Ten Forgotten Olympic Triumphs (Part IV)

7. Showdown in Melbourne

For the first time in 1956, the Olympics were held in the southern hemisphere in Melbourne, Australia. Due to various political situations, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and China announced that they would not participate in the games. At the same time, Soviet tanks were rolling into Hungary to put down a revolt. Soon after the games began, the Australians were winning various swimming events. Over in water polo, a violent fight broke out between the Soviet Union and Hungary teams, and American Paul Anderson performed a little noticed victory.

23 year old Anderson had begun lifting weights to get in shape for football and had continued training after he finished school. He received international attention when he went to the Soviet Union and shocked an assembled crowd by lifting an incredible 402 pounds to defeat champion Alexey Medvedev, and became a national celebrity. Later that year, Anderson broke two world records at the World Championships in Munich, Germany, and easily won the competition.

However, in Melbourne he would be facing the world’s best weight lifters. As the games continued, he beat each of his opponents and through shear skill and grit made it to the finals against Argentine Humberto Selvetti. As the match started, the two went weight for weight. Finally, Selvetti lifted 315 pounds and Anderson responded by lifting 302 pounds. Because Anderson was lighter than Selvetti his lift counted for more points and he was announced the winner. Anderson’s victory marked one of the final times the U.S. won in weightlifting

8. “Look at Mills! Look at Mills!”

24 years after they were originally scheduled, the Olympic Games were finally held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1964, marking the first time that the events had taken place in Asia. The U.S. fielded great athletes like Joe Frazier, who went on to match Cassius Clay’s gold performance four years earlier. Runner Bob Hayes broke a world record by running 100 meters in just 10.6 seconds. In the pool, Don Schollander won four gold medals and set three world records.

However, few in the press followed the competition for the 10,000 meter race, and those who did pegged Australian Ron Clarke and Tunisian Mohammad Gammoudi as the clear favorites. Not even taken into consideration was American Billy Mills.

Born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and raised on a Sioux reservation, Mills had been orphaned by the time he was 12. Turning to running, Mills’ abilities had earned him a scholarship to the University of Kansas and he had helped his team win two national championships. After graduating, Mills did something surprising – rather than try out for the Olympics, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Mills had not forgotten about the sport. As the Olympic trials came around, he worked hard and qualified for the long marathon race by placing second. This was still little noted as he had run a full minute slower than Clark, who in addition to be the favorite, also held the world record.

Finally the day of the race arrived; sports analysts worked furiously trying to figure out who it would be: Clark or Gammoudi?  29 athletes from 17 countries lined up at the starting line and took off for the six mile run. At the start Clark took the lead, then lap after lap he and Gammoudi traded the lead. As the race continued and the miles piled up, the two runners pulled away from pack, leaving only three other runners including Mills close enough to catch them. In the final lap, as 75,000 fans looked on, the five runners came together with Mills ahead of Clark and Gammoudi. Boxed in momentary and on the final turn, Clark swung left past Mills. However, at the same moment Gammoudi shot through a narrow opening between both and raced for home. Running hard, Gammoudi held off Clark, who now made one last charge. Then out of nowhere, Mills came from the outside and began catching up. In the booth, announcer Bud Dick saw what was happening and screamed “Look at Mills! Look at Mills!” Passing Clark and a stunned Gammoudi, Mills suddenly pulled away. Hitting the finish line, Mills had done the impossible; he had beaten the world’s two best marathon runners, and become the first American in history to win the race. It turned out that Mills had run a full 50 seconds faster than his previous best time. No American has won the event since.