10 Tragic Olympic Stories That Had Happy Endings
These happy endings weren't easily won. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at Olympians who rose from tragedy to triumph.
Transcript
00:00She says it took years for doctors to figure out what was wrong,
00:04at one point being told she might have to have her feet amputated.
00:08Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at Olympians who rose from tragedy to triumph.
00:13I can remember what I said, it was, don't ever something doubt me again.
00:19Herman Meyer wins an upslope battle.
00:21This Austrian won two gold medals in alpine skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
00:26This feat was awe-inspiring knowing that Meyer had endured a downhill crash days earlier.
00:32While Meyer quickly rebounded from that accident,
00:34he faced an even more serious crash on August 24, 2001.
00:39In this case, Meyer wasn't skiing,
00:41but riding a custom-made motorcycle home from training when a car hit him.
00:45Meyer's right leg was severely wounded,
00:47with the doctors believing they may have to remove everything from the knee down.
00:51While Meyer's leg was surgically repaired,
00:54experts thought he'd be lucky to walk again.
00:56Racing was seemingly out of the question,
00:58but after sitting out the 2002 season,
01:01Meyer returned to the 2006 games, where he won silver and bronze.
01:06Keri Strug's team stands by her.
01:09At the 1996 Summer Olympics,
01:11the U.S. women's gymnastics team was on the verge of their first gold medal.
01:15Everything came down to Arizona native Keri Strug.
01:18Although Strug injured her ankle while performing a vault,
01:21coach Bella Caroli encouraged her to pull off another to ensure the gold.
01:25Strug not only pushed through the pain with a forced grin,
01:28but her second vault received a 9.712.
01:32While it turns out they would have won regardless,
01:35nobody could deny Strug had taken one for the team,
01:38as her injuries prevented her from competing individually.
01:41Being nicknamed the Magnificent Seven,
01:43Strug's six teammates refused to leave her behind at the medal podium.
01:47Caroli thus assisted Strug in a genuine moment of team admiration.
01:52People always ask me,
01:53are you upset that you're defined by that one moment in Atlanta?
01:56And the answer is no, because I'm very proud of that moment.
01:59Many people don't have one moment that everybody kind of identifies them with.
02:04Erika Sullivan swims through mental health barriers.
02:08You could say swimming flows through Erika Sullivan's veins,
02:12seeing as how her father swam for the University of Wisconsin.
02:15Swimming for me has always been a way to escape
02:20everything that's going on throughout my day.
02:22It's kind of my stress reliever.
02:24Not long after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer,
02:28John died when Erika was 16.
02:30Erika made the national team four weeks later,
02:33but loss loomed over this achievement.
02:35Throughout the following years,
02:37Sullivan dealt with depression, anxiety attacks, and PTSD.
02:41The anxiety that just sat in my stomach and my chest
02:44all the time for six months straight.
02:47Sullivan's mental health affected her performance in the pool.
02:50Through therapy, Erika saw gradual yet significant improvement,
02:54qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
02:57Being Japanese on her mother's side,
03:00family was on Sullivan's mind as she swam toward a silver medal
03:03in the 1,500-meter freestyle.
03:05As the first openly gay U.S. Olympic swimmer,
03:08Sullivan has used her platform to spread mental health awareness.
03:12When you are mentally healthy,
03:14you have this awareness and self-value to bring to the table.
03:20And through helping yourself, you can also help others.
03:25Gloria Alossi outraces heartbreak.
03:27Sharing a mutual passion for running,
03:29Gloria Alossi and her fiancé, Iginos Anugou,
03:32were both bound for the 2000 Summer Olympics.
03:35Win or lose, the couple was prepared to start a new chapter
03:38following the Games.
03:39Several days before the opening ceremony, though,
03:43Anugou died in Sydney after being struck by a car.
03:56Alossi, who was competing in Japan at the time,
03:59contemplated abandoning her Olympic dreams.
04:02Feeling, quote,
04:03encouraged by God,
04:05Alossi was compelled to run,
04:07winning silver in the 100-meter hurdles.
04:09Alossi expressed how important this medal was to her,
04:12saying, quote,
04:13Nobody can understand what I've passed through.
04:16I'd enjoy it more if my fiancé Iginos was still here.
04:19While still coping with her sudden loss,
04:21Alossi managed to find glory amid grief.
04:29Betty Robinson recovers from plane crash.
04:32At age 16,
04:33Betty Robinson not only became the first gold medalist
04:36in the women's 100-meter dash,
04:38she remains the competition's youngest winner
04:41nearly a century later.
04:42This arguably wasn't even Robinson's greatest accomplishment.
04:46In 1931,
04:48Robinson was left with severe injuries following a plane crash.
04:51Making an astounding recovery,
04:53Robinson could get out of her wheelchair after six months.
04:56Within two years,
04:58she fully regained the ability to walk.
05:01Missing the 1932 Games,
05:03Robinson returned to the Olympics in 1936.
05:06Although doctors once said her racing career was over,
05:09Robinson helped her team win a gold medal
05:12in the women's 4x100 meters relay.
05:14Retiring shortly after,
05:16Robinson maintained the heart of an Olympian,
05:19coming back to carry the torch in 1996.
05:25Nothing weighs a person down like grief.
05:28Austrian-German weightlifter Matthias Steiner
05:30felt an enormous loss in 2007
05:32when a car accident claimed his wife Suzanne's life.
05:35A year later,
05:36Steiner arrived at the Beijing Summer Olympics.
