Bob Mathias was a 17-year-old recent high school graduate from Fresno, Calif., when he represented the United States in the decathlon. He had defeated three-time national champion Irving "Moon" Mondschein at the Olympic trials, despite having participated in only one previous decathlon.
Compared to fellow competitors at the Games, Mathias, '53, was not considered a threat, which he later acknowledged to a reporter. "Nobody even expected me to finish," he said. But after the first day's competition he was in third place.
The final day's events were held in a cold, steady drizzle, and Mathias spent hours huddled under a blanket as the competition dragged on for nearly 12 hours. His first-place throw in the javelin gave him the overall points lead with one event remaining, the 1500-meter run. Exhausted, Mathias staggered across the finish line in 5:11, good enough to retain his lead and win the gold medal, making him the youngest decathlete ever to do so. When asked what he would do to celebrate, Mathias replied, "Start shaving, I guess."
He won the decathlon again at the Helsinki Games in 1952 prior to his senior year at Stanford. That fall he was a star halfback on the Stanford football team, which went to the Rose Bowl.
