50 greatest Summer Olympians in history
By John Buhler
21. Bob Mathias, Track and Field.
In 1948, after taking up the decathlon at the insistence of his high-school coach, a then-17-year-old Bob Mathias won a gold medal in the 1948 Summer Olympic Games before so much as setting foot on the campus of Stanford University.
Despite not knowing all the rules of each event, Mathias still managed to not only qualify for the 1948 London Games, but overcame nearly being disqualified in the high jump to eventually capture Olympic gold.
Mathias would retain his gold at the 1952 Helsinki games, becoming the first Summer Olympian to win back-to-back gold medals in the decathlon. Only Great Britain’s Daley Thompson (No. 24 on our list) has ever matched Mathias’ success in the event.
Mathias would go on to graduate from Stanford in 1953, eventually becoming a U.S. Representative for California’s 18th District as a member of the Republican Party from 1967 to 1975, serving three two-year terms. Mathias passed away in 2006 at the age of 75.
Next: 20. Aladar Gerevich.