Local dentist returns from his 6th summer Olympic games

AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Some dream of attending just one of the Olympic games in their lifetime. Local dentist Dr. Wayne McEntire has been to six Summer Olympic games and plans to attend many more.

“It was 1984, I got to see Carl Lewis win the 100. I got a picture of him waving the flag. Maybe, my picture didn’t but the same picture made the cover of Sports Illustrated my wife, Pat, and my daughter, Jennifer, we went to that summer Olympics,” said Dr. McEntire.

1984, was his first time attending the Olympic games but it was not the last. He would also see Usain Bolt run in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

“Seeing Usain Bolt win in 2008 when nobody really knew who Usain Bolt was yet. That was pretty interesting because he won and he slowed down at the end. Later on, he said he didn’t everybody I’ve talked to that was there says he slowed down at the end,” said Dr. McEntire. “He was so far ahead, but that was pretty good getting to see Usain Bolt.”

Dr. McEntire began going to the games with his daughter and wife, now he has been able to take each of his grandsons to a Summer Olympic game.

“So to me, it’s the sports, but it’s also traveling with family. And when they say it’s a trip of a lifetime, It’s a trip of a lifetime because you can go to Paris anytime you know, you can go to Rio, you can go to London, you can go to those places,” said Dr.McEntire. “But you can only go one time when they’re doing Olympics, and it’s just a different spirit.”

The next Summer Olympic Games will be a full-circle moment for Dr. McEntire. It will be back in Los Angles, the same city where he saw his first Olympic game.

“LA is fantastic. I mean, we’re already planning it, you know, it’s different. It would be nice if it was at some foreign country so we could all go. It’d be but it’s gonna be perfect. Who doesn’t like LA,” said Dr. McEntire. “It’s just gonna be great, great Olympics. It’s gonna be a great family experience. It’s going to be the trip of a lifetime.”

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