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DID YOU KNOW?
Six feet three inch tall Johnny Weissmuller, winner of five Olympic gold medals and holder of 51 world records in swimming, used be plagued with ill health when he was a child. He was advised by a doctor to take up swimming to improve his health and went on to achieve fame and glory in the sport. He later starred as Tarzan in Hollywood movies. In 1927 his swimming abilities proved invaluable in real life when he saved the lives of 11 passengers after an excursion boat capsized in Lake Michigan.
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The Romanian gymnastics team for the 1976 Montreal Olympics was the youngest in the fray. It included 14-year-old Nadia Comaneci. But she was not expected to be a threat to the big names in the USSR line up such as Olga Korbut and Ludmila Turischeva. But once she started performing, Nadia took everyone by surprise including the computerised scoreboard which had not been programmed to show a perfect score of ten which Nadia achieved since nobody had done it till then. The feat also resulted in her being nicknamed "Little Miss Perfect."
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Jesse Owens continued to face racial discrimination and unemployment in USA even after winning four golds at the Berlin Olympics. "I realised that everyone was willing to slap me on the back, shake my hand and invite me to their homes but nobody was willing to give me a job." At the Mexico Olympics when Tommy Smith and Juan Carlos raised their fists in protest during the US national anthem, Owens told them "The black man's fist is a meaningless symbol. When the fist is opened it is empty. It will have significance only when there is money inside the fist."
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DHYAN CHAND (India), the hockey wizard is chiefly remembered for his exploits at the Olympics. He was a member of the Indian team, which won their first gold at the 1928 Games and stayed on in the side till 1936. At the Berlin Games, Dhyan Chand led the side. He was at his peak when India beat the U.S. by a record score of 24-1, scoring 8 goals, while his brother Roop Singh pumped in 12 goals. Though he played for India till 1947, he chose not to go for the Olympics in 1948 and retired in 1949 after playing for 30 years. He died in 1979.
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Jesse Owens continued to face racial discrimination and unemployment in USA even after winning four golds at the Berlin Olympics. "I realised that everyone was willing to slap me on the back, shake my hand and invite me to their homes but nobody was willing to give me a job." At the Mexico Olympics when Tommy Smith and Juan Carlos raised their fists in protest during the US national anthem, Owens told them "The black man's fist is a meaningless symbol. When the fist is opened it is empty. It will have significance only when there is money inside the fist."
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