Few considered discus thrower Al Oerter a threat at the 1956 Olympics, even though the 19-year-old had said he hoped to compete in three Games before he retired. That prospect chilled his rivals after he captured the gold with an Olympic Record on his first throw. "I don't know how I did it," he said. "Everything just went right and this throw came out."

Oerter repeated in 1960, then shocked the world in Tokyo in 1964. He had dislocated a cervical vertebra and torn cartilage in his lower rib cage. He was ordered by doctors to stop training six days before the competition. In the qualifying round, he cast off his neck brace, ignored the pain that crippled his form, and hurled an Olympic Record 60.54. Then he came from behind in the final for an unmatched third gold, saying, "These are the Olympics. You die for them."

In 1968, at age 32, Oerter performed his best ever, winning the Mexico City gold with a 64.78. Rival Jay Silvester admitted, "When you throw against Oerter, you don't expect to win. You just hope." That seemed the end. With a full-time job and a young family, Oerter retired in 1969. Amazingly, his lifetime best of 69.46 came 11 years later in his "second" career. At the 1980 Trials, with the American boycott looming, Oerter finished fourth. In 1984, at age 45, he missed the Trials with an injured Achilles. Finished? In 1993 he threatened to try for Atlanta at age 60. "I miss going for something elusive," he said.