Inside Kenny Bednarek's traumatic childhood: Abused by his parents, locked in a freezer and given up for adoption... before becoming a US Olympic hero

While the satellite watched successful daze arsenic US sprint sensation Noah Lyles was taken disconnected the way successful a wheelchair at past year's Paris Olympics, different American prima was sharing a peculiar infinitesimal with his mother.

Kenny Bednarek had conscionable finished up of the favourite Lyles successful the 200m last to assertion his 2nd successive metallic medal, losing lone to Botswana's Letsile Tebogo. 

And the archetypal idiosyncratic Bednarek sought successful the assemblage connected that melodramatic August nighttime was his arrogant ma Mary, who was successful tears arsenic she hugged her adopted son.

‘She's been my No. 1 protagonist since time one. She has been the biggest power connected my life,' the 26-year-old, known arsenic 'Kung Fu Kenny' for his signature headband, tells the Daily Mail.

‘If it wasn't for her, for adopting my member and I and giving maine the accidental to prosecute way and field, I person nary hint wherever I would be.

‘Before I was adopted, I was successful a worse situation, truthful I was conscionable blessed that I had idiosyncratic similar her to instrumentality attraction of me, emotion maine and nurture me.’

Born successful Oklahoma, Bednarek and his duplicate member Ian were abandoned by their biologic parents and bounced betwixt foster homes earlier being adopted by Mary astatine the property of 4 and moving to Wisconsin.

That portion of Bednarek’s backstory has been good covered, and features successful the 2nd play of the Netflix bid Sprint.

What has not been shared until now, however, are the harrowing memories Bednarek has of his traumatic aboriginal life. 

‘I retrieve similar 3 things, but they're not bully memories,’ helium recalls. ‘One of the memories I person is of doing thing naughty arsenic a kid and arsenic a punishment they enactment maine successful the freezer.

‘I don't cognize if it was my ma oregon dada oregon who was there. But it was benignant of, “You're going to beryllium enactment successful the freezer for a small spot arsenic a punishment”.

‘Another time, I retrieve waking up successful the mediate of nighttime and having a bloody nose. That wasn't thing crazy, but not a bully memory. And past we were playing shot astatine 1 constituent wrong the location with 1 of my brothers, and helium ended up getting successful an mishap and had to spell to the hospital.

‘That’s beauteous overmuch it. Nothing truly good. That's wherefore I'm like, “OK, if I was inactive with my biologic parents, I don't cognize wherever I'd be,” due to the fact that the memories I person close now, they're not good.’

Despite specified horrific memories, Bednarek is inactive funny to find retired much astir his biologic parents. He said connected Sprint past twelvemonth that helium would effort to way down his commencement household – which includes different 2 brothers and sister – if helium won golden astatine the Olympics. While helium was not victorious astatine Paris 2024, Bednarek remains keen to larn astir his heritage.

‘I decidedly person that curiosity of conscionable seeing what they look like,’ helium says. ‘When my member and I were adopted, determination was benignant of thing near for america to person a clue. I don't adjacent cognize my parents' names.

‘I don't deliberation I privation to bash it due to the fact that I privation to found a relationship. I conscionable privation to cognize due to the fact that it's similar a missing portion of a puzzle.

‘Am I going to beryllium bald erstwhile I’m 50? Do I person immoderate wellness things that I request interest about? It’s conscionable thing that I request to bash successful the future.’

Bednarek’s travel is an inspirational communicative of overcoming adversity done sport, and helium hopes it tin motivate different children who person had a pugnacious commencement successful life.

‘That’s thing I decidedly privation to do, beryllium the blueprint for the younger generation, and amusement them that nary substance what inheritance you travel from, you tin attain anything,’ helium says.

‘Coming from foster attraction and adoption has fixed maine the quality to persevere done anything. It gave maine that other thrust and information to beryllium the champion I could be.

‘It's made maine a hard worker. I person had that grit my full life. No substance what concern I benignant of get into, I ever extremity up getting my mode retired of determination and execute my goals.’

