Dan O'Brian

Dan O'Brien won the Olympic decathlon gold medal in 1996 in Atlanta. Dan was born on July 18, 1966 in Portland, Oregon. Dan's heritage was African American and Finnish. He was adopted by Jim and Virginia O'Brien when he was two years old, and grew up on a farm in Klamath Falls, Oregon, with seven brothers and sisters. Dan's family is very racially diverse. Dan and 5 of his siblings are adopted. His sister Karen is Native American. His sister Patricia is biracial like Dan. His sisters Sarah and Laura are Korean born. His brother Tom is Latino. His parents and two siblings who were not adopted, Kathie and Scott, are Caucasian.

Dan was always very good at sports. Because he was hyperactive, it was easy for him to get out of control. He liked sports because it was one area where he could give his all and not get into trouble. Being good in sports helped him to earn a scholarship to the University of Idaho. And sports helped him to learn about life, to try harder, and to accept that there are always things he can work on to improve himself.

Dan was 25 when he became the world champion in the decathlon, a two-day challenge that involves competing in 10 separate events, and historically determines the world's greatest athlete. He achieved 8,891 points, the highest number ever. Later, he established the Dan O'Brien Youth Foundation, to help kids "turn failure into success." Use your favorite search engine or visit your library to learn more about Dan O'Brien.