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Former 51精品视频 Olympians look back at their Games and what they鈥檒l be watching this year

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Three men in suits pose for a photo.
Olympians and former 51精品视频 athletes (from left) Roger Kingdom, Arnold Sowell and Herb Douglas at a 2011 event celebrating fellow 51精品视频 Olympian John Woodruff.

Twenty-one-year-old 51精品视频 junior Roger Kingdom waits at the starting line for the final 110-meter hurdle race at the 1984 Summer Olympics, gazing across the abyss of the red rubber track. On the night before one of the most important running races of his career, Kingdom felt intense pressure that brought him to tears. He called his biggest supporter and spiritual guide, his mother, who stayed on the phone with him for hours, listening to his anxieties and offering comforting words.鈥

By the time he kneels, waiting for the pop of the starter鈥檚 gun, all the stress, strain and burden of his Olympic journey to Los Angeles has vanished. Kingdom is bolting toward his wildest dream.鈥

Kingdom broke the 110-meter hurdle Olympic record with a time of 13.20 seconds that day, beating out American runner Greg Foster for the gold medal by a margin of 0.03 seconds.鈥

鈥淎ll I wanted to do my whole life was prove to the world that I was somebody,鈥 says Kingdom. 鈥淚 wanted to show I wasn鈥檛 just a flash in the pan.鈥濃

When the Games begin on July 26, Kingdom and his fellow former 51精品视频 athletes who have competed in the Olympics will be tuning in, too, following along as other athletes dash toward their aspirations of being 鈥渟omebody,鈥 as well.鈥

Kingdom spent most of his childhood and teenage years in rural Georgia, working hard on his family鈥檚 farm to grow crops and tend to livestock. He recalls daily episodes of racial segregation and oppression made dreaming big difficult.鈥

With dedicated support from his parents, Kingdom became a two-sport star athlete at Vienna High School, excelling in both football and track and field. He began to gain attention from large universities with top-ranked athletic programs across the East Coast and chose to attend the 51精品视频, becoming the first student from his high school to receive a full athletic scholarship to a major college or university.鈥

He arrived in 51精品视频sburgh in 1981 to play football but quickly moved to track and field 鈥 a pivot that he says made all his Olympic dreams possible.鈥

鈥淐ompeting for 51精品视频 in the 1983 NCAA indoor and outdoor national championships served as a major steppingstone to the Olympic Games,鈥 says Kingdom (CGS 鈥02).鈥

The 1984 Olympics were just the beginning of a historic career for Kingdom. He triumphed again at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, becoming one of only two men ever to win consecutive Olympic titles in the 110-meter hurdles. In 1989, he broke the world record for the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 12.92. The record only lasted four years, but it cemented Kingdom as one of the greatest hurdlers of all time.鈥

After retiring from competitive running in 1999, Kingdom held track and field coaching positions at the California University of Pennsylvania (now called PennWest) and the University of Central Florida. He also held speed and conditioning coaching roles with the Arizona Cardinals and the 2021 Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becoming just the second person ever to have won two Olympic gold medals and a Super Bowl ring.鈥

As the Olympic Games in Paris get underway, he鈥檒l be watching.鈥

鈥淚鈥檝e had opportunities to share thoughts with American hurdler Grant Holloway,鈥 Kingdom says of the 26-year-old who won silver in the men鈥檚 110-meter hurdles at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to watch him, as he has a chance to win a medal for hurdling in back-to-back Olympic Games.鈥濃

Looking back and forward鈥

The 2024 Games are giving other former 51精品视频 Olympic participants a chance to reminisce about their competitions and to share what they鈥檙e interested in catching up on at the summer games, too.鈥

Susan Heon-Preston (A&S 鈥86), a native of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, was a USA teammate with Roger Kingdom at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.鈥

Having a familiar face to cheer each other on in Los Angeles provided 鈥渕uch-needed reassurance鈥 for the two 51精品视频 athletes, she says.鈥

A woman wearing a cap and standing in a pool.
Heon-Preston at the Olympic trials.鈥

Heon-Preston, a champion swimmer at 51精品视频, placed fourth in the women鈥檚 400-meter individual medley (IM) race, missing bronze by less than 10 meters. Competing in the 400 IM meant facing the world鈥檚 strongest swimmers in a physically demanding and strategic race that combines four major swim strokes 鈥 a challenge that Heon-Preston worked tirelessly toward in the years prior.鈥

鈥淭he magnitude of being an Olympian didn鈥檛 hit me until they called my name,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 was crying during the first 100 meters of the race.鈥濃

Currently, Heon-Preston lives in California and has been an elementary school teacher for more than 20 years. While her competitive swimming days have ended, she still participates in open water swimming, even going the length between the Hawaiian Islands and the diameter of Lake Tahoe.鈥

鈥淚鈥檓 always excited about the opening ceremony,鈥 says Heon-Preston. 鈥淚n swimming, I am really looking forward to the women鈥檚 400-meter freestyle. It will be a true pool duel between Ariarne Titmus, Summer McIntosh and Katie Ledecky.鈥 鈥

(Australia鈥檚 Titmus took the gold,聽Canada鈥檚 McIntosh the silver and American phenom Ledecky the bronze on July 27.)

Marisa Pedulla also proudly represented the United States as a member of the Judo team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, placing seventh in the half-lightweight category.鈥

Pedulla, a native of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, comes from a deep-rooted 51精品视频 family, and quickly found a second home at the South Hills Judo Academy in 51精品视频sburgh when she arrived in 1986. When qualifying for the Olympics came into reach, she traveled from country to country in Europe for five-week training camps in preparation for the 1996 games.鈥

Judo athlete throwing opponent to the mat.
Pedulla throwing Venezuelan Judoka Katty Santaella at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Following the Atlanta games, Pedulla (A&S 鈥90, A&S 鈥98G) was named to the coaching staff of the U.S. Olympic Judo team for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Under her wing was then-17-year-old famed mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey, who would eventually become the first American woman to win a medal in Judo by winning bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.鈥

When she wasn't throwing opponents on the Judo mat, Pedulla was earning a bachelor's degree in chemistry and then a doctorate in biological sciences from the 51精品视频. Currently, Pedulla is a professor of biology at Montana Technological University and has received wide acclaim for co-spearheading a phage discovery program that has introduced thousands of high school students to the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.鈥

Pedulla sees many parallels between academic and athletic attainment 鈥 a combination of disciplinary experiences that she says prepared her for the pressure of solo Olympic competitions.鈥

鈥淚n Judo, it鈥檚 just you and your opponent,鈥 says Pedulla. 鈥淭he individual performances in the Olympics are always very inspiring.鈥濃犫