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Lead Stories: Thursday, August 28, 2008

Gerry Lindgren: The Self-Proclaimed “Wimp” Who Revolutionized Running

Posted March 25th, 2008 at 1:34 PM by Stephanie Lowe

Section: News & Results, Motivation, Track & Field, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews, College, High School

Despite protests of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, President George W. Bush recently stated that there will not be a boycott from the United States. According to CNN, Bush believes the Olympics “should be about the athletes and not necessarily about politics.”

Former U.S. Olympian Gerry Lindgren, 62, agrees. He thinks China will benefit from hosting the Games.

“I think they need to leave politics out of it,” he said. “China has made some great strides forward in the last few years.”

Lindgren recalls backlash of the 1980 U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics. He did not plan to compete in Moscow, but he knew how disappointed the U.S. team was to miss out on the Olympic experience. Lindgren said he was upset with former President Jimmy Carter’s decision and said the Olympics should have been “the only avenue in the world that wasn’t political.”
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