JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?l/:杫]k110+r@Ґ)dOei &@{WJ+g{<^0$sYIm}ݯ*+-Ԗ'zMh6SdgPGˑxK2gu5ۿ$]qrwvҶ4m*; $WLqQNnj2ǚkq4p~ouىbk7DpdGeCH\Hs֪P̷MܛZtcu6q&. s늆=F1wL0<#G$i(OTqZU-ބ77 mHzMOP{$';UlCn2q׆耧,G4Ew^n.J~>o~௥Zд9c`<iQm)8&+U-%.-؁ /m4>N{b/F ClB9kϴT2Ą#Vn1smٙ(^";zirCHkgЛkAxSBӮ9ljN* Q;Z>|='kq[?fkJmD$ҹ=h`!°Y!FFpV`BJ!eq_K< (ɬ/y8k[Q}jѣfZZ'fƦNm#V#9?x4 ;HXَIs]nj^jS4#K>YrזP9RwSzc]ǫBOgwR?#e$G5[Ev`x,ww8w>ke{w/%֎DmjYzc%EPVŤpiz{O;%!T^\{c 1׭gŭUx?҉'?t5 Ƚ]<TͫYΦŀ0Uda)9;X1VfBxV ScD qKvW, 2aҮxB7d'tWwCG$m j_mlQSQXju^a{yKc28"/Ǘ*x'kRC*7]9GsTR&mf ܋p ^gYG.,RLh]ٽb0㠦6sNKum-Fv85jzNH w0EfF9QT|D t#'lHtѓc; ln iba&ͩ5<>Xq[+ͥYRmn{dad;t't͗wFŸkYGNAҹ}n-;fxkrq}O47:23`z=꽟*9(I1ӥKuB&:>jft?ʱ-8ʶl$Mݴxx3jܯj>ׂﴙN]d'v5tyswnl22g 8%]F)2d;@*+IR&2)%ⴴ[qom$0Y"Xܸqȭ6 ͌l]ͨH-^ZqpқC:ס3vڔzEVfn-A?1溨Di"j?~p.3cfy#j!?FQZ˥j7 !5x?@YP{lⷎ5f#wt)<5J+rQ0u-C W;c_F$ ^6bFxz|c*i"F@O p*j96U9%;O]i"SО,-$hdJWBXg8כ˅CN6? #j @p Ͻ_ծ$ǖ:V4Ȧ7RUFyց8ҴVn,vn&䄉vώgچFLBHk!)8bEon B'uRkZORZH\˖B;nXT˯Bԯ "ę!Ԍ`5x-3_ʸokеM(jwD3Gq\hKpTb,PkSB n슲QE"IҬt6*.8rxCK1NI' >N(RFk̭dNQi].L7j2+=0yޫ7O>)]=f\ǀ?)/ f+ ➎?:Cz~&.6G.cUy[-c=pcNqZ6ck$W'J8#ڒ S2'QrID"-xЪcrȮP^ڼϵ$5Z\6(ij˜s>5]6H&B6EO%SW=EuK9֝A^+uq֊"q#U5QYv XjƜ5_Z,gkXSr],Hr0s޳Z ԁE 1oUfv& ޗG&BR|}~izMΫqۧs~?OO[hQc])ߡ]H3$8 ]Ne1S`@8'W+ݒ?QS,4L]w{AiV]Z9)AwB! 1 s_]ޤI& ;+-Z tO^iIolS}kjWGy &aydc s Ťkp#"O[̀mes\"ڛ4J-B)^TV]eP;ԈP* ԀrIY1U2z`CTnXFNxUVR:Y쎨S[8,P#, yڰc@i!1BG'۹I#|a.2)XT)A #9RwÂҹ!BGEJ~Z4;{eyQWsMbUw$eGj.3(ZV?)<S%XhyiˢiCF2(NJ,h~ڕ9=ENk"))E1^yVP ^k̹B+qSJn+;N7M{~}~D499c,XݓTm3߅O =+ Y2=){RW1^k^4ssr8.NQ?ƸVTͽnqʣ{Q:-wrk2hl“ѥϠG8%X(0Jb}`>6WE˝C8=ԡݗ9zi+!\z]Oyr?xe,&pIɩHuerh#'4Lk4&x!1UE+نCOS>Mmx&HE@-ݺ$G8 :]J4"Q=[yu9iӥlxl ?zEcx "*"^Ǯi$Z4D`O\ J 8/d=Bz"ˤ_8*} k4y Uz?*޸,#s]钱fXz3ZZEYj*3;;1fzMv6ʂ}{Wgzj6=D`:$Osa$g~b-~=W7R $o\FkInq)÷&i%*&1#'j5koDK2TnqGs=L@TUbrs4 &\wd"{޺Xag9@kϭ;kq1i q럥[tVK&W`b3WSN%Okjz{H0fQ>VTۖYsɢU9%RMi%Hִ2%Sp#֣R-8Jx<0xb+V! "PxZy [ IG?\o;M:+P~y.G+" ;y@0-21~Fyx A=:dDs((b(9g~3LD ) ȤA lٚ>Jty5 7S-3BAydž1 8ʎ@Ц1P3/6)x+mW,zm趹fo"C]q3Vof_ukXXb:ned&fɢ˳?t+؃QNNGqh[ ]\FBH_`c%H#AЛZ Х4׉irzhc\ZH ?Ί,,H뵇kGNyI#a4 /!;-&T$WI(2Wh*cvo#āa UnT񇄬-|+iip^=ѵ80~L9E֭m5BydFq? yoDݒi8_7weiUwZ0ȎB++XmJтL=@HQZʹ) Uz+[%.>YMRIcޙVc\(n lZXFvC؊u`bzb]Hbk!b }j*7QY*P F!8@FIF9m{|MsTD ,j\/*jٰyMW=:U!2\g Q)Inݯ-P.~7_Z鄶gx ~ Bd`QĒ ǥ7&0f NGq@īrsEIGӒi1Bq}H4xoFZc$eggQs! s7ZOH ?ZNI޽'_[۬g'dg<$Yys^M#A-v @~4Ժt9oZ 2+[[~QkaEWc36p9c$#ÕT|}D^i֊*yPBiF֊*PHO2EHb-cSBwqS.cE $u*'ϿUPH%,K=@FB1)RF cQCwW89_Q9@ c {hTJz׷KxYW4s+DַAe1ykc8]NWi׬]Pp u\Tg807#nZ*U; xUDJ  *01c\\QQq MKLW3aʒW3y ׊r5v^#&EEr6kZD!mq9?,5;۝;LC@"a$_֭C3\7ݏ)> -&I+i-rN_Q[IO1# H% cLVO[y"3~ P @laaКqgE{‘[=wz=õ f)QxQ]V1WH5roTWo3d}o[:}̹A\8zɦ;wʀhZdP\ ţT5ccV}XۚIlzMr;&%dK#H\Nkԓ~SxJ_Pf !b 28U#&mAF2q֭E4{@jIpqUPMF>f~\aYh|뚆\#7/#:@!PYIv8Tޮ(h#j:",zO2Z,6m$ v \JU$Ca%S$((()-Zh?JȻӰ*Nk~ц(v8[ 7`ýOV-rK`GL 4bzߍmǦ*ǿ] А%4P;zV…4Q@:AQ\RU@(ch((((((*3QEG(Z(? on the U.S. team. Thanks to the publicity machine at Reebok, Dan s no-heighter was the most publicized athletic failure of the year, or perhaps decade.