Former Coaches, Teachers In Tahlequah Cheer On Kenny Bednarek In Olympics

As one of the best Olympic sprinters in the world competed in Paris, a group of his former coaches and teachers in Tahlequah cheered him on.

They had a watch party to see Kenny Bednarek run the 200-meter dash on Thursday.

The anticipation was high in a room full of people waiting for a race that would only last 20 seconds.

"We're ready today to watch him USA," said Debbie Anderson.

Anderson is a retired P.E. teacher and track coach, and she was there to watch a former student compete on the biggest stage in the world.

"I told him one day, I was like, I'm going to watch you in the Olympics one day," she said. "I planted a little seed, I hope."

Anderson was looking through old yearbooks for pictures of Olympic sprinter Kenny Bednarek. She says he was shy and timid back then, but they convinced him to give running a try.

"He was a little bit taller than all the boys, but boy, was he fast," Anderson said.

"He ran all the way down, all the way to those houses down there," said Greenwood Elementary teacher Ronda Reed.

Reed remembers watching Kenny run around the playground. He left Tahlequah after middle school, but she's proud that he walked the halls there as a kid.

"When it came to running, he was fully focused, whether it was on the playground or whether it was in P.E.," she said.

That was over 15 years ago. Now, the once shy student is running the 200-meter dash with a room full of fans cheering him on.

He didn't take home the gold, but a silver medal makes Debbie Anderson proud.

"I'm sure it's his dream come true, but it's kind of my dream come true that I get to see a child that I actually taught to be up there running," she said.

Now, the principal here says when school starts next week, she'll make sure every student there knows about the Olympic athlete who once walked the hall.