05:39Steiner had previously competed in the 2004 Games,
05:42but this time,
05:43he had a promise to fulfill.
05:45After falling short on multiple attempts,
05:47Steiner ultimately persevered with a clean jerk of 258 kilograms.
05:52I'm not as I've claimed.
05:53Haven't I?
05:54Haven't I?
05:55Haven't I?
05:55Haven't I?
05:56Haven't I?
05:57Haven't I?
05:58Haven't I?
05:59Haven't I?
06:00Haven't I?
06:00Haven't I?
06:01Haven't I?
06:02Haven't I?
06:02Haven't I?
06:03Bringing his total to 461 kilograms,
06:06Steiner emerged as a gold medalist.
06:09On the podium,
06:10the teary-eyed Steiner kissed a photo of his wife,
06:12saying, quote,
06:13I managed to lift it because I had this strong innermost urge.
06:17I'm not the superstitious type.
06:19I don't believe in higher powers,
06:21but I hope she saw me.
06:22I wish.
06:35Canadian Harry Jerome had already set multiple world records
06:38and competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics,
06:41when an injury seemingly brought his track and field days to an abrupt halt.
06:51Participating in the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games,
06:56Jerome tore his right leg's quadriceps tendon.
06:59Undergoing four hours of surgery,
07:01few believed Jerome would make it to the Tokyo Olympics two years later.
07:05Proving the doubters wrong,
07:07Jerome reached the pinnacle of his Olympic career with a bronze medal.
07:11Although Jerome never won silver or gold,
07:13he more than went the distance.
07:15His achievements didn't end with the Olympics either.
07:17He went on TV shows and met politicians.
07:21Once, he even phoned a large department store
07:24to tell them that they should include people of color in their ads.
07:27After that, they did.
07:28By the early 70s,
07:30Jerome entered Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
07:32and British Columbia named him Athlete of the Century.
07:38Sebastian Coe ran away with the gold at the 1980 Summer Olympics,
07:42competing in the 1,500-meter run.
07:52The British athlete was on track for another round at the 1984 Games,
08:06although this was called into question as his health declined.
08:09Initially diagnosed with glandular fever,
08:12doctors eventually realized that Coe had a rare infection called toxoplasmosis.
08:16Coe found himself going in and out of hospitals,
08:19but he made it to the Los Angeles Olympics.
08:22Despite his previous victory, the odds were against Coe.
08:25He shattered expectations,
08:27becoming the only person to win gold twice in the men's 1,500 meters.
08:32Adding another silver medal to his collection as well,
08:34Coe couldn't help but proudly ask the press box,
08:40I can remember what I said.
08:41It was, don't ever something doubt me again.
08:45Gail Devers vs. Graves Disease
08:47There are no shortcuts to Olympic gold,
08:49but Gail Devers' journey was especially arduous.
08:52I started off as an American record holder, so I was on top of the world.
08:55Then I felt like somebody took that world away.
08:57By the time I got to Seoul, Korea, I ran slower than I'd ever run in my life.
09:02Devers seemed like the epitome of good health
09:04when she qualified for the 1988 Summer Games.
09:07Upon arriving, Devers grew ill as her hair fell out,
09:10her fingernails stopped growing, and she lost significant weight.
09:13Devers' performance suffered,
09:15finishing eighth in the 100 meters hurdles.
09:18Something's wrong.
09:19The countless doctors that I saw saw,
09:21oh, maybe you peak too many times.
09:22I'm sorry, we can't find anything wrong with you.
09:24Or maybe, maybe you're stressed out.
09:27Or the worst one was that I was imagining things.
09:29I'm not imagining things.
09:30I'm an athlete.
09:31I know my body.
09:32After two years, Devers was diagnosed with Graves' disease and underwent radiation.
09:37This led to further issues as Devers struggled to walk and risked losing her feet.
09:42She says it took years for doctors to figure out what was wrong,
09:46at one point being told she might have to have her feet amputated.
09:50Devers pulled through and continued training in time for the 1992 Olympics.
09:55On her second trip, Devers prevailed with the gold.
09:58Devers returned in 1996, winning two more gold medals in 100 meters and 4x100 meters relay.
10:06I'm a sprinter, and I'm supposed to get to that finish line first.
10:10But I've taken the marathon route, and I don't want anybody else to have to do that.
10:15So that others don't have to go through what she's been through.
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10:35Anna Quirot Runs Again
10:37Five months after Anna Fidelia Quirot won bronze at the 1992 Summer Olympics,
10:42an accident involving a kerosene cooker left more than 38% of her body engulfed in third-degree burns.
10:48The Cuban athlete's misfortune didn't end there, as she was pregnant.
10:52She had recently broken up with her boyfriend and the father of her child,
10:55high jumper Javier Sotomayor.
10:57Although Quirot gave birth prematurely, her daughter didn't survive.
11:01Doctors weren't sure if Quirot would live either.
11:04When Quirot came to, Fidel Castro was reportedly by her bed in a surgical mask.
11:09Quirot proclaimed then and there,
11:11Quote,
11:11I'm going to run again.
11:13Quirot was true to her word, going on to win several championships
11:17and taking home a silver medal from the 1996 Summer Olympics.
11:21If you have any Olympic stories, feel free to share them in the comments.
11:26Harry, how long have you been running competitively?
11:27This is my third year, in fact.
11:29And the 100 and 200 meters are your specialties?
11:32Yes.
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