Kenny Bednarek has opened up about his career-threatening injury, resilience through setbacks, and his quest for gold at the 2025 World Championships.
American sprint sensation Kenny Bednarek has opened up about how his injury in 2021 almost forced him to end his career.
The two-time Olympic 200m silver medallist was gearing up for the 2022 World Championships when the unfortunate happened, forcing him to be out for about two months before heading to the US trials.
At the trials, Kenny Bednarek finished fourth and luckily made it to the US team for the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, getting a chance to compete in a major event on home soil.
He went on to win a silver at the event, a vivid sign that he was meant to continue with his career. Kenny Bednarek admitted that it was not an easy year for him but one lesson he learned was about resilience.
He explained that most people tend to give up in the face of adversity but to be able to rise up strongly, they need to tackle the setbacks head on, just like he did.
“The year before (2022) was my toughest year, I ended up fracturing my big toe in December and January,” Kenny Bednarek admitted in a video shared on his Instagram.
“Honestly, I thought my career was done because I’ve never had an injury like that. I had to take two months off and it was just rehab, no sprinting, making sure I activate my muscles in the arch and around the ankles because my body was compensating.
“I think that a lot of people that end up getting in such a situation, it’s kind of you just let it take over or you push through and get the medal.”
In 2023, Bednarek also had to battle a lot of issues off the track, which evidently affected his performance on the track.
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He failed to win a medal at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, finishing fifth in the 200m final.
Winning a silver at the Paris Olympic Games was kind of a redemption but Bednarek revealed that he wanted more than that and was confident of delivering more but the unfortunate happened.
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“This past year I ended up getting a silver in the 200m and I felt like I did all I could do at that moment and I put my best foot forward and was happy about my performance,” he said.
“Just to get to that point, I’ve just been through a lot of ups and downs like in 2023, I ended up not medaling at all and that was something I wasn’t accustomed to.”
This season, the American wants to go one place better at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan where the primary intention will be to win a gold medal in the 200m.
Kenny Bednarek will also want to prove a point in the 100m, proving a threat to Noah Lyles in both distances.
