2023 Prefontaine Classic: The 200m race was about to begin and all the sprinters were taking positions on the starting block. So, a pin-drop silence was reigning over the Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon. However, one voice never muted herself. “Go, Kenny,” screamed the ecstatic voice throughout.

“And in my head, I’m like, ‘Mom, shhh!” back-to-back Olympic silver medalist (2020 and 2024) Kenny Bednarek could not stop laughing as he recalled the incident. That’s Kenny’s mother, Mary Ann Bednarek, without whom Kenny could have been lost amid numerous shifts from one foster care to another.

The rock that gave Kenny a new life after the horror of being abandoned

Mary Bednarek adopted Kenny and his twin brother Ian from foster care when at the age of 4. The sprinter, known as “Kung Fu Kenny” because of the headbands, was born on October 14, 1998, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Apparently, he was abandoned by his biological parents, after which he landed in foster care. Mary still remembers the day she learned about adopting Kenny and his brother.

Mary had always wanted to be a mother. But in a turn of fate, never had that opportunity. So she considered adoption. In a YouTube video on Kenny’s channel Mary recalled, “I got a phone call on a Monday, ‘do you want to be considered for a set of twins?” I said sure.” That is where Kenny’s life began to change.

Mary ensured that Kenny found comfort after those disturbed initial years of his life. So, to keep him surrounded with love and care, Mary relocated from Tulsa to Rice Lake, Wisconsin, closer to her own family. That is where Kenny was raised. So how were his days growing up? In a conversation with Nick Diller in May, Kenny gave a sneak peek at that.

As Kenny put it, Mary “raised him tight.” As a mother, she has been strict and she brought him up in an “old-fashioned” way, according to Kenny. Need a proof? Kenny would not get to watch the television if he did not do his homework. He would be often stopped from going to a party! Kenny revealed that he did not have a phone till his freshman year. And that phone was also a pretty basic one. He got a touchscreen phone only when he got into his senior year! The ordeal does not end here.

Mary did not even let Kenny get his driving license until he was a senior, because her mother thought he was not “old enough!” But Kenny has no grudge for such a modest upbringing. Because that is what propelled him to where he is, according to Kenny. “Honestly, I’d rather have it that way because it helped me be the person I am today,” he had said. But despite all the love, Kenny’s childhood scar used to come back occasionally. In his YouTube video, he can recall one such instance.

Kenny was asked if he could remember any incident that made him believe that he could depend on Mary as his mother. Kenny recalled a day at daycare or kindergarten, which he could correctly point out. But the incident was fresh in his mind. Mary had dropped him at one point in the school. Kenny was instantly frightened, thinking if she would ever come to take him back. But when Mary came back, that meant a lot for little Kenny, who had the horror of being abandoned.

” I ended up telling my sister like hey Mama came back. So it was like for me, that was like a confirmation like okay like this person is serious and you know she didn’t just drop me off and just disappeared. Because that’s what happened with me and my brother,” Kenny had said. From then on, Kenny did not have an ounce of doubt about Mary being his biggest champion, and he braced the truth dearly.

“One thing I would tell young Kenny was, ‘Yeah, you were adopted … but found a mother that loves you and nurtures you,” Kenny was quoted as saying by Daily Citizen. Mary never failed Kenny on that count. Whether Kenny stands atop the podium or not, Mary has her heart for her “Secretariat”, the nickname she gave Kenny when he was young.

So what if it is silver? Kenny Bednarek is a gold to his mother

While growing up, Kenny used to play football. After entering high school, he discovered his passion for tracks. He liked the individualism of the sport. “That’s the thing I love about track and field. Everything you put into it, you’re going to get it back,” Kenny had explained. As Kenny made up his mind, Mary’s support was instantly there.

“When you would see him on the track you could see that was where he was happiest. I remember watching Secretariat win by 32 lengths himself and that was Kenny!” Mary did not hide her excitement of watching Kenny run. And her emotion goes beyond the outcome. LAst year, Kenny had said to Kenya’s Capital FM, “For sure I am tired of being Mr Silver… getting second place all the time,” Incidentally, the silver streak continued in Paris also! But Mary can not stop gushing.

“I feel so overwhelmed! I’m going to start crying. He’s one in a million and I’m so lucky he’s my son,” Mary said, after Kenny’s triumph. That unconditional support is what made Mary a rock for Kenny, overcoming the initial hitches of getting along with her.

“I had a lot of issues when I was young just because when I was being shipped from one foster home to another foster home, and as a kid, you don’t know what’s going on, Our relationship took some time to get some stability in it, but eventually we worked through it,” Kenny had said to the People magazine. And once he has done it, he has all praise for the perseverance Mary had to raise her adopted children. We wish Kenny to continue to make her mom proud with more stellar performances in the coming days.