That was the most exciting moment in my life.
And Texaco is just as excited about sponsoring the 1992 U.S. Olympic team and the United
States gymnastics team.
To celebrate, they've commissioned this special videotape featuring highlights of Olympic
summer and winter games.
Now, I know you and your family will enjoy watching this tape over and over again.
It features some of the greatest moments in Olympic Games history, and I'm very proud
to be a part of it.
One athlete.
Many events.
The energy to challenge not just one but all limits.
At Texaco, we share that energy in all that we do.
The energy to create innovative products like System 3 gasoline.
The energy to lead the way in exploration, conservation, alternate energy.
The energy to go as far as we can and then go even further.
Every four years, the youth of the world unites in
friendly competition to celebrate a special gathering called the Olympic Games.
These young men and women dream their special dreams of Olympic glory, dedicating their
lives to the Olympic ideal.
The Olympic ideal is to be the best in the world.
It was once said by the immortal Jesse Owens, winner of four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin
Olympics, I've dedicated a lifetime of training for just 10 seconds for the honor of your
country and the glory of sport.
Thousands of Olympic hopefuls every day dream their dreams of everlasting greatness.
Through years of training, sweat and sacrifice, the moment of victory or defeat arrives, where
Olympic immortality is but 10 seconds away.
However, there are but few who can stand on the top step of the victory podium.
And these men and women are given a special name.
They are called Olympic champions.
It has been said, if there is one champion who personifies the Olympic spirit, who with
pride and courage has shown the energy to go further while attaining Olympic immortality,
this man would be Al Order of the United States.
Al Order has left a legacy in Olympic competition never since equaled, nor soon to be eclipsed.
It is November 1956, the opening ceremonies of the Melbourne Olympic Games.
Among the more than 3,000 athletes is 20-year-old Al Order.
Al Order is about to compete in his first Olympiad.
He is plagued with a chronic cervical disc problem that could at any time develop into
paralysis.
And, though one of three talented American throwers, he is not the favorite to win.
Order's first throw is a magnificent one.
He sets an Olympic record.
No one else comes within five feet of Al Order's first attempt.
He wins the Olympic gold medal.
It is September 1960, the 17th Olympiad in Rome.
Al Order is competing in his second Olympics.
Once again, he is not expected to win the discus competition.
His presence at these Games is remarkable.
Three years earlier, he was involved in a near-fatal automobile accident.
He was in a coma for several hours and almost died from loss of blood.
After four throws, American rink Bobka, the world record holder, leads.
On his fifth attempt, Al Order shatters the Olympic record, throwing almost four feet
farther than Bobka.
Al Order wins his second consecutive Olympic gold medal.
But it will be for Al Order's unbelievable courage at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, for which
he'll be most remembered.
In a practice session a few days before competition, Order badly tears the cartilage in his rib
cage.
It is painful to breathe, almost impossible to throw.
Against Doctor's orders, he enters the competition.
Given any other environment, I would have stopped.
I don't care what it was.
I can remember saying that these are the Olympic Games and you'd die for them.
Well, I really felt that at that moment.
I was there and I was going to do my best.
Al Order is in fourth place after four rounds.
The pain is so intense he must sit down between throws.
He decides to make the supreme effort on his fifth throw.
Al Order sets an Olympic record and moves into first place.
Because of the pain, he is not able to make his final throw, but it does not matter.
Al Order wins, becoming the first man to win three successive gold medals in the discus.
But the career of Al Order is not yet finished.
At age 32, he enters the arena once more at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games.
And again, he is not the favorite.
After trailing for two rounds, Al Order amazes the world by throwing five feet farther than
he's ever thrown before, setting another Olympic record and becoming the first track and field
athlete to win four gold medals in the same event.
Al Order, one of the greatest and most enduring athletes in Olympic history.
Strength, speed, and endurance have been magical qualities of Olympians throughout history.
From Babe Diedrickson at the 1932 Olympics to Eric Haydn at the 1980 Lake Placid Games,
athletes have courageously tested the limits of human achievement.
It is a tradition, a tradition that began with the Greeks and was continued by a special
group of athletes at the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984.
It is August.
Fifty competitors begin an historic race.
For the first time in Olympic competition, women are allowed to run the ultimate distance,
the marathon.
The marathon, 26 miles, 385 yards of sacrifice, a race that challenges the land, the competition,
and most importantly, oneself.
