Kenny Bednarek, the international event ambassador for the Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata 2025, partnered by The Telegraph, is in the city for the first time.
The US sprinter, a silver medallist in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and 2020 Tokyo Games in the 200 metres and a gold medal winner in the 4x100 metres in the Tokyo World Championships earlier this year, was at The Telegraph office on Thursday.
Sipping tea, the 27-year-old spoke on a host of issues, ranging from his rivalry with compatriot and 100 metres Olympic champion Noah Lyles, to his future plans, to his Indian partner, golfer Sharmila Nicollet.
Excerpts from the conversation:
Worlds and Games
For me, the World Championships and the Olympic Games are the same. I’m a firm believer that if I just say, ‘hey, this is just like any other meet’, then I’m going to perform the way I need to. If I go to the Olympics and say, ‘hey, I have to do this’ and start adding more pressure, then there are more chances of me making mistakes. So my biggest thing is to just go out there and then just treat it like any other race. It’s all about executing my race and just having fun and going with the flow for me.
Bolt and Blake
Obviously, I liked (Usain) Bolt (Jamaica) because he was the pinnacle of the sport. But someone that I gravitated towards was Yohan Blake (Jamaica). He had his dreads and he had this little cheetah thing he would do in the beginning. I think we are kind of similar... Kind of humble, quiet, but we get the job done every time we step on the track. I got a chance to meet him for the first time two years ago. And he’s just a great guy.
Dethroning Bolt
Right now, Bolt is the greatest ever. He is the top dog. He has the fastest times (9.58 seconds in 100 metres and 19.19 seconds in 200m, both set in 2009 World Championships) in history. He is the greatest in history. But looking at the current lot of sprinters, I think I have a good chance of going after, I would say, his 200 metres (record). That’s way more attainable than 100 metres. Right now, the 100, I’m steadily getting better and better. My goal is just to hit 9.6 in the next few years. But in the
200 metres, I think that can go down any day. I mean, we have the right cast to do it. You’ve got myself, Noah (Lyles), (Letsile) Tebogo (2024 Olympic Games 100 metres champion). We need a perfect setting, and any of us can hit it. Jamaica has the bragging rights right now. For us, it’s just trying to get better and be able to dethrone him.
Rivalry with Lyles
Noah is a World and Olympic champion. And for me, I’ve always been on that cusp of becoming an Olympic Games and a world champion. But, that rivalry is real. And I’m just looking forward to the next few years for us to fight it out. He’s got the better of me over the past few years. But I feel like these next few years, there’s going to be something different, just because I feel like I’m starting to learn. The things that my coaches have been teaching me have started to click. And I’m just excited to get back on the track.
Lyles, Covid & Paris
I can’t really say he didn’t (have Covid). I don’t know what he was feeling. I can’t jump through his body to understand what he was going through. You know, it looked like he was really sick. He said he had Covid, so he had the virus.
Stare and shove
During the US Athletics Championship earlier this year, tensions escalated (Lyles stared after winning the 200 metres and Bednarek gave him a shove). That’s the competitive side in us. He did a little stare-down and both of our emotions kind of got riled up. We discussed it afterwards and thought we could have handled it a little bit better. Every single time I step on the track, he knows, and I know, that it’s going to be wire to wire.
Influence of Sharmila
She’s (golfer Sharmila Nicollet) taught me a lot about Indian culture. (But) She doesn’t cook anything. So, you know, I have to wait to come here to try some traditional Indian food. I love the culture. Sharmila and I ended up going to Goa in 2021. So I really loved going out to Goa. I want to come back here (India) every year to kind of experience the culture and to see new things. Also, want to see if I can help in any way to make track-and-field bigger in India.
Dope-free sport
It’s a lot cleaner now. Technology is improving. So, every year we get better equipment to test people. It seems like everybody is running the clean way. And that’s all we can ask for. Obviously, you have got a few people who still don’t want to follow rules. But I think the majority of the sport is clean.
Neeraj Chopra
A champion javelin thrower. I’ve seen him, but I haven’t actually talked to him... A phenomenal athlete.
Future plans
I’ve always said that after I retire, I would probably go more into the longer distances, just to challenge myself. I used to do cross-country, so I’m no stranger to a little long distances. When I retire, I’ll be doing some marathons here and there, see what I can do.
