Earlier this week I wrote about the Special Olympics - but we would not have that wonderful tradition if not for the other Olympics. As an American kid growing up overseas the coolest event was THE Olympics. In our mind is was the United States of America against the World – and the Americans were the most fun to watch – at least to me. In fact, as an Army-brat instead of playing Cowboys and Indians, we played the US against the Soviets and the USSR was our arch rival. The World was a crazy place, life was complicated but Team USA coming from behind to beat the Soviets in the Olympics was something only in the movies. And in 2004 the movie, MIRACLE with Kurt Russell – was the true story of Herb Brooks, the player-turned-coach leading the 1980 US Olympic hockey team to victory over the seemingly invincible Russian squad. Even though it was some of my earliest memories, THAT movie re-played my childhood on-screen and still reminds me what an amazing time is was to be a kid and an American.
Now on THIS day in history it was a different American victory. Most don't remember but July 30, 1976, American Bruce Jenner won the gold in the decathlon at the Montreal Olympics. His 8,617 points set a world record in the event. Although a lot of time has passed, the world has changed, people have changed - I still think it's important to be reminded that sometimes the true victory is in the journey. And those iconic images of Bruce Jenner winning the Gold for Team USA reminds me of an amazing time in history – of hard work and perseverance and perfect to highlight on Throwback Thursday.
What you might not know, is the secret to Jenner’s success was his preparation. In the 1970s, most decathletes trained with other decathletes. Bruce Jenner, however, trained with some of the world’s best athletes in each of the 10 decathlon events. “If you train with a decathlon man,” Jenner told Dave Anderson of The New York Times in 1976, “you can’t visualize that you can do much better. But if you throw the discus with Mac Wilkins or throw the shot with Al Feuerbach, then they’re 20 feet ahead of me. You learn much more that way.”
Although the blond, chiseled, 6-foot-2-inch Nikolai Avilov, the world record-holder and 1972 Olympic champion from the Soviet Union, was considered nearly impossible to beat, Jenner’s intense training paid off at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. After the first day of competition, Jenner was in third place, 35 points off the pace and 17 points behind his rival. With all of Jenner’s best events slated for the second day, though, Jenner knew he could pull off a victory. He later admitted thinking, “If I am within 150 points of the leader after five events, I’ll run away with it.”
On July 30, the next five events went exactly as Jenner hoped: He ran efficiently in the 110-meter hurdles, set a personal best in the pole vault, threw the discus and the javelin well and sprinted the last 300 meters of the 1,500-meter event to seal a win. Avilov finished third, almost 300 points behind the new champion.
After his win, Jenner enjoyed the unofficial title of “world’s greatest athlete” and appeared in movies, on television and, of course, adorned a Wheaties® box. He was voted the 1976 AP Male Athlete of the Year. but the 1976 Olympics was his last decathlon.
For more information click below:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bruce-jenner-wins-decathlon
Now on THIS day in history it was a different American victory. Most don't remember but July 30, 1976, American Bruce Jenner won the gold in the decathlon at the Montreal Olympics. His 8,617 points set a world record in the event. Although a lot of time has passed, the world has changed, people have changed - I still think it's important to be reminded that sometimes the true victory is in the journey. And those iconic images of Bruce Jenner winning the Gold for Team USA reminds me of an amazing time in history – of hard work and perseverance and perfect to highlight on Throwback Thursday.
What you might not know, is the secret to Jenner’s success was his preparation. In the 1970s, most decathletes trained with other decathletes. Bruce Jenner, however, trained with some of the world’s best athletes in each of the 10 decathlon events. “If you train with a decathlon man,” Jenner told Dave Anderson of The New York Times in 1976, “you can’t visualize that you can do much better. But if you throw the discus with Mac Wilkins or throw the shot with Al Feuerbach, then they’re 20 feet ahead of me. You learn much more that way.”
Although the blond, chiseled, 6-foot-2-inch Nikolai Avilov, the world record-holder and 1972 Olympic champion from the Soviet Union, was considered nearly impossible to beat, Jenner’s intense training paid off at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. After the first day of competition, Jenner was in third place, 35 points off the pace and 17 points behind his rival. With all of Jenner’s best events slated for the second day, though, Jenner knew he could pull off a victory. He later admitted thinking, “If I am within 150 points of the leader after five events, I’ll run away with it.” 
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