At three miles, Joan Benoit Samuelson of the United States takes a slight lead.
For Joan Benoit Samuelson, this race marks the culmination of years of difficult training.
Joan Benoit Samuelson has been played with injuries throughout her career.
The most damaging of which occurred while preparing to make the United States Olympic
team in 1984.
It was discovered that the severe pain in her right knee would require surgery just
17 days before the United States Olympic Marathon trials.
Many people doubted her ability to compete in the trials, but she amazed the world, winning
by more than 30 seconds.
Here in Los Angeles, the same doubts about her physical condition persist.
People question whether Joan Benoit Samuelson can compete with the world's best marathoners,
including the magnificent Norwegian pair of Greta Weitz and Ingrid Christensen.
As the race progresses, Joan Benoit Samuelson is as strong as ever.
As she approaches the stadium, Joan Benoit Samuelson realizes that she has won every
major battle a marathon runner must face.
The weather, the terrain, the competition, herself.
Joan Benoit Samuelson of the United States, who showed the energy to go further in winning
the first women's Olympic marathon.
It was 24 years earlier when another American woman blazed a trail of her own, one who overcame
great obstacles to achieve Olympic immortality.
Her name, Wilma Rudolph.
Wilma Rudolph is the 20th child born into a family of 22.
Her early years were spent on weekly trips to the hospital for childhood paralysis treatments.
She wore leg braces until the age of 10 and ran for the first time two years later.
At age 13, Wilma Rudolph began training during the summer with coach Ed Temple of Tennessee
State University and by the 1960 Rome Olympics, 20-year-old Wilma Rudolph was favored by many
to win three gold medals.
It is September 2nd, 1960, the final of the 100 meters at the Rome Olympics.
Wilma Rudolph has won her three preliminary and semi-final races.
Wilma Rudolph is fourth from the left.
At 50 meters, Wilma Rudolph leads.
Wilma Rudolph first, Dorothy Heim in Great Britain second, Giuseppina Leone third.
Three days later, Wilma Rudolph is the favorite in the final of the 200 meters.
Wilma Rudolph is in lane one on the extreme left.
Again, she has won all her preliminary races.
Coming off the final turn, Wilma Rudolph on the right is in the lead.
Wilma Rudolph first, Jutta Heiner Germany second, Dorothy Heim in Great Britain third.
Here in the final event, Wilma Rudolph takes the final pass off in the four by 100 relay.
The United States first, Germany second, Poland third.
In nine preliminary semi-final and final races, Wilma Rudolph has been first across the finish
line every time.
Wilma Rudolph, an athlete who displayed the energy to go further while becoming the first
American woman to win three gold medals in one Olympics.
For almost a century, athletes from around the world have entered the arena, made the
attempt and pursued excellence in their quest for Olympic glory.
There is a nobility to these men and women who dedicate their lives to the Olympic ideal.
And in victory or defeat, they display the courage to endure and the energy to go further.
diretios
It is August 3, 1984, the Los Angeles Olympics.
36 women are competing for the individual all-around gymnastics title.
The dominant Romanian women, who just two days earlier won the team title, are favored
in the individual all-around competition.
The United States, which earlier won the silver medal in the team event, is represented by
three women.
Among them, 16-year-old Mary Lou Retton.
Mary Lou Retton is a new breed of gymnast, athletic and muscular.
She has little experience with the pressures of a major international event, and almost
missed an opportunity to compete here due to knee surgery just six weeks earlier.
The head coach of the American women's team is Dawn Peters.
Also at the competition is the legendary coach Bella Corolli.
Bella Corolli was Nadia Cominici's coach, and now trains several top Americans, including
Mary Lou Retton.
Bella Corolli is here in no official capacity.
Good job, good job.
That's a ten.
There is no question about it.
That's a ten.
It's got to be a ten.
That's got to be.
It's got to be.
There are four events contested in the individual all-around competition.
Balance beam.
Vault.
Floor exercise.
And uneven bars.
Going into the final apparatus, Mary Lou Retton is five one hundredths of a point behind
Ekaterina Szabo of Romania.
Szabo gives another solid performance.
She is awarded a 9.9.
The situation is now clear.
Szabo's final score has now been determined.
If Retton scores a perfect ten on the vault, the gold medal is hers.
