Lindgren's story and interview comments reminded me of the tragic story told by Guy De Maupaissant of a man who was falsely arrested for theft because he had bent down and picked up a piece of string from the ground and placed it in his pocket at the same instant that a real theft had occurred nearby. The man pled his case to the arrestors and judge, and after a few days or weeks, he was ultimately exonerated and released. Although free again, the man became embittered, telling everyone he encountered about the grave injustice done to him. It affected his work, his family life, and eventually his health, and as he lay on death's doorstep, his final uttered words were, "A piece of string, it was just a piece of string."

Lindgren's piece of string is still hanging around his neck, and dangling from it is a silver medal, rather than a gold one. He sounds embittered by the injustice done to him, although by the rules in 1964, he did come in 2nd. He is especially bitter over the money and fame others received. The other runners faced the same 5 white lines, it was fair for all.

What a stupid analogy. He can feel frustrated if he wants. If you read the whole story you would see that every time he talks to someone that was there they bring up the story. He relives every time he talks to old friends. He was cheated out of a gold medal and has lived with it. He seems like he has been fine about the decision but don't start saying he has been bitter. Think about what you are saying. This man was told he won gold. Then right before you go on the podium you are told you went under the tape and are silver. I think the gold medalist should have given his gold knowing he lost and taken silver.
Try using dumb analogies somewhere else. World's best athlete vs a piece of string. Come on know.

How is this worth printing? Lets run an article about how every team in sports has lost a game because of rules enforcement. To mean it would seem pretty clear to BREAK THE TAPE and the end of a race.

He seems like a bitter old man, who 44 years later is using this as his excuse as to why he isn't rich.

That he didn't get over it. $3 million dollar houses aren't everything. Besides, the rule was: first one to break the tape.

Dont go after Blaine because the reporter decided to put a bitter spin on the story. This is an interesting story that I was unaware of. The incident would haunt anyone for the rest of their life and one may always wonder what might have been. But, it sounds like Blaine has lead a full life.

I can see being disappointed and upset, at the time, but to carry this and let it continue to haunt and canker your soul? I'm sorry but I feel very little sympathy for a man his age acting like a child. Forget it man, move on. Most people have never heard of you and would be excited to meet an Olympic silver medalist. Accept the honor that you earned.

The rules and technologies were as they were in his day. They required you to break the tape. The lines were part of the course, and everyone was competing under equal conditions. He made a mistake and it cost him the Gold. So what? No injustice was done to him. He did NOT lose on a "technicality." He lost because he did not run the best, complete race. He failed to take all conditions into account. He did not deserve the Gold.

According to the rules of the Olympics in 1964, Mr. Lindgren did not win the gold medal. Why did they move him to second place? He did not follow the rules (even if it was unintentional) and he probably should have been disqualified. And now we are supposed to feel sorry for him because he doesn't have a 3 million dollar home? Oh please! I have very little sympathy for this bitter old man who needs to get over this incident.

Oh come on now, he doesn't seem bitter. Obviously any of you have never had anything that you look back on and think "if I had only done this differently". Everyone else who has had such an experience in life, especially as big as this one, understands that you still have times in life when you think back and wonder what if. It doesn't mean he embittered, just regretful. I doubt it fills every moment of his life like the article makes it seem. He seems like a good guy.

I didn't think he sounded bitter at all from the article. Just irritated, which any normal person would be.

The Jazz sometimes whine about what might have beenhad MJ been called for a push-off, but it;s really time to get over itboth for Lindgren and Jazz fans.

It's too bad that the person who was "given" the gold medal didn't stand up and say NO!
What good is a gold medal if you know you didn't deserve it?

As for those of you who are saying that Blaine is some bitter sap still whining about his "piece of string", get over yourself and get off of your high horse.
This was an interesting story and I think there's nothing wrong with Blaine telling it like it is.

The 72 basketball team still has not picked up their silver medals and say they never will. Are they bitter fools? No. They know they should have won gold and that the silver medals are worthless and meaningless.

Mr. Lindgren, Just so you know, people who write here in the "comments" are largely people who don't really bother to read the article and they have no compassion at all, whatsoever. They make imbisilic judgements about people they don't know and circumstances they don't understand. They seem to have nothing nice to say. (They probably have no friends. We should feel sorry for them.)

