as both were timed at 9.79 seconds.
Thompson starts Saturday as the fastest man in the world this year â€' 9.75 set in Kingston in June.
Bednarek is second on the season list at 9.79, clocked winning the U.S. national title that was skipped by Lyles, who has an automatic entry for Tokyo as the defending champion from 2023.
'You basically have the Olympic final maybe missing two people, adding in some just-as-fast people,' said Lyles, whose season best so far is 10 flat in London last month. 'It's going to be good, regardless.'
'Of course,' he said, 'having Kishane there makes it even better.' Silesia Diamond League: Livestream
The Silesia Diamond League starts at 5:30 PM on August 16. One can watch the livestream for the league on Wanda Diamond League's official channel on youTube Join our WhatsApp Channel
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