If she gets a 9.95, she and Ekaterina Szabo will share the gold medal.
If Retton scores anything less than a 9.95, the gold medal will belong to Szabo.
With five four hundredths of a point it's a tie for the gold medal, to play.
The second place, Christoph M Woman.
Mary Lou Ratner has accomplished what no other American female gymnast has ever done.
She has won an Olympic gold medal.
Mary Lou Ratner, who displayed the energy to go further while becoming the greatest
female gymnast in American history.
In alpine skiing, there's one American woman who stands above the rest, one who possessed
the talent, courage and determination to be an Olympic champion.
Her name?
Andrea Mead Lawrence.
American women have been double gold medal winners in Olympic alpine skiing.
But the most amazing double was performed by Andrea Mead Lawrence at the 1952 Olympics.
Oslo, Norway.
The opening day ceremonies of the sixth Winter Olympic Games.
In the giant slalom, Andrea Mead Lawrence is magnificent in the single run that will
decide the gold medal.
In an event that is usually decided by fractions of a second, Andrea Mead Lawrence is more
than two seconds faster than her nearest competitor.
She joins Gretchen Frazier as the only American woman to win an alpine gold medal.
A few days later, she is leading in the downhill.
But with victory in sight, she falls and is out of contention.
She still has one last chance for a second gold medal.
The event, the slalom, two runs down the 508 yard course, a series of 38 gates.
Andrea Mead Lawrence is the fifth starter.
The combined lowest time of the two runs determines the winner of the gold medal.
On the upper part of the hill, her time is fantastic.
Her ski catches a pole.
She does not fully go down.
But she has lost her commanding lead.
Now she must ski all out so that she will not be too far behind at the start of the
second run.
Incredibly, Andrea Mead Lawrence finishes the run in fourth place, only one and two
tenths of a second behind the leader.
In trying to project myself along what I thought was the ideal line, I got within that millimeter
too close of a slalom pole and caught a tip on it and spun out and spun down the hill.
I climbed back up immediately to get through the gate because technically in a slalom you
can be disqualified if you're two feet, do not go past through the parallel.
And then of course from there on down, your adrenaline is really pumping and it's going
at full steam.
Now the second run.
Ultimately on a race course, there is a line that that course dictates ideally that you
should be able to project yourself along.
So there is in a sense an ideal line to each and every course.
But in that second run, I became the line for that fraction of seconds that it took
to do that course.
It's an energy thing and it's the energy that's gone over a period of years to trying for
that perfection or trying for that ideal line.
And then you go through the finish line and I knew without any doubt that I'd done a very
good run.
And the time came on the board and it was a very good time.
Andrea Mead-Lawrence has done the impossible.
She has skied the perfect line on her second run.
She has made up the margin and wins the gold medal by eight tenths of a second.
Andrea Mead-Lawrence, who with great courage became the only American skier to win two
gold medals at the Olympic Games.
Both pride, dedication and courage are qualities that distinguish Olympic champions from mere
hopefuls.
Then 12 members of the 1964 Japanese volleyball team are truly heroes.
October 1964.
Tokyo is the host city for the 18th Olympiad of the modern Olympic era.
Volleyball will be played for the first time in these Olympic Games.
The favorites to win the competition, the women of Japan.
This is Hirofumi Yamatsu, the coach of the Japanese women's volleyball team.
His training methods are revolutionary and criticized in many countries of the world.
He conducts practices that are demanding, endless daily scrimmages designed to prepare
his team for any situation.
A continual challenge to overcome physical and mental exhaustion.
Through all the criticism, Yamatsu is unbending.
He says to his team, if you can endure, I promise you a gold medal.
October 23, 1964.
The final match for the women's volleyball gold medal.
Japan and the Soviet Union have made it to the final with perfect records.
Both teams have four victories and no defeats.
Now in the final three out of five series, Japan has won the first two games and leads
in the third game 14 to 13.
Japan on the left serves.
They are one point from victory.
The Soviet player's hand goes over the net.
It is a foul.
The point game and match go to the Japanese.
Hirofumi Yamatsu has fulfilled the promise he made to his team.
If you can endure, I promise you a gold medal.
The Japanese women have won the first volleyball Olympic gold medal ever awarded, showing the
energy to go further in victory.
