CHORZOW, Poland (AP) — Maybe only a track and field superstar like Mondo Duplantis could get away with such a mischievous question to Olympic 100-meter champion Noah Lyles.
The pole vault world record holder wanted to know more Friday about the shove Lyles got from Kenny Bednarek after winning the 200 at United States national championships two weeks ago.
“Can I ask a question?” Duplantis said at the end of a multi-athlete news conference in Poland — alongside Lyles but not Bednarek — on the eve of the sprinters renewing their rivalry in the 100 on the Diamond League circuit.
“I want to ask Noah about, like, that stare down and that push,” Duplantis said, smiling and looking right along the line to Lyles, “because that (expletive) was kinda crazy game.”
Lyles repeated the answer he gave Aug. 4 in Eugene, Oregon, after the post-race beef with long-time teammate Bednarek seemed to fuel a must-see track rivalry ahead of the world championships next month in Tokyo.
“As coach said: ‘No comment,’” Lyles replied, to laughter in the room.
Duplantis came back for more: “Fair enough, fair enough. I enjoyed it, though, I enjoyed it.”
Lyles was invited to ask his own question of Duplantis. He suggested not setting another world record Saturday so that he might win the ring awarded by meet organizers for the best performance.
“No comment, no comment,” the U.S.-born Swedish star quipped back, to more laughter.
Duplantis set his 13th world record Tuesday in Hungary, raising the bar to 6.29 meters. One year ago he cleared 6.26 in Poland to add a single centimeter to the record-setting mark that won Olympic gold in Paris last August.
On the track, the men’s 100 shapes as the main event Saturday, though Bednarek has since said he made up with Lyles in a long conversation.
It will be the first 100 between Lyles and Kishane Thompson since Paris, when the American took gold by five-thousands from the Jamaica as both were timed at 9.79 seconds.
Thompson starts Saturday as the fastest man in the world this year — 9.75 set in Kingston in June.
Bednarek is second on the season list at 9.79, clocked winning the U.S. national title that was skipped by Lyles, who has an automatic entry for Tokyo as the defending champion from 2023.
“You basically have the Olympic final maybe missing two people, adding in some just as fast people,” said Lyles, whose season best so far is 10 flat in London last month. “It’s going to be good, regardless.”
“Of course,” he said, “having Kishane there makes it even better.”
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