<br><br>For Dan, the public humiliation was tremendous. Sportswriters said he lacked the heart and guts of a true competitor, and that he was a much ballyhooed athlete with no discipline. Reebok dropped him like a hot potato. In a few minutes, Dan went from feeling on top of the world to the depths of depression. But while the media questioned Dan s true talent and potential, Dan knew that the no-heighter was a fluke. He had never done it before, and now he was determined that he would never do it again.<br><br> I can t explain what happened that day, but I realized I would have to be<br>totally prepared for any eventuality in the future, says Dan.  It took a few<br>weeks, and quite a few calls from friends, family, coaches and other<br>athletes. Then I was back into training and totally focused. <br><br>Dan s effort paid off almost immediately. Although he didn t compete at<br>Barcelona, a few months later Dan entered the decathlon event in Talence, France. There he set a new world record 8,891 points a record that still stands today. For Dan, he had proven to himself that he had what it takes to be the world s greatest athlete. But the public only remembered the no-heighter. To truly redeem himself, and earn the title he so fervently desired, Dan knew he needed the Olympic gold.<br><br>Dan went on to win two more world championships before the 1996 Olympic trials came around. Once again, all eyes were on Dan, and the event they watched most closely was the pole vault.<br><br> I knew it was a big deal, says Dan.  But I wasn t worried in the least. It<br>was no longer an issue for me. I <br>wasn t even worried about the trials.<br> I had one goal; that was the gold. Not the bronze, not the silver. I knew exactly what I wnted and was counting the days to Atlanta. <br><br>He sailed through the trials. In Atlanta, he sailed through the decathlon, holding on to a steady point margin throughout each of the ten events. Dan became the first American to win the decathlon since Bruce Jenner in 1976. His only disappointment was that he did not break his own world record. That is a goal he is still working on.<br><br>Historic Parallels<br><br>For those who follow the sport of decathlon, the parallels between Dan s life and that of the first gold medal decathlete, Jim Thorpe, cannot be ignored. Both were born of mixed races. Both have Irish surnames. Both came from small schools and towns. They have each enjoyed immense popularity and adulation, and also humiliation. For Thorpe, stripped of his medals after a controversial decision by the governing Olympic board, redemption and restoration of those medals would occur only after his death. Dan O Brien was