Estimated read time: Less than a minute
Mike Conley spent most of the 1980s ranked among the top triple jumpers in the world. So, heading into the U.S. Olympic trials in '88, there was very little thought given to the idea he wouldn't finish in the top three and make the trip to Seoul. In a sport embedded inside an Olympic world where gold medals are won, and careers can be made, by the most minuscule of fractions — of seconds or inches or centimeters — what toppled Conley's hopes had nothing to do with a measuring tape. The Associated Press spoke to Conley and other athletes about how they prepare to avoid those disappointments and the impact of those lifechanging finishes.
×
