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
