Kamp Olympik

For the average pole vaulter, what could trump winning an Olympic gold medal? For 1960 Olympic gold medalist Don Bragg the answer was easy: open a camp where inner-city boys could have a taste of the great outdoors and play some vital scholastic catch-up. For ten years, Don and his wife Theresa treated hundreds of kids to such a program, ably abetted by a cast of characters that ranged from a talented and terrifying chef, through a score of pranksters turned den mothers, all the way up to The Greatest himself, Muhammad Ali. With the grandeur of the New Jersey Pinelands as a backdrop, the kids who called Kamp Olympik home wrestled with fractions and capsized canoes, and turned ingenious in the never-ending game of Can You Top This? Don and his dedicated staff showed their young charges how to compete in the classroom, on the playing field, and in the art of growing up great. And the kids even learned how to pole vault. Kamp Olympik forever!

Sports & Outdoors

Bragg, Don

Biographies

AHLP Books

<p>It all started with Johnnie Weismuller swinging through the jungle with his trademark Tarzan yodel -- and right into the heart of a scrawny, butt-end-of-everything kid from the Jersey swamplands. Swinging on makeshift ropes, Don Bragg emulated his hero, amassing the upper body strength that transformed him into an unlikely natural for pole vaulting. His confidence developed more slowly. In fact, it took a herd of spiteful pigs to catapult Don into Villanova and collegiate sports. Though a quirk of fate kept him off the 1956 Olympic team and out of the movie role of Tarzan, Don kept chasing his gold medal. In 1960, despite a nude canoe trip and a near miss with a meat grinder, he finally won Olympic gold in Rome. Next, Don gave Hollywood a try, but after facing down a loaded gun, he high-tailed it back to the normalcy of New Jersey. Despite injuries, business disappointments, and a close call with terrorists, Don opened a camp for disadvantaged kids with an assist from Muhammad Ali, who delighted in beating up Tarzan. Though his dreams of a blissful retirement foundered on misplaced trust, Don rediscovered his center within his family and in the enthusiastic promotion of his sport.</p>

A Chance to Dare: The Don Bragg Story

Doherty, Patricia

Virtual Bookworm.Com Pub Inc

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Books by Bragg, Don