Track and Field

In 1990, I established name-painting on my classroom wall for those students who had accomplished big goals while attending high school! The first was Dylan Gale, who I mentioned in my original article about the wall years ago on Inspire21.com. I have since written down some other outstanding achievements by …

I’ve never talked about this before. Doing so now is a result of my sister Lorraine reminding of these events that happened over 50 years ago. While running high school track during my sophomore year in the spring of 1955, I pulled up with a pulled hip muscle.

From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day. Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.

A victory at the race in December 2010 would guarantee 16-year-old Holland Reynolds' California track team a state championship. But just feet from the finish line, Reynolds collapses. A race official, who runs immediately to her side, explains to her that if she wants to finish the race, she can perhaps crawl enough to get one foot over the line--but if she gets assistance from anyone, she would have to be disqualified. Stunning the crowd, Reynolds pulls herself up and crawls toward the finish. In a dramatic, inspiring end, Reynolds crosses the finish line on hands and knees and crosses fast enough to secure the state championship for her team. "I just wanted to cross the line," Reynolds explained to ABC News.

Jesse Owens breaks records, debunks Aryan superiority.
-- By BRUCE LOWITT

The 1936 Berlin Olympics were to be Adolf Hitler's stage to validate Aryan superiority, the Nazis' belief in a master race. In three races and one long jump, American Jesse Owens, as much as anyone, laid waste that philosophy.