Athletes
Not all athletes have to win to show Olympic spirit, nor must they capture a medal to display heroism. Read Hero Redefined and you will learn about Summer and Winter Games athletes from around the world who proved themselves heroic by harnessing an iron will to finish, overcoming horrific physical and psychological setbacks, exhibiting selfless sportsmanship, combating racism, and more.
Manteo Mitchell
4 x 400 m relay (2012)
Gabriele Andersen-Schiess
Marathon (1984)
Manteo Mitchell was a relay-team sprinter in the 2012 Summer Olympics, while Gabriele Andersen-Schiess used her track skills for a much different event—the first-ever running of an Olympic women’s marathon at the 1984 Summer Games. Yet both of them were running brilliantly, until something went terribly wrong for each athlete. Read more in Hero Redefined about the enormous and painful challenges they confronted, and what they did when those moments of crisis arrived.
Brian Stemmle
Downhill (1998)
Brian Stemmle was convinced he would win a downhill skiing gold medal for Canada in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. He even had a lucky charm in his pocket to help him best his competition. But a little over a decade earlier, a foreboding mountain had challenged Brian more than any competitor ever could. Read more in Hero Redefined about the perilous battle Brian fought and the Olympic glory he sought to achieve.
Tracy Barnes
Biathlon (2014)
Tracy Barnes was “in the zone,” competing at her very best in the competition to make Team USA for the biathlon event in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Tracy did everything she needed and she had made the team. It was her time. But something ached inside of her. In her mind, something was just not right. Read more in Hero Redefined to find out what was eating at Tracy, and what she did to relieve the pain she felt.
Alexander Cushing
Squaw Valley 1960 Olympic Winter Games
Alexander Cushing had to have been out of his mind. The Winter Olympic Games had almost always been held in Europe, in countries within the shadow of the Alps. Powerful people scoffed at Cushing’s idea of bringing a Winter Olympic Games to Squaw Valley, and even Cushing himself had to acknowledge there were barely any facilities in place to do so. But the transplanted New Yorker had a plan. Read more in Hero Redefined about what it was, and what happened more than a half-century ago to transform the way we think about the Winter Games and the Olympics themselves.