Noah Lyles Gets Into Heated Back & Forth After 200-Meter Win At U.S. Nationals

Noah Lyles had a stunning comeback to win the 200-meter final at the U.S. track and field nationals on Sunday, but that wasn’t the end of the story.

After crossing the finish line, Lyles wound up in a confrontation with rival Kenny Bednarek, who finished second. Lyles stared down Bednarek after crossing the line, which led to a shove from the silver medalist. The two men came together a few moments later and had words.

The U.S. track championships turned physical Sunday, with Lyles and Bednarek getting involved in a shoving and shouting match as they crossed the finish line of a hotly contested 200-meter final at Hayward Field.

“Like I’ve said before, Noah’s going to be Noah,” Bednarek said. “If he wants to stare me down, that’s fine.”

After this happened, the two gave a joint interview to NBC, where they were still jawing at each other. Bednarek said, “If you’ve got a problem, I expect a call, that’s all I’m saying.” Lyles agreed and said, “Let’s talk after this.”

Though they shook hands during that tense post-race, Bednarek was fired up well after the sprinters left the track.

“The summary is, don’t do that to me,” he said. “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.”

The two men have been rivals for years now. Benarek won the 100 meters this weekend. Lyles pulled out of the event due to his automatic qualifier spot at the world championships, thanks to his status as defending champion. He is also the defending world champion in the 200 meters.

Both men will face off in both events at the world championships in Tokyo next month.

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Article by James Van Wickler