Emil Zatopek

Emil Zatopek sought out the head of the Czech Olympic delegation at Helsinki. It did not promise to be a cheery discussion and what a shame because Zatopek, as always, felt exceptionally cheery. Zatopek already had entered two races in the 1952 Olympic Games, the 10,000 and 5,000 meters, and he had won gold medals and set Olympic records in both. Still, he was out of favor with team officials for his attitude, which in their view was never quite deferential enough.

Around dusk on Thursday, Dec. 6, 1956, a Chinese-Australian youth of 17 walked through the streets of Melbourne to hand-deliver a letter he'd just penned. With the Melbourne Summer Olympics two days from completion, he reached Olympic Committee headquarters on Little Lonsdale Street and pushed his letter through the mail slot. On a late afternoon in May almost 30 years later, a researcher in a basement in the National Library of Australia in Canberra grew weary navigating the vast correspondence of W. Kent Hughes, the Melbourne Olympic chairman who had died in 1970.

Emil Zatopek, the great Czech runner who won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and the marathon within an eight-day period during the 1952 Summer Olympics, died Tuesday in Prague at 78, about a month after suffering a stroke. His triple-gold-medal performance at Helsinki, still unmatched in those grueling distance events, placed him on a pedestal at the time alongside other track and field icons such as Paavo Nurmi and Jesse Owens. After winning the 10,000 meters on July 20, he was asked why he was entering the 5,000 a mere four days later.

What he did was incredible. In all, Emil Zatopek won five Olympic medals. At the Helsinki Olympics in 1952, he won all three of track's longest events--the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and the marathon. What he endured is unthinkable. In 1968, Zatopek, a national hero, had the audacity to speak out when Soviet tanks crushed the blossoming Czech democracy movement. He was then made an exile in his own land.

What he did was incredible. In all, Emil Zatopek won five Olympic medals. At the Helsinki Olympics in 1952, he won all three of track's longest events--the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and the marathon. What he endured is unthinkable. In 1968, Zatopek, a national hero, had the audacity to speak out when Soviet tanks crushed the blossoming Czech democracy movement. He was then made an exile in his own land.

Around dusk on Thursday, Dec. 6, 1956, a Chinese-Australian youth of 17 walked through the streets of Melbourne to hand-deliver a letter he'd just penned. With the Melbourne Summer Olympics two days from completion, he reached Olympic Committee headquarters on Little Lonsdale Street and pushed his letter through the mail slot. On a late afternoon in May almost 30 years later, a researcher in a basement in the National Library of Australia in Canberra grew weary navigating the vast correspondence of W. Kent Hughes, the Melbourne Olympic chairman who had died in 1970.

MIRACLE ON ICE LAKE PLACID, 1980 United States beats the Soviet Union in semifinals and goes on to win gold medal in hockey. * MEN'S BASKETBALL MUNICH, 1972 Soviet Union beats U.S. in controversial ending, the first time the Americans didn't win gold medal. * MENS'S 10,000 TOKYO, 1964 Billy Mills weaved through traffic and outran world record holder Ron Clarke on last lap.

Alain Mimoun, 92, an Algerian-born French distance runner who won the 1956 Olympic marathon after losing three Olympic races to Czech great Emil Zatopek, died Thursday. France's athletics federation announced his death but did not provide other details. Mimoun won silver in the 10,000-meter race at the 1948 London Olympics and in the 5,000 and 10,000 at the 1952 Helsinki Games - narrowly missing the Olympic gold medal each time to Zatopek. Reporters called Mimoun "the little shadow. " For the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Australia, Mimoun switched to the marathon from shorter-distance races.

What: "The Sports 100: the 100 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century" Publisher: The Associated Press and Sports Publishing Inc. Price: $29.95 Ready for one more list of the century's greatest athletes? The Associated Press picked its top 100, but did not rank them. Choosing the diplomatic route, AP lists them in alphabetical order, beginning with Hank Aaron and ending with Emil Zatopek, the Czech distance runner.

Woody Paige of the Denver Post, on his experience of scaling the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the largest single-span structure in the world. "When I was in Sydney a year ago with the Broncos, my companion suggested we do the 'bridge climb.' I'd have rather danced with a demented dingo. "But jet-lagged and fortified by kangaroo filets--kangaroo does not taste like chicken--I did it today, which is yesterday in Denver. "Why? Because it is there. My wretched life is fulfilled now."

Emil Zatopek, the great Czech runner who won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and the marathon within an eight-day period during the 1952 Summer Olympics, died Tuesday in Prague at 78, about a month after suffering a stroke. His triple-gold-medal performance at Helsinki, still unmatched in those grueling distance events, placed him on a pedestal at the time alongside other track and field icons such as Paavo Nurmi and Jesse Owens.

Emil Zatopek sought out the head of the Czech Olympic delegation at Helsinki. It did not promise to be a cheery discussion and what a shame because Zatopek, as always, felt exceptionally cheery. Zatopek already had entered two races in the 1952 Olympic Games, the 10,000 and 5,000 meters, and he had won gold medals and set Olympic records in both. Still, he was out of favor with team officials for his attitude, which in their view was never quite deferential enough.