Justin Gatlin and Rodney A. Green’s Ready Set Go YouTube podcasts have always discussed whatever is going on in the track community. With the outdoor season underway, the two-track icons have taken notice of several accomplishments, including Kenny Bednarek‘s recent 200-meter world lead in the Doha Diamond League.
According to Gatlin and Green, the American track star has been on their radar for a long time. However, his recent performances led to a significant increase in his potential rankings ahead of the major season.
Bednarek not only took the world lead at the Doha Diamond League, but also set a personal best and a meet record. Such a performance surprised the track icons since it was only his second 200-meter race of the season, and a 19.67 this early shows what the athlete may be capable of later in his career.
In addition, Green described how the 25-year-old distinguished himself from the other competitors on the grid, including his teammates from Team USA. Gatlin agreed with the Bahamian sprinter’s point and highlighted the track star’s unique skill, saying:
“First of all, Kenny is such a quiet warrior. That’s the one thing I love about Kenny. Kenny will tell you straight up. ‘I want to be the best; I want to win the gold,’ but he isn’t going to go out there and be crazy and taking all kind of cr*p.”
The four-time world champion admired Bednarek’s ability to express his aspirations. The 25-year-old isn’t overly flamboyant about his accomplishments or desires for a big event, which has kept fan expectations quite tame up until now.
Moreover, due to his straightforward approach to track meets, Bednarek rarely generates a lot of excitement, which helps him avoid pressure. Instead, he prefers to focus solely on his sprinting technique and has improved it drastically in recent years.
Bednarek went through a lot of struggle and took his time to become an exceptional track athlete. However, since then, consistency has been the name of his game. In fact, his skill set was highlighted by another track legend who was amazed by the athlete’s 200-meter performance.
Michael Johnson opens up about the consistency of Kenny Bednarek
Michael Johnson insisted that Kenny Bednarek’s performances are vastly underappreciated by the track community. He even discussed the athlete’s impressive performance since the Tokyo Games, where he won silver in the 200-meter division. While most sportsmen love to brag about their accomplishments, there are some rare ones, such as Bednarek, who are solely concerned with their own performance on the track.
Underrated! Not the fastest, but consistently shows up winning 200m medals. ’21 Olympics and ‘22 World Champs. Unfortunately consistency is often undervalued in this sport if you’re not winningWe need to change that! https://t.co/Zr8glizrCG
— Michael Johnson (@MJGold) May 10, 2024
Johnson explained that this feature is underappreciated by the track community and that instead of following only the athletes who produce great results on certain occasions, the community should focus more on athletes, like Bednarek, who have been consistent throughout.
