For a fleeting moment—quite literally—the world saw Kenny Bednarek come close to his top speed. Not only that, his win in Brussels was particularly special, as it marked the end of his unlucky streak against Letsile Tebogo. Imagine, the last time Bednarek outpaced Tebogo in a 200m race was in the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, where he was just 0.01 seconds quicker. Since then, Tebogo had relegated Bednarek to many silvers and bronzes, but the jinx has finally ended.

A 19.67-second sprint in the Belgian capital helped Kenny Bednarek breeze past the finish line and put an end to Letsile Tebogo’s golden streak. Imagine, out of eleven 200m races in 2024, Tebogo had won all but two. In fact, he had maintained an unbeaten streak since Monaco, which finally came to an end in Brussels. While this doesn’t change the rankings—Tebogo remains the top 200m runner—Bednarek’s efforts have earned him praise from a track and field legend.

Bednarek’s final 200m of the season impresses Justin Gatlin

As Justin Gatlin discussed the Brussels recap on the Ready Set Go Podcast, the host patted Kenny Bednarek’s back for his win over Tebogo. Especially, for how his hunger shone through, despite multiple defeats against the 200m Olympics Champion, Tebogo. “Kenny fight like, you ever fight a kid who you whoop, and then they keep coming back even though you whoop them,” the American’s fierce determination was applaudable.

And when the host threw weight behind the possibility of a better season from Bednarek next year, Justin Gatlin lent voice to that. “I mean, he put together a really good season, you know what I’m saying?” the 4x World Champion was all praises for the current #2 in the 200m world rankings. Gatlin feels that the Brussels finals was a ‘great tester’ for Bednarek to see if he can go out there and run like that. And he truly matched that memo.

“It showed that he, no matter where he is in the world, he is one of the best in the world,” Bednarek just touched a personal best 200m time of 19.57 a few days back in Zurich. With this, he bested his 19.59 from the U.S. Olympic Trials, but Gatlin believes, Bednarek has a great future ahead, “He needs to run to seal the deal for those big moments, which is going in 2025. So like I said, Kenny’s steadily growing. He’s right there with them Doug.” 

While congratulations are for Kenny Bednarek from some of the best in the sport, the reigning 200m Olympic silver medalist is truly fueled up. So much so that he fired off an ambitious aim for the next year.

Kenny Bednarek’s goal for 2025

Do you get that, ‘I’ve finally done it‘ after achieving a goal you’ve been chasing for a long time? Well, for Kenny Bednarek, the Brussels Diamond League win was no different. Breathing a sigh of relief after the win, he said, “You know, I’m just finally living up to my expectations.”  The speedster was candid about his last season’s injuries and how his performances this season have reassured him of his mettle. But, enough of the average shots, as he already has plans to go all guns blazing next year.

“This season, people saw a glimpse of what I can do. It’s not a breakout year; this is something that I was supposed to be doing. Next year I will even be faster and more dangerous,” Bednarek has voiced the ultimatum. A 19.62 in Paris, restricted him to an Olympic silver, while he remained a far speck on the horizon in the stacked 100m. But, Bednarek’s bets are yet to come. What do you think will be the target on his mind for the next year? The Tokyo World Championships? Let us know below.