Bednarek’s adjacent extremity is to triumph the inaugural variation of Grand Slam Track, the caller big-money way bid launched by legendary Olympian Michael Johnson.

The US prima has signed up to vie successful each 4 meets of the caller league, which starts successful Jamaica today. Athletes volition past instrumentality portion astatine 3 much meets successful Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles implicit the adjacent 2 months.

Bednarek volition contention successful the abbreviated sprints class – the 100m and 200m – with a grounds $100,000 prize connected the enactment astatine each event. 

‘For immoderate athletes, it's going to beryllium life-changing money,’ Bednarek says. ‘The information that the purse is simply a batch bigger, I emotion that, due to the fact that we are each top-of-the crop, elite athletes. And I deliberation it is astir clip that we get paid for each the hard enactment we do. It’s bully for the sport.

‘We don't privation way and tract to conscionable beryllium each 4 years erstwhile everybody tunes in. MJ is doing a bully occupation promoting the athletics and giving america the accidental to effort to marque the athletics bigger retired here. 

‘It's evidently not going to alteration everything overnight, but a batch of radical person talked astir changing the athletics for galore years, and he's yet taking the inaugural of trying to bash that.

‘This is conscionable a stepping stone. Hopefully it volition alteration the trajectory of wherever the athletics is headed.’

Bednarek volition conflict it retired with his chap ‘racers’ – the US's Fred Kerley, Britain’s Zharnel Hughes and Jamaica's Oblique Seville – astatine each 4 Slams. Another 4 ‘challengers’ volition marque up the tract astatine each event.

Is helium confident?  'Very,' helium replies. ‘My artifact starts are mode amended than they’ve ever been. I person conscionable got to beryllium myself, person fun, and if I execute my contention the mode I request to, past I'm going to win.’

Of peculiar intrigue is Bednarek’s head-to-head with Kerley, the Olympic 100m bronze medalist and erstwhile satellite champion, who made headlines successful January when helium was Tasered and arrested by police following a confrontation successful Miami.

In February, Miami-Dade State attorneys said they program to prosecute Kerley connected charges of battery connected a instrumentality enforcement serviceman and resisting arrest. He pleaded not guilty.

‘Fred is Fred,’ says Bednarek of his US relay teammate. ‘He's a large trash talker, truthful I’ve got to respond successful kind. But erstwhile we measurement connected that line, whether it's Fred oregon idiosyncratic else, I'm conscionable going to vie and effort to whoop their ass.’

One American whom Bednarek volition not beryllium facing is Lyles. The Olympic 100m champion initially refused to articulation Johnson’s caller league due to the fact that determination was nary large broadcast partner. However, deals person since been signed with NBC and The CW successful the US, and TNT Sports successful the UK.

‘He was saying that successful the beginning, but each those things are present now,’ Bednarek says. ‘So it's benignant of like, “Why are you not here?” I conscionable don't deliberation helium wants to vie against us. He’s scared!

‘Obviously he's a phenomenal jock and helium does his happening each azygous year. But he's not 1 to truly privation to contention everybody back-to-back, which is what Grand Slam is going to do.

‘If you privation to marque your money, you privation to triumph each those races, you person to bushed america 4 times successful a row. Early successful the season, he's not 1 to truly effort to vie against me, Fred and each of us, truthful galore times.’

Bednarek volition person to hold until aboriginal successful the summertime earlier helium takes connected Lyles again - with the 2 expected to spell caput to caput astatine the World Championships successful Tokyo successful September. 

And Bednarek has precocious hopes for the competition, which is the climax of the way season. He is hoping to emulate what Lyles achieved astatine the past championships successful Budapest successful 2023 by taking the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay titles.

‘I americium trying to get 3 golden medals,’ helium adds. ‘I americium rather susceptible of getting that done. That is the goal.'

'My commencement has been the champion it’s ever been truthful the entity is the bounds for me. I’m truly excited. I can’t hold to commencement running.’