Kenny Bednarek: I am tired of being Mr Silver
The Olympic 200m silver aims to win medals in both the 100m and 200m events at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, and plans to run more 100m races this season. He will be one of the stars competing at the Kip Keino Classic on 13 May 2023 in Nairobi.
Athletics
Olympic silver medallist, world silver medallist, Diamond League champion: Kenny Bednarek's titles collection is quite remarkable.
Being a double global silver medallist by the age of 23 was exceptional. But missing the 200m gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021 and at the 2022 World Athletics Championships has left the US sprinter wanting to prove a point.
“For sure I am tired of being Mr Silver…getting second place all the time,” he said in an interview with Kenya’s Capital FM on arrival in Nairobi, where he continues his build-up for the 2023 season.
“This year I am coming with a different mentality…the goal is to double (in the 100m and 200m).”
Kung Fu Kenny, as he's nicknamed, will race in the men’s 100m against compatriot and world 100m silver medallist Marvin Bracy, and home favourite - and reigning Commonwealth Games champion - Ferdinand Omanyala, at the Kip Keino Classic on May 13.
Kenny Bednarek: The sprinter who also loved American football
Bednarek doesn't stand out for his flashy parades or signature celebration, but rather for his calm demeanour on track.
The unassuming sprinter from Rice Lake, Wisconsin is indeed the Silent Assassin, as he prefers to call himself.
He surprised everyone with an Olympic silver medal in the 200m in 2021, won a Diamond League Trophy that same year, and finished second at the Worlds in Oregon last year after a painful and nervy recovery from breaking his toe.
Now 24 years old, Bednarek has always loved running and competing.
When he was in high school in Oklahoma, he was always the fastest kid in school. His mother thought he would make a good cross-country runner, but he settled on being a sprinter and began as a 400m specialist before scaling down to the 200m and 100m.
The sprinter famous for his trademark headband also loved football and was a gifted wide receiver, but he feared the injuries associated with the popular American sport.
“I am more competitive now… but when I was in high school and in college, I would be that guy who would make them (other sprinters) better and give them pointers to make them better, because I do love the sport track and field I’m very competitive and I want to get faster,” Bednarek said in a recent interview with Modern Athletes.
Making his first World Championships in Doha in 2019, just months after turning pro, proved his sprinting ability. Although he was excited to be racing on the big stage, he wasn't quite ready for it and never made it past the qualifying rounds.
Kenny Bednarek, the 'Kung Fu of Sprints'
In 2021, Bednarek had his breakout year.
The sprinter qualified for the Tokyo Olympics and was one of three Americans looking to win a title that had been won by Usain Bolt since Beijing 2008.
In Japan, the world got to meet the 'Kung Fu of sprints'. Whenever his name was called out before his runs, Bednarek remained his usual calm self and followed it with a polite bow - a gesture that resonates with his personality, as he explained in an interview with NBC sport.
“I liked the ring to “Kung Fu Kenny” and the values that it has with it — discipline, dedication, respect and humbleness. I want to instill those values in my daily life and professional life. I don’t want to just be another sprinter.
“I want to have a brand and persona so people know exactly who I am every time I step out there. Even the bowing represents me because I’m not high energy. I’m calm. These are some of the simple things that show who I am.”
After the 200m Olympic final, Bednarek was delighted to have earned his first major title at his debut Olympic behind Canada’s Andre De Grasse and ahead of his teammate Noah Lyles who took bronze.
Ending the season as the Diamond League Champion in Zurich, after wins in Doha and Lausanne, confirmed that the silver was no fluke.
Despite consistently posting fast times and being a medal contender, Bednarek felt that he did not receive the recognition that comes with an Olympic medal going into the world championships in Oregon.
“I just want people to show me my respect, and I feel like I don’t get that a lot” he continued in the chat with NBC taking silver at the Hayward Field.
“You’ve got me, Noah [Lyles], Erriyon Knighton, and all of these other guys … I’ve competed against these guys and beaten them before, but there’s been a lot of times where my name isn’t even mentioned. People often say, “Oh, it’s a race between these two people,” and in a way, I kind of just feel disrespected because I’ve actually beaten these guys before. So why are you not even considering me?
“I remember winning the Diamond League Final [in 2021], and one of the commentators was so surprised. I was like, “Why are you surprised? I’m an Olympic silver medalist.”- Kenny Bednerek to NBC Sport.
Kenny Bednarek: Aiming to become a sprint legend
Fully recovered from the toe injury that derailed his plan to improve his 200m time of 19.61 in 2022, Bednarek is determined to establish himself as a top sprinter.
This year, he's been running more 100m races and will compete against Omanyala again on Saturday after finishing third to him at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in April.
“I ran 10.02 (in Gaborone) and I am expecting to run a sub 10 in Kenya. This year I have been more focussed on the technical side as last year I came with injury... I still run 19 seconds, so I know that when it matters I am going to be there. It’s just the small things little details I am working on this year to dip my times and get that gold,” he told Flotrack in Doha where he finished second behind world champion Fred Kerley at the 2023 Diamond League opener over the 200m.
“2022 was a going to be a big year but then injury happened, so now we’ve got to see what happens this year we have a goal of getting the American record this year and that was my goal last year.”
As much as he relishes his beetroot juice with a dash of lemon before his races, he hopes that when he returns to the World Championships scene in Budapest this summer, a gold medal hanging around his neck, will give him even greater delight.
“When it’s all said and done, I want to be a legend — one of the best to ever do it. I want to be in a position of doing what no one else has ever done, and that’s what makes me want to be better every single day and time I step out on the track. I definitely have a chip on my shoulder, and that’s definitely what’s made me a better athlete.”
Like his favourite video game superhero, the ‘Silent Assassin’, Bednarek’s mission is clear – to be the man whose name will also be synonymous with sprints.