Speed, the essence of competition, where the difference between victory and defeat is about
a fraction of a second or the smallest part of an inch.
Where Olympians compete for the honor of their country and the glory of sport, going further
and moving faster than ever imagined.
speaking about women at the top of the playing field.
In the history of Olympic sports, some special men and women have shown the energy to go
further than anyone else believed. To overcome obstacles thought insurmountable by most.
Such was the case with some men from the United States and their coach who fulfilled a dream.
It is February 13th, 1980, opening ceremonies for the Lake Placid Olympic Games.
Marching in the parade, the heavily favorite hockey team from the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union first competed in the Winter Olympics at the 1956 Cortina Games.
Since then they have won five hockey gold medals and one bronze.
Their only loss was to the United States at Squaw Valley in 1960.
Here they are again expected to win. The United States team has given little chance.
They're coached by Herb Brooks. Ironically, Herb Brooks was the last man cut from the 1960
team that gave the Soviets their only defeat. Disappointing time of my life, you know,
to try out for an Olympic team and being so close to a team that eventually won a gold medal.
Then I remember my father said they cut the right guy because they won. Herb Brooks is
comparatively unknown. He has named coach just six months before the games are to begin and his
team has given little chance of getting past the qualifying round. I felt that we were better than
where we were seated, number seventh. I thought that that if we finished fourth would be quite
an achievement and then anything over that would be, you know, really quite an accomplishment. As
expected, the Soviets win their first five games. Incredibly, the United States is also undefeated
in their first five games, winning four and tying one. Now they meet the Soviets in the opening game
of the championship round. Well, the Soviets, maybe they're as good as anybody in the world,
if not the best. The strength, I don't know if there's any weakness. In the last preparatory
game going into Lake Placid, we were beat by the Russians 10 to three and it was a very humbling
type of experience. As the third period gets underway, the Soviets lead the United States
three goals to two. Eight minutes under the third period, the United States ties the score at three.
In the next goalie, Jim Craig is superb. He time and time again turns back the Soviet attack.
Finally, Captain Mike Aruzzione scores the goal that puts the United States in front. The final
score, the United States four, the Soviet Union three. Two goals later, the United States goes on
to defeat Finland in the gold medal game. The score, United States four, Finland two.
Too many people look at competition when it really gets down to the last few in terms of
pressure or adversity. I looked at it as a sign of joy, it was a sign of elation, it was a sign
of happiness, the fact that we had a chance to compete. The United States has awarded the gold
medal as Olympic champions. 19 men and a head coach have recaptured the glory of the 1960 United
States hockey team while setting their own standard of excellence. While the U.S. hockey
team celebrated their miracle on ice, America's summer Olympians missed their chance to compete
in the Moscow games due to the Olympic boycott. One of the athletes who saw his dreams disappear,
Ambrose Gaines the fourth, Rowdy Gaines. Rowdy Gaines in the prime of his athletic life was
expected to win four gold medals in Moscow, but it was not to be. It is July 31st, 1984,
the final of the 100 meter freestyle of the Los Angeles Olympics. One of the finalists, Rowdy
Gaines. At the 1984 U.S. Olympic trials, Gaines qualifies for the team in the 100 meter freestyle,
but fails miserably in the 200 meter freestyle. At age 25, he is considered old for a swimmer.
His age, along with his loss of speed, has Rowdy Gaines questioning his ability to compete on an
international level. Just one month prior to the Olympics, Rowdy Gaines contemplates giving up his
place on the team. I got beat at Olympic trials and it was the first time in what five years that
nobody thought I was gonna win. People say I choke. I was reading it so much and I was hearing it so
much that I started believing. Rowdy Gaines is in lane three. The favorite, Mark Stockwell, the
Australian in the yellow cap in lane four. Rowdy Gaines hits the water first. His reaction to
sound is quicker than most. As the race progresses, Gaines, third from the top, leads. Stockwell in
lane four trails. As the race nears the end, Gaines still leads with Stockwell alongside in
lane four trailing by two feet. Rowdy Gaines does not know he has won. He does not want to look at
the scoreboard. Finally he turns. Rowdy Gaines has won the gold medal. After years of sacrifice,
Rowdy Gaines has shown the world the energy to go further. He has overcome many obstacles, the 1980
boycott, the skepticism of others, and most importantly his own self-doubt. Rowdy Gaines is an Olympic
champion. It is 12 years earlier, Munich 1972, the opening ceremonies of the 20th Olympic Games.
