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hoefla
So, Anthony Ervin - don't know how I hadn't heard about this guy. Won a gold 16 years ago in the pool, and since then he:
quit swimming
sold his gold medal for tsunami relief
grew some dreadlocks
played lead guitar in a heavy metal band called Weapons of Mass Destruction
worked in a record shop
worked in a tattoo parlour
became an alcoholic
experimented with hallucinogens
smoked a shedload of dope
fractured his shoulder on a motorcycle trying to escape from the police
tried to kill himself with a tranquilliser overdose
studied Sufism
became a Buddhist
did an English degree at Berkeley
He's now just come back and won another gold. He's the oldest ever swimmer to win gold. He's half-black (first US Olympic swimmer of African American heritage), half-Jewish and has Tourette's. He is, by a country mile, the most interesting guy in the Olympics.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/aug/03/olympic-swimming-usa-anthony-ervin