Episode 597: Kenny Bednarek – Two-Time Olympic Silver Medalist, World Championship Silver Medalist, 10-Time Diamond League Champion

I'll Have Another with Lindsey Hein Podcast

I’m beyond excited to bring a track athlete to the podcast today—two-time Olympic silver medalist and world championship silver medalist, Kenny Bednarek! He won silver in the 200 meters at the Tokyo Olympics, the Paris Olympics, and the 2022 World Championships. Not to mention, he’s also a 10-time Diamond League champion and runs for Nike.

If you’ve seen the Sprint documentary, you’ll recognize Kenny, as he was highlighted in season two, which was really cool to watch. Aside from his incredible accomplishments on the track, Kenny is also an advocate for adoption. He is from Wisconsin. We talked about his journey, which includes running at the community college level for Indian Hills Community College and then turning pro after a year.

One of the coolest parts of this episode was when I found out how excited my kids were about this interview—they were definitely more excited about talking to a sprinter than any long-distance runner I’ve had on. So, I made sure to sneak in a few questions from them, which was a fun twist!

We also dove into a bit of football talk because Kenny actually used to play the sport. Fun fact: his high school team won both the state championships in track and field and football during his senior year.

Kenny is also gearing up for the Grand Slam series as a racer—this is the new competition series that Michael Johnson’s team is putting on, and it’s going to be really exciting! The first event, the Kingston Slam, takes place from April 4th to 6th. After that, there will be one competition each month through June, including the Miami Slam, the Philadelphia Slam, and the LA Slam. Kenny is one of 96 athletes competing in this series, and I can’t wait to see how this brings even more exposure and excitement to the sport of track and field!

What we talked about:

7:30- Kenny’s training group

14:00- Reflections on some of his Olympic and World Champs teams

16:25- Kenny’s girlfriend and how they met

21:45- Grand Slam Track and growing the sport

27:00- His adoption story

34:50- Kenny’s time playing football

41:35- What his trajectory in the sport looks like to him

45:45- Technique in the sprints

52:00- Picking himself up after dissapointing results

55:40- Questions form the Hein boys

1:00:00- Competing for a junior college and then going pro

1:03:15- End of podcast questions

Show notes:

Zen in the Art of Archery

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