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.
Bob Richards became the first man to win multiple Olympic gold medals in the pole vault. He was the first athlete pictured on the front of a Wheaties cereal box.
After serving in the U.S. Army in World War I, Charley Paddock participated in three Olympic Games, winning two gold medals and two silver. He died in a plane crash while serving in World War II.
After quitting his college football team, Parry O'Brien became the most dominant shotputter of his time, winning 116 consecutive meets, including two Olympic gold medals.
Having failed to qualify for the previous two Olympic Games, Dan O'Brien took full advantage of his opportunity by winning the gold medal in the decathlon at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.
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.
A superb athlete, Bob Mathias did not know what a decathlon was until his high school coach suggested trying it. A few months later, Mathias won the first of his two Olympic gold medals.
