Rice Lake, Wisconsin native Kenny Bednarek competed in the Olympic Track and Field trials in Eugene, Oregon this weekend. He came in at second place in the men's 200 meter dash which is good enough to get him to this summer's Tokyo Olympics.

Bednarek lead for a short time during the race, but was overtaken by Noah Lyles. Lyles was the world champion in 2019 in the 200 meter dash. Bednarek finished just a hair behind in second place with a time of 19.78 seconds.

According to the leader Telegram, this is "a dream come true," and he's wanted to be an Olympian ever since he was a kid. He says he's fulfilled his dream, and he has a lot of work left to do.

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Kenny Bednarek was born in Oklahoma in 1998. He and his twin brother were adopted and moved to Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Both he and his brother took up sports in Rice Lake. Kenny won seven individual state titles in track and field. He also played football for Rice Lake High School scoring three touchdowns in the wide receiver role in his senior year.

In 2019 Bednarek ran as a freshman for Indian Hills Community College in Iowa and achieved the 4th fastest time in 200 meters of all time, under any conditions at 19.49 seconds.

Rice Lake, Wisconsin is located in Barron County. It's a small Midwest town with a population of less than 10,000 people. Fellow Rice Lake native Chris Kroeze who was a finalist on The Voice congratulated his hometown native on his accomplishment.

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