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Noah Lyles Gets Into Heated Confrontation After 200-Meter Win at U.S. Nationals

Ryan Phillips

Noah Lyles won the 200 meters at the USA Track and Field Championships but got into a confrontation with runner-up Kenny Bednarek after.
Noah Lyles won the 200 meters at the USA Track and Field Championships but got into a confrontation with runner-up Kenny Bednarek after. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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.

Video of the race and the incident that followed is below.

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."

Bednarek was asked about the incident and said, "I'm not going to say it out here, but we got something to do and talk about. That's all I got to say.

The two men have been rivals for years now. Benarek won the 100 meters this weekend. Lyles pulled out of that 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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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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