'In our era, that sh*t would’ve never flew' - Justin Gatlin reacts to Kenny Bednarek's push on Noah Lyles

American sprint legend Justin Gatlin weighed in on Kenny Bednarek's push on Noah Lyles after the 200m final at the 2025 USATF Championships.

Speaking on his Ready Set Go podcast show, the two-time world 100m champion dissected the situation, referencing how it would never have happened in his era and why Bednarek was in the wrong.

"A lot of people voted that Kenny should have won that race. The numbers showed that Kenny should have won that race. Kenny faltered when he crossed that line; frustration set in. Then on top of that, the embarrassment to get taunted by the individual that just beat you, stare you down...You're going to realise that in those situations, your emotions are going to flare up," said Gatlin.

In a thrilling men's 200m final clash at the 2025 USATF Championships, Lyles ran down Bednarek to snatch the win in a world-leading time of 19.63s to the latter's 19.67s.

Crossing the finish line, Lyles gave Bednarek a stare-down, which didn't sit well with Bednarek, and he gave him a hard push on his back that nearly saw him fall to the ground.

Both had a heated exchange of words afterwards, with the viral moment becoming a controversial topic globally, making major news headlines and solidly building an intense rivalry ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo next month.

Gatlin further added that Bednarek's was wrong for acting violently and allowed his emotions to take charge of him.

"His emotions set in and he tried to calm down because he knew that he was on television, that he was live...People react differently in situations and in my era, that shit would never have flew.

"You won't see Tyson pushing me, you won't see Blake pushing Bolt, this kind of stuff would not happen in our era. One, because that's not how we roll, and two, because someone would have put a lot of fire on the track regardless of the situation."

Lyles and Bednarek are set to rekindle their rivalry at the Silesia Diamond League on August 16, where they're scheduled to compete in the 100m event, facing stiff Jamaican competitor Kishane Thompson.