I did read your story and I don't think you're a bitter old man. I think you're thankful you got the chance to compete in the olympics and that you cherish the memories. But even cherished memories sometimes bring a heart-ache when there are thoughts of what might have been. If it had been me, I think my heart would ache for a lifetime. That's not bitterness, that's disappointment. You haven't allowed the loss to paralize you. You've gone on to lead an honorable life. Good for you. It sounds like you have a great family too. What more can you ask for? CONGRATULATIONS on your silver medal (even though it should have been GOLD!)

Comments about getting over it are from people who don't compete athletically at elite levels.
Lindgren has moved on. He's just being more outspoken about his feelings. Most people would lie about it saying they are fine with a stolen gold.
What elite athlete wouldn't be very disappointed in not taking home the gold if he was the first to cross?
If he wasn't first he wouldn't be nearly as disappointed.
He did his best and his best was worthy of Gold. Period.
He did great and represented Utah and US the best anyone could ask.

i see some one remembers the talks of pres hinkley
i think it is an interesting story and i bet that if most any one else came that close to winning gold and lost it in the same way it would eat at them too
there are VERY FEW who get the chance.

I don't know, I do feel for the guy. The winner of a competition should be decided by the person or team that performed the best. Yeah, he's not the first one to lose due to a technicality despite performing the best, but I still feel for individuals and teams that this happens to. Then again, if we insist on organized athletics, then there are going to be technical aspects that need to be followed.

To Cry Foul: Amen!

I noticed that you read the story. Isn't that what writing is all about? Getting people to read what you wrote?

This story deserves to be printed:

1. It is very unusual.
2. The olympics are very close.
3. There is a Utah connection.
4. It appeals to our sense of justice.

I liked this story. I had never heard it before. We all have coulda, woulda, shoulda's in our lives and we all deal with them in our own way.

What an amazing accomplishment for anyone to make it to the Olympics let alone win a Silver Medal.

He didn't sound bitter to me. He was pointing out the differences in the outcome. Writers can spin a story like this anyway they want.

Good Job Blaine Lindgren. Keep being the Olympian that you are.

Mike

@ Cry Fowl,

They printed your comment didn't they? How is your comment any more worthy of print than his life story? At least his life story was worth reading and learning from.

yeah, sad story and great accomplishment, but come on.. 45 years later.. you need to get over it. it's really not that big of a deal.

To me, the decision to give Mr. Lindgren the silver medal was a senseless decision based on a mere technicality having nothing to do with the efforts of the athletes.

Just as interesting would be a story about the hurdler who finished second but was given the gold on the basis of the same technicality. There must be times when he looks at his gold medal and feels just a bit empty inside, even ashamed. But of course, he was just as much a victim of the technical ruling as was Mr. Lindgren.

Thanks for the story. This is the first time I have heard about it.

Piece of String, you are a piece of work. Did you ever compete in sports? Ever? If so, then there are games or competitions you look back on and wish things had gone differently. I recall an overtime loss in a first round high school playoff that cut short a very promising season. Do I still remember the great disappointment? Yes. Do I still wonder how far our team may have gone in the playoffs? Yes. Am I therefore bitter because I still remember? No.

Mr. Lindgren is an accomplished Olympian who is merely sharing one of those tough experiences that occur in the competitive arena. Memories of those highs and lows can linger for a lifetime. By all accounts, he's also an accomplished human being in all the ways that matter. Please don't dishonor the man through gross extrapolations and generalizations.

This was an excellent story and would be the start of an interesting study or book. "String" and "Cry Foul" sound like losers who have never competed in anything.

This is a great article. It makes me sick to read about them taking away the gold after 45 minutes thought. I feel for the guy.

This is a good story. It's thought provoking. We've all experienced something like that to one degree or another. Unfortunately for Mr. Lindgren it happened to him at an extraordinarily high degree. Fame and fortune are not all they're cracked up to be. The experience, bitter as it was, is probably a blessing for him and his family if they have the perception to receive it as such.