Marching with the United States team, 22 year old Dave Wattle. Two months earlier,
Dave Wattle won the 800 meters of the United States Olympic trials. But just before the
United States team was to leave for Munich, Dave Wattle came down with another in a series of
debilitating injuries. This time tendonitis in his left knee. A depressed Dave Wattle seriously
considers returning home but is persuaded by his wife to stay and compete. It is September 2nd,
the final of the 800 meters. Dave Wattle has earlier struggled to win his semifinal heat and
has the slowest time by far of the three semifinal winners. The favorite in the race,
Yevgeny Arzhanov of the Soviet Union who's unbeaten in three years. Dave Wattle wearing
the baseball cap is in lane three. The two Kenyans in the green shorts, Mike Boyk second from the
right and Robert Okul fifth from the right are out fastest of all. Arzhanov of the Soviet Union
closest to the camera and the red shirt is back in sixth. Dave Wattle trails in eighth place.
I immediately felt in the back of the pack, you know, I just couldn't shake the nervousness that
I had prior to the race and all I want to do is catch up to the back of the pack and make it look
respectable. I want to get in the race and it'd be hard to be embarrassed in the one race you're in
and your whole life in front of the whole world and you finish, you know, 50 yards behind the pack.
With 300 meters to go, Arzhanov in the red shirt makes his move.
Boyk of Kenya and Fromm of East Germany go after him. Dave Wattle has moved into sixth place. Now
Robert Okul of Kenya on the inside moves into contention. Wattle passes runners on the outside
and moves into fourth. Into the stretch there's Arzhanov followed by the two Kenyans. Dave Wattle
is coming on. It is not yet clear who has won. Dave Wattle raises his arms believing he is the
victor. After five minutes of waiting it is official. Dave Wattle United States first,
Evgeny Arzhanov Soviet Union second. The platform ceremony takes place. Dave Wattle stands on the
top step of the victory podium. In his excitement, Dave Wattle has forgotten to take off his cap.
The first question that was asked of me was why did you keep your hat on during the award ceremony?
You know it was just like a man's wallet in his back pocket. You just don't know it's there. I
didn't even realize that I had the hat on. One of the first things my mom said was I just know how
absent-minded you are and I knew you're gonna forget to take that hat off. In his 800 meter victory,
Dave Wattle has shown a rare spirit going further to become an Olympic champion while attaining
everlasting glory. It has been said there is no greater glory in sport than that of being an
Olympic champion. But sometimes there is glory and honor in victory and defeat. Where with pride
and courage men and women show the energy to go further answering a call from within. It is October
1968. Marmo Wolde of Ethiopia enters the stadium at the Mexico City Olympics. He moves the last
few hundred meters toward the finish line. It is the third consecutive Olympiad an Ethiopian
runner has won the marathon gold medal. Marmo Wolde's countryman, Avibi Bikila,
won the two previous marathons in Roman Tokyo.
As Marmo Wolde receives the acclaim accorded the victor, the other marathoners move toward
the finish line. Kenji Kimihara of Japan second, Mike Ryan New Zealand third. This is the final
victory platform ceremony at the Mexico City Olympic Games and the three men go the rewards.
And so for them the long ordeal is over. But what about the others? For some the only reward
is a personal one. The knowledge that they finished what they set out to do. A little
more than an hour after Marmo Wolde crosses the finish line, John Stephen Aquari of Tanzania
approaches the stadium. The last man to complete the journey, a voice calls from within to
today we have seen a young African runner who symbolizes the finest in the human
spirit. A performance that gives true dignity to sport. A performance that lifts sport out
of the category of grown men playing at games. A performance that gives meaning to the word
courage. All honor to John Stephen Aquari of Tanzania. On the final day of competition,
there is a celebration. The closing of this glorious movement we call the Olympic Games.
When every four years the youth of the world celebrates all that is right in sport. For
these young men and women who answer the call to enter the arena have all dared valiantly
in the pursuit of excellence. Feelings unknown to those whose lives have never experienced
the challenge of victory and defeat. Even more they have dreamed their dream. Those
chosen few who with much talent have made the attempt and with pride and courage have
endured. And all of them have reached for the heavens, blessed with a special talent,
the energy to go further.
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