Jan Zelezny
The Czech track and field legend Jan Zelezny has retired. He was the best javelin thrower of his generation. In the Olympic Games, he triumphed three times, in 1992, 1996, and 2000, and his 98.48-meter throw was the world record for a long time. It’s astonishing that he’s managed to stay ahead of the pack by getting credit for the second-, third-, and fourth-best efforts, too. After a career at the I.O.C., he retired and is now a coach in Prague.
Dorothy Hamill
Dorothy Hamill’s dad was totally on board with her wanting to be a professional skater. At age eight, she began taking classes once a week, and as her enthusiasm for the sport grew, so did her father’s willingness to spend around $20,000 per year on related costs. In 1976, Dorothy Hamill won a gold medal at the Olympics. In the same year, she also won the women’s singles world title. Hamill unexpectedly called her quits the same year she was playing her best. A serious medical ailment, which she revealed she was undergoing treatment for in 2008, was the catalyst for her public silence until that year.