Early Life:
Louis Zamperini's difficult life started at his birth on January 26, 1917 in New York. He contracted pneumonia, and because of it, he
and his family moved to Torrance, California. His parents, Louise and
Anthony Zamperini, were Italian immigrants and didn't speak English, neither did Louis.
Olympics:
Louis in his many races
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In his first year of running he broke the school and state
record mile time with a 4:42 end time. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Louis became
the youngest ever long distance runner to qualify for the Olympics at 19. In the Olympic 5000 he got a time of 14:46, the fastest time ever for an
American. Adolf Hitler saw Louis's final lap of the 5000 and insisted on
a meeting between the two. Zamperini stole a Nazi flag, a guard caught him
but he was allowed to keep it because he claimed he was taking it to remember
how great Germany was. He returned to run in college despite threats from
other runners. In one of his first races back he won with a mile time of 4:08, seconds away from the
fastest mile thought possible (4:01.6), a NCAA record despite being boxed in
and his shins being spiked by the other runners.
" boy! oh boy! oh boy! can that guy fly? yes, that means that Zamperini guy! " |