Rice Lake's Kenny Bednarek wins silver medal in 200 meters at Tokyo Olympics
JR Radcliffe
Kenny Bednarek will be bringing back a pretty great souvenir from his first Olympics.
The Rice Lake track and field star took the silver medal Wednesday in the 200 meters at the Tokyo Olympics, running a personal-best time of 19.68 seconds and finishing just shy of Canada's Andre De Grasse (19.62) for the gold medal.
Bednarek, 22, who lit up Memorial Stadium in La Crosse during his performances at the WIAA track and field state meet, won his quarterfinal heat and took second behind De Grasse in Tuesday's semifinal. Now, he's an Olympic medalist.
He was lined up against two higher-profile Americans, including reigning world champion and U.S. Olympic Trials champion Noah Lyles (bronze in 19.74 seconds) and 17-year-old Erriyon Knighton (fourth place in 19.93 seconds), the youngest American man competing in track and field at the Olympics since Jim Ryun in 1964.
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Bednarek, who ran for Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, and turned pro in 2019, owns the WIAA Division 2 records in the 100 (10.42 seconds), 200 (20.43) and 400 (46.73), all set in 2018. The 200 and 400 times are the best in any division, with the 200 time just ahead of the 1998 race put in by Bradley Tech and future NFL running back Michael Bennett (20.68).
Bednarek's the second Wisconsinite to medal at the 2020 Olympics, joining Waterford's Madelynn Bernau, 23, who notched bronze in mixed trapshooting.
Lyles held the early lead in the 200, but Bednarek and De Grasse, running side-by-side in lanes 7 and 6, respectively, surged ahead from there.
JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.