Olympiad: 1908 London Games

Mel Sheppard

Unable to get a job as a New York City policeman, Mel Sheppard focused on training for The Olympics and won four gold medals and one silver as a middle-distance runner.

Ray Ewry

Ray Ewry was orphaned and contracted polio as a youngster, but worked hard to develop into a world-class athlete and won eight gold medals over three Olympic Games.

Charles Daniels

Charles Daniels is generally credited with modernizing the forward crawl to the freestyle stroke; he won four Olympic gold medals at the St Louis 1904 Olympic Games and London 1908 Olympic Games.