Have none of you people ever competed for anything which required SACRAFICE! I don't depict bitterness but simply related his situation how it is and was. People do have the ability to relate and grow through adversity. It is obvious that a technichality changed the very direction that his life would have done.
AS far as the printing goes, this is great stuff to learn from and every kid that runs, bats, or competes in any form should know that life isn't all candy. He had put in an honest effort and expected an Honest return form that effort, NO MORE. In fact I believe the real story is between the lines of how he deals with all the reminders and still has a life he can be proud of!

The comments, on the Deseret News’ website, dumping on Blaine Lindgren, only give evidence of the 'win at any cost' attitude that plagues our society.

This attitude drives corporate corruption that justifies moving companies offshore and plundering companies, which temporarily boosts profits to the benefit of insiders.

It drives political corruption to the waging of undeclared and unjustified wars with the attendant loss of our liberties and the immoral arrest and torture of anyone that even remotely appears to be a threat to politicians and their wealthy supporters.

It has brought the level of our national elections to childish name calling instead of serious searching for solutions to current problems and clear visions of the potential that we have when we work together for the common good.

Perhaps these readers should review the first principle of the International Olympic Committee:

Fundamental Principles of Olympism
1. Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a
way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles. (read ethical!)

My father was a silver medalist in the olympics. I can remember as a child going to olympic events in Southern California. On one occasion, my dad was talking to one of his friends, a gold medalist. Someone walked up to ask the gold medalist for an autograph. The gold medalist asked the autograph seeker if they wanted my dad's autograph as well as he was a silver medalist. They didn't want it. Over the years, many Europeans wrote my dad for his autograph which he willingly gave. If this was Europe and not the US, Mr. Lindgren would have faired better. There is something cultural to this.

Build a bridge get over it. After the first 40 seconds nobody cares.

The vast majority of athletes in the Olympic Games do not come close to winning a medal of any kind. I would hope for their sakes the honor of being able to participate would be some kind of reward in itself.

Sounds like you all have it wrong. He looks happy to me and probably is. It was just a story. Everyone has a story. You can tell it anyway you want. He just happens to be a hero. Great job Mr. Lindgren. Great Story too.

...how personality is portrayed in print. I've met Blaine. He mentored me for a bit when I began running hurdles in H.S. He told us the story only because we asked. But it was an aside.

The synics in the comments are sure thought-provoking, huh? That's where the bitterness is.

Blaine is a nice and impressive person. I'm sure if I met the synics here, they would be as pleasant as their comments.

Theres a fine line that seperates first and second place. And theres a fine line that seperates an athlete competing in the spirit of the games or the spirit of financial gain.

He was first because overall he was faster. He can die happy knowing he was first. But he's not going to die happy is he. He's let the worlds view of him effect him for the worst.

I trained for 10 years in hurdling. I beat my team mate who was a silver medalist and a fine athlete and mentor to me . I never even got to go to the olympics because of our political feud with the Russians. I don't even remember what it was about. I was disappointed not to go let alone get a medal. He should be content he just got to compete. Being an olympian is a wonderful thing. I have coached 4 now and I am proud of all of them.

I have been in several classes taught by Blaine here at Zions Bank and this is the first time I've ever heard this story. This IS NOT a bitter old man!!! He is one of the most humble and hilarious men that I've ever been around.
I haven't asked Blaine, but I am guessing that some reporter searched out this story and asked Blaine to give his take on it. The Blaine that I've been around would have never sought out a reporter. However, he did a very good job explaining how he felt in order to make the story interesting.
GOOD JOB BLAINE!!! You were an Olympian Medalist, which can't be said by very many people, INCLUDING all of those who are ripping on you in this comment section!!!

My apologies, I misread the last part of the story. Looks like he let that bitterness go.

If the IOC can come back after the fact and take medals away from athletes accused of doping, and then give those medals to the clean athletes that may or may not have beat the dopers, why can't they go back and review the race and the results and make a correction. Someone within the US Olympic committee should petition the IOC to correct the situation, if for no other reason than a good will gesture to Blaine. The IOC could definately use some positive press right now.

