As legend has it Paavo Nurmi, the great Finnish long distance runner, was once punished after a cross-country race during his army service. The officers found his time too fast to be reasonable and presumed he took a shortcut. In Paris he won five gold medals and a track and field all time record. His supremacy was so great he won the 1,500 and 5,000 meters within 45 minutes! Nurmi revolutionized long distance running by understanding that an even pace was the key to success, and he ran with his famous watch in his hand. Nurmi may well have won a sixth gold medal, but the Finnish delegation prevented him taking part in the 10,000 meters, claiming he had collected more than his share of gold, and that he ought to leave something for the rest of the team. Nurmi protested by running the 10,000 meters at the time as the Olympic final. His time was faster than the Olympic winner, his compatriot Ville Ritola.

Johnny Weissmuller, native of windy city Chicago developed his strong swimming style in the rough waters of chilly Lake Michigan. In 1922 he became the first swimmer to swim the 100 meters in less than a minute. In Paris he won three gold medals in swimming and added a bronze as a member of the American water polo team. Four years later in Amsterdam he won two gold medals. He never lost a freestyle race between 50 yards and 800 meters and he held the Olympic 100m freestyle record for 24 years. But many around the world admired Weissmuller for something other than swimming: his 12 Tarzan movies.

	Hero: The story of Eric Liddel, the Scottish sprinter, was brought to life many years later in the Academy Award winning film, Chariots of Fire, which portrayed both Liddel and Harold Abrahms, the 100m winner in Paris. However, Liddel's last minute refusal to run the 100m heat on a Sunday on religious principle, was over dramatized in the film. In contrast to the screenplay's version of events, Liddel did not find out the race was scheduled for Sunday upon his arrival in Paris, but knew about it six months earlier. He concentrated on the 400m race which he won. It is true however that Liddel settled in China doing missionary work after the Games, where he died in a concentration camp during World War II..