Mer asked: Who was my childhood idol I got to meet?

believe it or not... Edwin Moses. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Moses

I was absolutely mezmerized with how he had won 100+ consecutive 400 metre hurdle races. Spending summers in Sweden, I got to watch a ton of the European summer track meets on TV. I was only a kid back then, and he was the one I mimic'ed when i would run around our summer house in Sweden trying to beat my previous "world record", or do whatever young kids do when they're bored throughout the summer! ( I held a ton of world records back then! Thank god no one knew what they were or what the events were so I didn't have any competition! But I sure as hell was the fastest around the house, best at throwing a particular rock from the gate to down the road, best at taking the least steps to climb this giant rock we had. etc!)

I got really lucky and sat on an aisle seat: 5C or so, and he sat on the other aisle sreat 5D for a couple hour flight a few months before 1984 Olympics on a flight from Nice France to Amsterdam...

I recognized him before I even walked through security in Nice, and then when I boarded the plane as I was a young kid traveling alone i was put way up, and spotted him right away. He was in regular clothing, but other athletes had their (Santa Monica T&F Racing Club - or something like that)jackets on as well.

He seemed to be pretty impressed with how much i knew about him, and how i'd seen recent races of his! He was really nice and was sitting next to his wife (she had the window seat) no one in between. We talked for a while, but not too long. Then the flight attendant brought me a (yellow carbon) copy of the plane manifesto with all the passenger's names on it. It had mine and his name on it, and he signed eith it, or the flight magazine for me. ( I dont' recal which one)

Ben Johnson was also there, but he wasn't too friendly. He sat a couple of row back, against the window with a tan leather jacket and big headphones. the flight attendant woke him up for him to sign my manifesto as well. (When he got caught with steroids... he broke a little kids heart. I totally understand the whole athletes are role models thing from that incident)

Anyway, I was absolutely thrilled, and then when i saw Edwin win additional races few months and even years later... I was ecstatic!

Edwin signed his name, then put his world record time next to it, along with a little hurdle. He was the coolest!

(I still have that yellow manifesto amongst my stuff. If I can find it, i'll scan it!)