The Olympiad-some historic Americans

[soberdennis]

Cassius Clay was born in Louisville in 1942. After his bicycle was stolen at age 12, he vowed to "whoop" the theif. A policeman who also coached boxing suggested he take up the Sweet Science first.
As an amateur, his record was 100-5, including 2 national Gold Gloves and a National AAU title. At the tender age of 18, he went to Rome as a Light Heavyweight, where he became the youngest Olympic boxing champion ever at the time and proclaimed that he was the "greatest", an appelation many today would not argue.
Shortly after the Olympics, he turned pro as a Heavyweight. He won his first 19 fights, 15 by KO, setting up a chance to fight World Cham Sonny Liston for the crown. He TKO'd Liston in 7 rounds and won the rematch in the first round. At 22, he became the youngest World champion.
Afterwards he converted to Islam and changed his name. He came out early against the Vietnam War and refused to enter the draft. Convicted of draft evasion, he was stripped of his title and suspended for 2 years.
Upon his return to the ring, he lost his first fight in a 15 round classic at Madison Square Garden to Joe Frazier, another Olympic champion. Eventually he regained his title and held it 3 different times. He finally retired for good after losing toTrevor Berbick in 1981. He only lost 5 fights in his entire career.
His many fights finally caught up to him in 1984, when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.
When the games came to Atlanta in 1996, there was much speculation as to who would light the flame. The last torchbearer in the Stadium was track star Edwin Moses, who ran the final lap of the track and headed up the stairs to the flameholder. As the gate opened, the answer appeared. Despite the fact his Disease had taken its toll and he looked much older than his 54 years, Clay was the choice. I always felt that the organizers could not have made a better choice than one of the greatest ambassadors Sports has ever had, despite the fact I hated to see him in that condition.
Six American Olympic boxing champions have gone on to be World Heavyweight Champion. These include Floyd Patterson, Frazier, George Foreman, and Leon and Michael Spinks.
But it is the sixth that stands out above the rest. In a paraphrase of a famous quote of his-
He floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee.
He was the greatest-Mohammed Ali.

[soberdennis]

Before 1984, the US had only won one medal in Woman's gymnastics, the team bronze in London in 1948. One man played a big role in making us the force in the sport we are today. But first he gained fame in another country.
Bela Kirolyi was born in Hungary. He moved to Romania and started training female gymnasts. One of his earliest pupils was a 6 year old who would electrify the world 8 years later in Montreal.
By the 1976 Olympics, Kirolyi had become the Romanian national coach. Many of his athletes had trained under him. The team won the Silver medal to the long dominant Soviets. But it was 14 year old Nadia Comenici who stole the show. She became the first gymnast to ever record a perfect score of 10 and eventually would record 7 of them in Montreal. She went home with 3 golds, the team silver, and a bronze.
Comenici eventually defected to the US, as did her coach. After a disagreement with the Romanian government, Kirolyi defected in 1981 and started training American gymnasts. He was named national coach for the 1984 games.
The Los Angeles Olympics were affected by the Soviet boycott, especially in gymnastics. But Kirolyi's old country was there, as was a strong team from China. Romania beat the US for the team gold, but we did earn our second medal in the sport.
In the Individual All Around, it was one of Kirolyi's new pupils that shone. Mary Lou Retton trailed Katirina Szabo of Romania by .15 after two events. But she scored perfect scores in the floor exercise and vault to leap ahead of Szabo by .05 and win America's first Gold in Woman's gymnastics.
Then there was the magnificent seven. By the Atlanta games, the US had become a world power in the sport. Kirolyi was no longer the national coach. But he had trained a number of the members, including a little girl named Kerri Strug.
Going into the final rotation of the team event, the US led Russia. It was going to be one of these two countries that won the gold. Russia was on the floor while we were on the vault. Russia closed the gap and it came down to the final competitor for both to determine the winner. Strug was the last American to vault. On her first vault, she fell and injured her ankle. It looked like she would be unable to attempt her second vault. But she did, stuck the landing perfectly, and earned a score high enough to clinch the gold.
An ever endearing picture from the Atlanta games occured the next day during the medal ceremony. While her 6 teammates waited on the top step, Strug was carried into the arena by Kirolyi to join her mates and receive her well earned gold medal.

[soberdennis]

While the US has long dominated the sprints in Olympic track and field, they have not fared so well in the distance races. These have pretty much been the domain of the Northern Europeans and Africans. But that changed for one fortnight in October 1964 in Tokyo.
Bob Schul went to Tokyo as one of the favorites in the 5000m, having the best time in the world that year and the world record in 2 miles. He trailed France's Michel Jazy with less than a lap to go. But he ran the last 300m in 37 sec to pass Jazy for the gold. He is still the only American to win the 5000 in the Olympics.
Schul's win was expected. But what happened in the 10000 was not.
Billy Mills was 7/16 Lakota Sioux. He took up running at the Haskell Indian Institute to help with his boxing. Eventually, he gave up boxing and stuck with running.
He attended Kansas University, the same school as former world record miler Glenn Cunningham. He was on two National champion Cross Country teams. After Kansas, he joined the Marines.
In Tokyo, the heavy favorite in the 10000 was Ron Clarke of Australia, whose world record was almost a minute faster than any of his competitors' best times. Also in the race were Mahammed Gammoudi and Malmo Waldi, who would win gold in Mexico 4 years later, along with Murray Halberg, who had won the 5000 in Rome 4 years earlier.
Clarke had the early lead and only 4 other runners were able to stay on the same lap as him, including Mills. With 2 laps to go, only Clarke, Mills, and Gammoudi had a chance to win. Boxed in between slower runners, Clarke pushed Mills twice in an attempt to find room. Mills fell and appeared out of it. But Mills recovered and sprinted past both his better known competitors and broke the tape in a time 50 seconds faster than he had ever run before. His victory is considered one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history.
With the win, Billy Mills joined Jim Thorpe as the only native Americans to win Olympic gold. He also remains the only American to win the 10000.
Billy Mills' story was dramatized in the movie Running Brave.
The distance races may be the domain of other countries. But in 1964, they were painted Red, White, and Blue.

[soberdennis]

Amateur wrestling is quite different from the pro "sport"(sic). It has been part of the Olympics since the beginning. The greatest American squad was arguably the team sent to Munich in 1972, which won 5 golds. It also included arguably the best American wrestler ever, one who gained greater fame after he retired from competitive wrestling.
Dan Gable was born in Waterloo, Iowa. In High school he never lost a varsity wrestling match. He went on to Iowa State University, where he lost only one match in his entire college career.
Gable went to Munich a heavy favorite in the Lightweight division. He so dominated the competition that he did not surrender a single point on his way to the Gold Medal.
But Gable was to earn greater fame as a coach. Ironically, it was not at his Alma Mater but at their crossstate rivals at Iowa. From 1978 to 1997, his Hawkeyes won 15 NCAA titles and 21 Big 10 titles. Today he serves as assistant AD at the school.
In 1999 SI chose Gable as the greatest sports figure in Iowa history. This for a state that produced such athletes as Bob Feller and Alex Karras.

[Mex86]

Here is one of my favorite US Olympic moments ever - Dave Wottle's last-to-first miracle finish to win the 800m final in 1972. I get goosebumps every time I hear Jim McKay's call.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LHid...8DEE51859F598A

[soberdennis]

I remember Wottle's victory well.