Olympic decathlete Dan O'Brien wowed a crowd of kids and admirers of all ages during an inspirational talk he delivered off the cuff July 29 at the Clinton Presidential Center. Grins widened and eyebrows rose when he brandished the heavy gold medal he won in Atlanta in 1996.
O'Brien's road to success included some personal setbacks in college and a failed attempt to qualify for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
He said he decided in junior high school that he would one day go to the Olympics after watching the "ragtag, underdog" U.S. hockey team win gold against Russia. Reared by adoptive parents in Klamath Falls, Ore., O'Brien said he jumped up and down on his parents' couch and shouted, "I'm going to the Olympics!" When his mom asked him what he'd do to get there, he said, "I don't know."
"I just remember thinking how great it would be to wear that USA uniform," said O'Brien, now 50 and living in the Phoenix area. He remains fit from a never-ending love for working out. He won the first footrace he ever ran -- a fun run for kids held at halftime of a high school homecoming game. He was in the fifth grade.
Those skills would be honed through high school, college and beyond for O'Brien to become a serious contender in the track and field event that encompasses the 100-meter dash, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, 400-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump -- and O'Brien's least favorite, the 1,500-meter run.
After missing out on the Barcelona Games, he said his world was "shattered."
"It was the lowest point in my athletic career," he said, but he somehow pulled it together in just a few months' time to set a world decathlon record in June 1992, which he held until 1999. In addition to the Atlanta gold, he's also a three-time world decathlon champion.
His advice for turning failure into success: "Put people around you that are supporting you, who share the same vision and goals as yourself. So that when you do fail, they can help get you back on track."
He's been to every summer Olympics since winning the gold, though not as a competitor.
The kids in attendance were Boys and Girls Club members from across Pulaski County participating in the AR Kids Read program.
The children and others had questions for O'Brien about what it was like to be adopted, what he ate for breakfast on the day he won the gold medal (two pieces of cold pizza) and how he feels about performance-enhancing drugs.
"I surrounded myself with people who wouldn't have worked with me if I was a cheater," O'Brien said of the drug question.
He admitted to giving in to drugs and alcohol in college and to making bad grades and other mistakes that caused him to leave school for a time.
The following day, O'Brien hosted a free Kids Track & Field Day, where he taught track and field basics to children ages 6--11. The two days of events were held as part of the Clinton Center's ongoing exhibition, "American Champions: The Quest for Olympic Glory," which runs through Sept. 11.
High Profile on 08/07/2016