Principal is worthy wrestling opponent
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HYRUM, Utah — Olympic star Rulon Gardner came to this northern Utah town June 2 to wrestle his former coach, Kevan Kennington, who is now principal of Lincoln Elementary School in Hyrum.
Brother Gardner, a Church member whose home is in Star Valley, Wyo., became an international celebrity when he wrestled and defeated Alexander Karelin for the gold medal at the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
"As a school principal, Brother Kennington was concerned about the amount of time his students were spending watching television and playing computer games and the relatively little time families spend together," said Leah Poole Wright, Hyrum Utah Stake public affairs director. "He issued a challenge to his students: If they would read 1 million minutes with their families by May 2001, he would wrestle Rulon Gardner."
As stake public affairs director, Sister Wright was on a committee that organized a town literacy fair with the main event being the wrestling match between Brother Gardner and Brother Kennington.
Some 3,000 residents attended the fair, Sister Wright said. Brother Gardner arrived three hours before the main event to autograph hats, hands, T-shirts and pictures.
When asked why, with is busy schedule, he was willing to come to Hyrum, he said he struggled in school with reading and had a learning disability to overcome. "With hard work, never giving up and believing in myself, I was able to overcome my disability," he added.
