The 100m sprint finals was one of the most dramatic events across the Paris Olympics, with some of the most compelling contenders aiming for the podium.
A surprisingly close race happened during the finals, where everyone clocked in at around 9 seconds. In the end, Noah Lyles bagged the gold while USA teammates Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek stood at third and seventh places, respectively.
The sprint, dubbed as one of the greatest races in history, had to resort to a photo-finish result to properly determine the winner. Bednarek, who has performed consistently well so far, wasn’t quite impressed with his performance during the finals.
In an Instagram post, he recalled the race and wished he could’ve done better at the sprint, especially since it was so close. Fans asked him to give himself some grace since every competitor came close to being, at the most, 0.12s away from the winner.
However, he knew he had to be smarter to cross the finish line faster than anyone else.
“It wasn’t my best race this season, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come in the 100m this season. I started as a 200/400 guy and now can confidently say I’m a 100/200/400 guy.”
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Bednarek believed that a high-stakes race, like this one in particular, would often present some tough outcomes. While it unfortunately ended in disappointment for him, he took it as a sign to work harder for his next milestone.
“With that being said, I’m hungry as hell for the 200…who’s with me?”
The 25-year-old only recently began racing in the 100m, having previously specialized in longer sprint distances. Now that he has completed one of the Olympics’ most significant races, he can focus on preparing for the next one – the 200m sprint.
Bednarek recognized the need to prepare more effectively this time to avoid overwhelming himself later. Interestingly, he topped the roster during the Men’s 100m heats in the qualifiers, clocking 9.97s, closely followed by Kerley. Fans now hope for the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist to be on the podium for the 200m sprint.
