Bednarek hands Tebogo first 200m defeat since Olympics

Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo saw his iron grip on the event slip in defeat by Kenny Bednarek at the Diamond League finals in Brussels on Saturday.

Tebogo was looking to notch up his fifth consecutive win on track and field’s elite circuit, but it was not to be as he was beaten to the line by the American.

Bednarek won a second Olympic silver medal behind Tebogo in this summer’s Paris Games and will now head home with a $30,000 winner’s cheque.

Bednarek clocked 19.67 seconds for the win, with Tebogo in second in 19.80. Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic rounded out the podium, the only other sprinter to go sub-20 with his 19.97sec time.

Tebogo, in lane seven, was quickly up on American Fred Kerley outside him, having run a good curve.

But Bednarek, on the Botswana’s inside, was swept along with him and took charge halfway down the home straight and never yielded to break the streak.