“She’s been my No. 1 supporter since day one. She has been the biggest influence on my life.” For Kenny Bednarek, these words aren’t cliché—they’re rooted in survival. Born in Oklahoma, Kenny was placed in foster care after suffering abuse and neglect. He was just a toddler, moving in and out of homes, afraid and uncertain. Then came Mary. She adopted Kenny at age four, offering him something he had yet to know—safety, love, and stability. And now, as Kenny stands as a world-renowned figure, it’s his turn to open the history books.

“Before I was adopted, I was in a worse situation, so I was just happy that I had somebody like her to take care of me,” he says. But the past still lingers. “I remember like three things, but they’re not good memories,” he said last year. “One of them is being put in a freezer as punishment. I don’t know if it was my mom or dad… but I remember”: For Bednarek, it became fuel. From a fractured childhood to two Olympic medals, he turned pain into purpose. And as his past resurfaced, he was in all honesty about what impact it had on his track and field career!

On The Attorney Sekou Podcast, Kenny Bednarek didn’t hesitate when asked whether his adoption and difficult past shaped his athletic drive. “I think it does have an impact,” he said. “Just coming from adoption and going into junior college and becoming an Olympian—the road to that point was, you know, not… I guess it was unethical. Like, not most people that come through that journey end up an Olympian like me.”

Unethical, not in wrongdoing, but in the system-defying, odds-crushing kind of way. Bednarek’s journey wasn’t typical. He didn’t get recruited by top NCAA programs. Instead, he went to Indian Hills Community College in Iowa—a school with no track tradition. But that didn’t stop him. At just 20, he ran a wind-aided 19.49 in the 200m semis at the NJCAA Championships, followed by a legal 19.82 and 44.73 in the 400m—all on the same day.

“I just want to be the best to ever do it,” he told Sekou Clarke. “And yeah, I mean, it definitely does add a little more motivation.” His rise wasn’t without setbacks. A hamstring injury nearly derailed his 2019 Worlds debut. But weeks later, he recovered and was named to the U.S. team. In 2021, he won an Olympic silver medal in Tokyo. In 2022, the World’s Silver. And in 2024, another Olympic silver—this time in a personal best 19.62.

“Every time I step on the track, I just want to be better,” Bednarek said. “I just want to prove that no matter what background I came from—or whoever else comes from—that you can accomplish your goals. And that’s something I prove every single day.” But that wouldn’t have been possible without his mother!

Kenny Bednarek had his mother by his side

The crowd at the Prefontaine Classic roared last year, but in Kenny Bednarek’s ears, one voice cut through it all. “She was like, ‘Go, Kenny!’’ he said with a laugh to Olympics.com, then adds, “‘And in my head, I’m like, Mom… shhh!’”

But he wouldn’t have it any other way. Kenny’s mother, Mary Ann Bednarek, wasn’t just cheering him on at the tournaments, but she has been cheering, living every moment beside him—just as she had since the day she chose him. When Kenny and his twin brother, Ian were four, lost in the shuffle of foster care, it was Mary who stepped in. She didn’t just open her home; she opened her heart. She raised them through chaos, through ADHD, and through the quiet weight of early-life trauma. And finally, she raised them with love that didn’t flinch.

Now 26, Kenny carries that love with him like a second heartbeat. It pushes him through training, it carries him down the track, and it centers him when the world watches. “She’s inspired me to be a better person every single day,” he says. “I wouldn’t be here without her.” Nearly one year ago in Doha (11 May), Kenny ran 19.67 to set a meet record, but his thoughts went straight to Mary. “Happy birthday, Mom,” he wrote. It wasn’t just a win, it was a gift. This year, it happened again. May 11. Her birthday and Mother’s Day. He posted a photo of just the two of them, smiling.

“Your strength, love, and guidance are my greatest blessings,” he wrote. “Celebrating you twice today still doesn’t feel like enough.” She’s still the loudest voice in the crowd. Still the reason he runs with so much heart. And he’s still that boy, just a little faster now (xD), chasing his dreams with his mom cheering at the finish line.