Track turned into a contact sport on Sunday when Kenny Bednarek shoved Noah Lyles after being beaten to the finish line in the 200m final at the US championships.

Lyles reeled in Bednarek in the homestretch to win in 19.63 seconds — and as he did so, he turned to Bednarek in the lane over and starting sledging him.

A few steps after they crossed, Bednarek reached out and gave Lyles a two-handed shove.

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Lyles turned around, backpedalled and reached his arms out, then kept jawing at Bednarek. Their argument continued into the start of the NBC interview.

“I tell ya, if you’ve got a problem, I expect a call,” Bednarek said.

Lyles replied: “You know what, you’re right. You’re right. Let’s talk after this.”

Asked what happened, Bednarek said: “I’m not going to say it out here, but we got something to do and talk about.”

He elaborated somewhat in a later interview, making multiple references to “personal stuff” between the pair.

“I’ve said for years Noah’s going to be Noah. You want to stare me down, that’s fine,” Bednarek said.

“I ran five rounds, he was fresh. We can line up again when we’re both fresh and we’ll see what happens because I’m very confident I can beat him. That’s all I can say It’s a little personal stuff and we’ll figure out.

“What he said doesn’t matter, it’s just what he did. That’s it. Unsportsmanlike s*** and I don’t deal with that. The respect factor, at the end of the day he’s fresh. Last time we lined up (fresh) I beat him so that’s all I can say. Next time we’re lining up I’m going to win, that’s all that matters to me.”

Pressed for what he said, Bednarek said: “The summary is don’t do that to me.”

“I don’t do any of that stuff, I think it’s not good character right there, that’s pretty much it. At the end of the day he won the race so I’ve got to give him his props, he was the better man today,” he added.

“I’m cool, it’s just some personal stuff that we’ve got to handle. He’s got my number, (if) he wants to call me, he had every chance to do it, but he want to come out here and do that — I think that stuff is funny. He can call me whenever, we can discuss it, then we should be good.”

Lyles let the matter rest, though seemingly not by choice.

“Coach’s orders — no comment,” he said with a laugh.

The next chapter figures to play out September 19 in Japan, where they’ll be among the favorites in the 200m final. Lyles is trying to match Usain Bolt with four straight world titles in his best race.

Lyles had a slow start to a season that has featured Bednarek opening as the dominant sprinter of 2025.

Bednarek won the 100m on Friday and also beat Lyles at the Olympics last year, finishing second in a race in which Lyles won bronze while suffering with COVID-19.

“It was a pretty difficult championship,” Lyles said.

“I’ve been tired. It’s been rough. Coming out here when you’re not 100 percent and being able to say ‘I still got to give my all no matter what happens’. That’s tough. That’s tough.”

- with 7NEWS