As for the monetary and commercial success for getting a gold medal, I think Blaine has missed a huge opportunity that is worth its weight in gold. If anyone has a story that would make for a good book, movie, etc it is Blaine. He could have been making money hand over fist with speaking engagements and the message of perservering in the face of adversity. Instead of being bitter, he should have been marketing the story and cashing in. He probably still could to some degree. It's all in your perspective. Blaine has been sitting on a million dollar story for decades. What is he going to do with it?

Simply stated, this story makes me sad. Had the rules been clearly explained prior to the race, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

To Don't Know: I completely agree. I have to wonder about the people who see Mr. Lindgren as a bitter man. I don't think they understand. If you have never attempted anything great you can't understand what it is like to come up short, and still keep going. If you never try anything great, you cannot loose great. That is the problem for them, they have never done anything big. A tragic loss for them is if the cable goes out.
Interesting story. Congratulations to Blaine on the medal and (it sounds like) a great family.

Wow buddy get a life. I know its easy to blame everyone for your lack of success but this is pathetic. I think it is equally pathetic for the writer and the runner. And by the way you are not and never were a Billy Mills so I would stop the comparisons there.

You comment whiners, you make me sick. He was an Olympian who won a silver medal and actually deserved the gold medal.

You comment whiners don't even deserve to be on the same planet as silver medal track guy.

Give me a silver Olympic medal, I would turn it into a lot more than $3,000,000!

You can still turn that silver into gold.

Somehow my prior comment got lost. I would only point out that Lingren seems to think that had he gotten the gold medal he would have had much more success in life, like Billy Mills. The better comparison is to Hayes Jones. Does Jones live in a $3 million home? Has he been on a Wheaties box, is he a professional speaker, are there movies about him? Billy Mills is a Native American who rose from abject poverty (Pine Ridge Reservation is still the most depressing spot in the US) to become the first and only US winner of the 10,000m, a race with much more cachet than the hurdles.

If events really did transpire as the article describes, the real shame is not that Lindgren didn't win the gold, it is that Hayes Jones didn't refuse to take the gold.

WASHINGTON—President George W. Bush delivered an encouraging motivational message to Beijing-bound Olympians Monday, urging them to "compete swifter, higher, and stronger in their pursuit of gold" so that they may achieve not just the glory of victory but the hard cash value of the much-needed commodity. "Truly, victory and pride are beyond price, but gold is currently going for $916.78 a troy ounce," Bush said in the Rose Garden speech, delivered just hours after he was unable to secure an agreement with the Chinese ambassador to forge the Olympic medals out of debt-relief certificates. "In striving, you uplift the hearts of all Americans, but in victory alone will you actually get something that can help us out of the current economic slump. I mean, silver is barely over 17 bucks. Might as well drop out at that rate." Bush later held a closed-door Oval Office meeting with swimmer Michael Phelps, whose possible eight gold medals could potentially help the Olympic team break even on travel costs.

Obviously most of you have never competed in anything worth talking about. Talk to most Olympians and it is a life and death deal. I once asked a friend of mine what it took to win his gold medal at the LA Olympics and he said the physical and mental trianing was like committing suicide. Mr. Lindgren has every right to feel bad he lost by a technicality. But again most of you wouldn't know what that's all about. I'm surprised he isn't more bitter than most of you accuse him of being.

Sounds like another "roland gardner" moment. He missed wieght check in by 30 seconds. Whose fault was that? His of course. Get over your self

of the critics couldn't make the U.S. Olympic team if their lives depended on it. They either have never played sports or they would have trouble getting picked for a pickup game at the local.

For such people to fathom the depth of disappointment that comes with missing a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, "by that much," is beyond their feeble capacity.

To all competitors who had the vision and determination to compete in the Olympics,

Good Luck in China!

(p.s. - Thanks for sharing your story Blaine. A silver medal in the Olympics is something you should be enormously proud of.)

There are a lot of people who have finished 2nd in some things in life (including myself) and probably have some regrets or what ifs but Blaine Lindgren should have an ax to grind. He has visual evidence that he won the race but again due to a technicality he finished 2nd.

I am proud to have Mr. Lindgren as a fellow Utahn. He is one of the few Utahns to even be an Olympic medalist. Thank you DN for writing his story for a new generation and all the best to you Mr. Lindgren—you have done the USA and Utah proud!!!