"It wasn't enough for me to go down that route" - Kenny Bednarek recalls rejection from top schools over low GPA

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Aug 23, 2024 16:32 GMT

Kenny Bednarek, a two-time Olympic silver medalist, recalled the time when he was rejected from the top schools in the United States for having a low GPA. This conversation comes just after the 25-year-old won his second Olympic medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Following his successful Olympic campaign, Bednarek appeared on a recent episode of "The Running Effect Podcast," where he talked about facing rejections by top schools such as Oregon and Washington due to his poor academic performance.

"Initially, I mean, I had all the schools that wanted to recruit me, you know, Oregon, Washington, like all of them, you know, the track programs all wanted me for it. And just my first two years of high school, I just fooled around too much, only cared about sports, and wanted to hang out with my friends. So I didn't realy study or do my homework," Bednarek said (5:33).

"It was a kind of wake-up call when all those schools were like, well what's your GPA? and I'm like, oh shoot, like that stuff actually matters," he added.

"So, you know I did the best I could, did a lot of summer classes and you know, it just wasn't enough for me to go down that route. I was embarrassed just because there's that notion where you go to junior college because you're a failed athlete or you're not smart."

Kenny Bednarek attended Indian Hill Community College in Iowa for his higher education. He left the course in 2019 after signing a pro-deal with the athletic apparel giant NIKE.

Kenny Bednarek bagged a silver medal in the Men's 200m event at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Bednarek with the silver medal at the Olympics Games Paris 2024: Day 14 (Image via: Getty Images)

Following a silver medal in the Men's 200m event at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, Kenny Bednarek wrote a similar script during the 2024 quadrennial event in Paris. The 25-year-old clinched the silver medal with a run time of 19.62 seconds, the second Olympic medal of his career.

Going into the finals of the event, Bednarek was one of the favorites to win the event after his fantastic run in the semis of the event, where he comfortably defeated the Men's 200m defending champion, André De Grasse.

However, Botswana sprinter Letsile Tebogo took home the gold medal after clocking a personal best run time of 19.46 seconds. Kenny Bednarek had to settle for a consecutive Olympic silver medal. His American counterpart, Noah Lyles, took home the bronze medal with a run time of 19.70 seconds.

Bednarek also reached the Men's 100-finals in Paris but finished seventh in the race with a run time of 9.88 seconds.