Olympian English Gardner Visits Kindergarten Class

Jenny Ragghianti’s Kindergarten class recently met and interviewed USA Olympic Track and Field sprinter English Gardner virtually. After a brief overview of her childhood in South Jersey and her introduction to running, a number of students asked English questions. Some included:

• How did you become so good at running?
• How did you make it to the Olympics?
• What was it like at the Olympics?
• How many medals have you won? 

English explained the hard work that is involved in competing with over 100 people for three Olympic positions. She spoke to the importance of eating well, getting enough sleep, and training each day for three to four years leading up to each Olympic games. When speaking about her first experience at the Rio Summer Olympics in 2016, English said, “I was really nervous and had butterflies in my stomach the entire time, but I was really excited to be able to compete, to race the world, and to represent each of you and our country.” To finish the interview, English showed the students her two Olympic medals – a gold from Rio and silver from Tokyo in 2021. She provided details about the medal designs and explained the beginning of her training process as she seeks to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.