An adoring public thrust it upon him. Eric Heiden won three straight world championships heading into the 1980 Olympics. In nine days in February 1980 at Lake Placid, N.Y., Heiden accomplished ...

It was a cold and snowy spring day last week as I stood on an embankment alongside an oval track. In the background was the century-old Lake Placid High School, while in the distance, snow-covered ...

winning three races at each of the last two single-distance world championships and last year becoming the youngest allround champion since Eric Heiden. His second-place finish in the 500 meters ...