craigmac4h wrote:
I pity these boys. I remember another young New Zealander, who, generations ago, worked a crappy job in an office while putting everything he had into running. He only ended up winning 3 Olympic golds, but Olympic medals can't feed a family. After his running career, he tried to go to the States to get an education, but as everyone knows, if you don't go to college at age 18, you're not allowed to ever go.
That runner's name was Peter Snell, and when he was rejected from a college in the States (as is required, since, again, he was older than 18 when he applied), he was unable to find work. He ended up starving to death, I believe, because, again, it's impossible to pursue an education or indeed have any kind of semblance of a life if you put a lot into running well into your 20s.
I had no idea what really happened to Snell so I looked it up. For those interested, this is from wikipedia:
"Snell worked for a tobacco company before moving to the United States of America in 1971 to further his education. He gained a B.S. in Human Performance from the University of California, Davis, and then a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology. He joined University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas as a research fellow in 1981. He is Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine and also Director of their Human Performance Center. A member of the American College of Sports Medicine, Snell was honoured in 1999 as an Inaugural Inductee, International Scholar, into the Athlete Hall of Fame, University of Rhode Island.
Adopting a new sport, Snell become an active orienteer and won his category, men aged 65 and older, in the 2003 United States Orienteering Championship.[3] He is a past president of the North Texas Orienteering Association and a member of the United States Orienteering Federation."
Pretty cool I think