A Native American from tiny Pine Ridge, South Dakota, Billy Mills surged down the stretch to win the 10,000-meter run at the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games, one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history.
It wasn’t a stretch to say there was time when Jack and Marcia Mathias’ lives revolved completely around sailing.
“We planned our wedding date around sailing so it wouldn’t interfere,” Jack said.
At least that was the plan.
“Then we won the 1975 national championships and I found out that would take us to Mexico City for the whole month of October 1975 — and we were getting married November 1,” he added
Marcia, though, was not upset. She was well aware how important the competition was to Jack and that she held a role on the team as Jack qualified for the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games.
“My parents — who were pretty conservative – Mom and Dad said, ‘Who is this guy? What is he doing? Why is he sailing so much?’ ” Marcia said. “You really knew what you want to do with the racing and the sailing.”
U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum offers parking in the adjacent Park Union District lot for $7.50 per-day. Metered parking is also available on Sierra Madre and Vermijo.
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