Kenny Bednarek has been truly awesome in the 2025 outdoor season. He stormed through the 2025 Grand Slam Track series undefeated, emerging as the undisputed men’s short sprints champion. The Olympian opened in Kingston with a 10.07 and 20.07 sweep, then triumphed in Miami with a wind-aided 9.79 and 19.84, earning $200k. In Philadelphia, he ran a legal 9.86 and 19.95 to complete a flawless 6‑for‑6 and claimed Racer‑of‑the‑Year honors. Bednarek’s unbeaten streak, financial boost, and confidence have positioned him as a leading contender heading into the World Championships. What if we say his dreams for the championship are to take away Noah Lyles‘ crown?
At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Kenny Bednarek stood on the track alongside Noah Lyles—watching as Lyles powered to a stunning 19.52 s to clinch the 200 m title, becoming the first man since Usain Bolt in 2015 to complete the 100/200 world double. Bednarek, meanwhile, surged through the curve and entered the home straight in contention, but gradually lost ground to finish fifth in 20.07 s, solidly among the world’s elite sprinters. Gearing up for the 2025 World Athletics Championships, Kung-FU Kenny has made a confession that resonates with Noah Lyles’ 2023 World Championship campaign.
“I want to double this year. I have a personal goal of running 9.7, and I want to run faster than 19.5 this year. I want to come out of Tokyo with three gold medals, being a part of the relay as well. And yeah, I just want to stay undefeated. I think that’s one of my main goals: every race that I go in, I just want to compete, execute, and just win. Just have a winning streak,” confessed the 26-year-old in a report by Forbes. That is the exact same thing Noah Lyles did in the 2023 World Championships.
Before his 19.52 s in the 200 m, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist had claimed the gold in 100m with a time of 9.83 seconds. Then he anchored the U.S. men’s 4×100 m relay to a clean victory in 37.38 s, clinching his third gold medal, completing the sprint triple crown. Repeating this feat can prove to be a hard task for the Olympian, but never impossible. His personal bests are 9.87s in the 100 m (Eugene, Oregon–June 23, 2024) and 19.57 s in the 200 m (Zürich, Switzerland–September 5, 2024). Cutting 17 and 7 hundredths from each of them is not going to be an easy task for him.
Credits: AP Photo/Petr David Josek File
When Bednarek aims for the sprint triple in the World Championships, his biggest opponent would be the man who has done that before, Noah Lyles, of course. The 2024 Olympic gold medalist made his comeback in the 2025 season, winning (19.88) against Letsile Tebogo (19.97) against the odds in 200m.
Noah Lyles would be standing in Kenny Bednarek’s way
Noah Lyles wanted to carry his sprint triple in the 2024 Olympics, but unfortunately, his campaign ended early after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and finished second in the 200m. Had he been successful in doing that, he would have been the first male athlete after Usain Bolt to do this since 2016. Recently, he has claimed once again that he will go for it in the 2028 Olympics. And nothing is suggesting that he wouldn’t mind repeating history in the 2025 World Championships. 2 sprint triples in back-to-back World Championships is only going to make his name more golden in the history books. So Kenny Bednarek must be careful when he sees his countryman on the field. But that does not mean that Lyles is safe.
Kung-Fu Kenny is much stronger than Noah on paper when compared in the 2025 season. He boasts a world‑leading 9.86s in the 100 m and 19.84 s in the 200 m—both top times this year. Noah Lyles opened later but still managed a 10.00s 100 m (London) and 19.88s 200 m (Monaco)—strong, yet behind Bednarek’s marks. But again, it’s Lyles. “Noah Lyles has been better than everyone else in the world for a while… the 200 belongs to him,” said Coach Rob in one of his YouTube videos.
Since the 2024 Olympic semifinals and final, where he placed 2nd (20.08) and 3rd (19.70), Lyles has gone undefeated in five 200 m races in 2024 and then in the Monaco one in 2025. But the guy who defeated Lyles in the Olympics was Kenny Bednarek. Kenny has also declared that, “The 200 is my king…I feel very confident with this year, and I feel like no one can beat me.” It’s tough to speak of a definitive winner between these two, but they would unleash some serious speed on the track. Your predictions?
The post Kenny Bednarek Eyes Noah Lyles’ 2023 Crown With Clear Message of Intent appeared first on EssentiallySports.
