'I learned my lesson': Sprinter Bednarek says to not underestimate 'Championship Andre'

American sprinter Kenny Bednarek was cruising in his 2021 rookie season as a pro, first beating Andre De Grasse over 200 metres in Diamond League meets in England and Qatar, and later at a Continental Tour event in Hungary.

The Tokyo Olympics were a month away and Bednarek had heard stories from De Grasse's Canadian relay teammate Aaron Brown of how "Championship Andre" would post lower-than-expected times early in a season, only to excel when he arrived at the Summer Games and world championships.

De Grasse ran the 100 in 10.17 seconds at the Ostrava Golden Spike in the Czech Republic, 10 weeks before Bednarek watched him clock a personal-best 9.89 in Tokyo for a bronze medal to become the first Canadian to win multiple Olympic medals in the distance.

"I was like, 'Where did this come from? This is a different dude,'" Bednarek recalled in a recent interview with CBC Sports.

In the Olympic 200 semifinals, Bednarek remembered having "a pretty good start and was chillin'" when De Grasse blew by him and won their heat by 10-100ths of a second in a Canadian record 19.73.

"This is where I underestimated him," Bednarek said of De Grasse. "[He] did something no one in Canada [had] done before and [I thought] maybe I got him. Maybe he's [tired]." De Grasse went faster the next day in the final, clocking 19.62 for the victory — the first time a Canadian had won an Olympic 200 since Percy Williams in 1928.

"I have mad respect for him. He's made me a better competitor," said Bednarek, who rebounded to beat De Grasse at the Diamond League Finals in 2021 and last year. "I need to be on my A game no matter what. The race ain't finished until you cross the finish line. No matter who's in the [field], I'm always ready."

Wise words for