[ad_1]
Aug. 6—The US did not get the gold medal it wished within the males’s 200-meter sprint in Tokyo. However after years spent lagging behind within the occasion, the People’ fast future seems to be brilliant.
Rice Lake graduate Kenny Bednarek is true on the coronary heart of that.
The People captured two Olympic medals within the 200 — silver for Bednarek, bronze for Noah Lyles — on Wednesday for the primary time since 2008. Erriyon Knighton positioned fourth.
In a highly-touted U.S. group, Bednarek proved to be No. 1 within the pecking order.
“It feels actually superb,” Bednarek mentioned Thursday on NBC’s ‘As we speak.’ “All my laborious work the whole yr coming as much as this paid off. Operating a private finest, particularly within the finals, is one thing to behold.”
The U.S. took three of the highest 4 spots within the race, and youth is on their aspect. Knighton is simply 17 years previous, whereas Bednarek and Lyles are 22 and 24, respectively. This was the Olympics debut for all three.
If issues went like this the primary time round, who is aware of what might be forward?
Bednarek actually garnered the respect he sought. A lot of the surface consideration given to the 200 centered on Lyles and Knighton, however neither beat Bednarek.
In observe circles although, together with these operating alongside him within the ultimate, Bednarek drew excessive reward.
That features Joseph Fahnbulleh, who represented Liberia on the Olympics however grew up in Hopkins, Minnesota. The 19-year-old positioned fifth within the 200 on Wednesday, and drew inspiration from the sprinter who grew up about 115 miles east of him.
“Clearly we weren’t racing one another once I was in highschool, as a result of he was in Rice Lake. However that was an individual I used to be wanting as much as,” Fahnbulleh informed reporters. “It was like, ‘I am not alone.’ We stayed in contact and I used to be getting extra motivation from him. Lastly, it got here full circle.”
The remainder of the American crew is properly located for the long run too. Knighton broke Usain Bolt’s U20 document within the 200, and nearly earned an Olympic medal as a young person. He’ll have loads of eyes on him within the years to come back, together with Bednarek’s.
“He’ll be harmful sooner or later,” Bednarek informed reporters after the 200-meter ultimate on Wednesday. “Seventeen years previous and with the ability to run this quick. He is uncooked, acquired a variety of expertise, and (has) a variety of issues to work on.”
Lyles was the world champion in 2019 and figures to be a contender each time he is on the observe.
Up subsequent: The 2022 World Championships subsequent summer season. They will be held on U.S. soil, at iconic Hayward Subject in Eugene, Oregon. Because the host website for the U.S. Olympic Trials, it is a venue the People shall be aware of.
Something can occur, however on paper, Bednarek, Lyles and Knighton appear to provide the People a shot at gold for years to come back.
“I can completely construct off this sooner or later,” Bednarek mentioned Wednesday. “I positively suppose I can run means sooner than that. However that is going to come back with method and expertise. I am fairly new to this recreation, so there’s a variety of issues that I’ve set to work on.”
Relay woes
Bednarek was named to the US’ 100-meter relay unit after the Olympic Trials in June, however wasn’t a part of the People’ four-man squad after they took the observe for preliminaries on Thursday.
A nightmare ensued for the U.S. in an occasion that has plagued the People for a number of Olympic cycles. A botched baton handoff between the second and third legs value the U.S. valuable time, and the People ended up putting sixth out of eight groups of their warmth — properly wanting a qualifying spot for the finals.
It was the most recent in a saga of shortcomings for the People within the occasion. A baton drop value the workforce in 2008, a doping scandal stripped them of a medal in 2012 and an unlawful handoff spoiled issues in 2016.
It led to some heavy criticism for the U.S., together with from Olympic legend Carl Lewis.
“The USA workforce did every part flawed within the males’s relay,” tweeted Lewis, who’s now an assistant observe and subject coach on the College of Houston. “The passing system is flawed, athletes operating the flawed legs, and it was clear that there was no management. It was a complete embarrassment, and fully unacceptable for a USA workforce to look worse than the AAU youngsters I noticed.”
Bednarek echoed an analogous sentiment from throughout the U.S. camp.
“Simply very upset to see how we did there. I really feel like we are able to do quite a bit higher than that, we simply have to be extra organized and do one thing completely different,” Bednarek mentioned on ‘As we speak.’ “Get us extra concerned, inform us what’s what in follow — not a pair days earlier than the occasion, ? Let’s attempt to get that in coaching camp.
“We weren’t even within the loop. I used to be asking my coach a pair days earlier than we even acquired to the 200, ‘Hey, when are we working towards? When are we doing this, when are we doing that?’ The whole lot factor was simply (out) of the loop, no communication in any respect.”
[ad_2]
Source link
