What Man Can Be. by Bob Richards

The International Olympics Committee had accepted canoe racing for the first time. Bill Havens of Arlington Va, was a member of the Washington D.C., Canoe club, and his four-man team was going to Paris. But as the time drew nearer, it became clear that Bill's wife would have her baby while he was away. In those days there was no commercial flying back and forth across oceans. Bill hesitated. His wife implored him to go; but the more he thought, the more he felt his first responsibility was to be near her. He withdrew. The canoe team went to Paris without him, and news of their win arrived a week before Bill's son, Frank, was born. Bill Havens never mentioned his disappointment over missing out on the Olympics, and the years passed. Then came July, 1952. A cable arrived from Helsinki, Finland, where the Olympics were on: "Congratulations, Pop," the cable read, "I won. I'm bringing home the gold medal you lost while waiting for me to be born." That baby, Frank, who had been responsible for Bill's turning down the Olympics of 1924 had won the main event in singles canoeing.