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.
“It has been a good season, but at the same time a long season for me,” said Tebogo.
“I wanted to win the Diamond, but it has been a rollercoaster after the Olympics.
“It wasn’t easy to keep the focus. The cameras are more on me now, but I have to focus on myself. Now it’s time to go home and take some rest.”
Tebogo, in lane seven, was quickly up on American Fred Kerley outside him, having run a good curve.
But Bednarek, on the Botswanan’s inside, was swept along with him and took charge halfway down the home straight and never yielded to break the streak.
“I’m feeling great,” said Bednarek. “It’s been a really long season: I got the silver medal in Paris, I had a few wins during the season, also a few losses.
“But being able to end the season with a victory in the Diamond League final gives me a lot of confidence for next year.”
Bednarek added: “Execution-wise I did what I needed to do and I’m happy with the performance.
“This year I shocked a few people with how fast I was running. I knew that I had it in me, but the last couple of seasons I had some injuries here and there. This season people saw a glimpse of what I can do.
“Next year I will even be faster and more dangerous.”
