Adam Nelson ’97

On dreaming of gold in the shot put and throwing clean

"I'm an unusual person. I chose Dartmouth because no one expected a meathead to do that—and lama, meathead; I have a thick neck, I played football and I'm from the South. Then I decided to forgo the usual consulting job when I graduated. I chose shot put. I chose a female coach. I decided to change my technique right before the Olympics. I work with a hypnotherapist. I'll probably be the only medal contender in a full-time M.B.A. program. I'm just different."

"At Dartmouth I chose the athletic and social options.

I was not one who shied away from late hours, but in that environment you can't help but learn a whole lot. I am not, as has been written, the most intellectual Olympian."

"Those of us in throwing have an inferiority complex; we're in third tier—maybe I should say tertiary—events. We call it the dark side or seeing the light, depending on whether we're cynics or optimists."

"I love the personal challenge of shot put. There are so few things you can be the absolute best at. There's no subjectivity."

"After finishing second at the 2004 Olympics I went home and spent about I 72 hours hoeing up my whole acre by hand and reseeding, just to get rid of my frustration at not winning."

"It was at Dartmouth that I first experienced hypnosis. I got picked out of an audience at a Hop event. The next day I had my personal best throw, so I've been a believer since then. Hypnotherapist Pete Siegel, whom I work with now, is a complete nut, but he's really helped me mentally prepare."

"I'm pretty intense, but that doesn't mean I don't have fun. I do have rituals. I do have certain angers that put me into my zone. Pre-throw, as soon as I take off my shirt I'm Superman, I'm detached from reality and all I can do is throw that steel ball as far away from me as I can."

"Despite my looks I have quite a fast metabolism. When I'm in high training I can go to bed at 272 pounds and wake up after sleeping like a baby at 265."

"I'm a great friend to have if you need a couch moved. I'm not so great if you want help with yard work. I hate yard work." "There's no such thing as failure. You learn lessons from whatever happens. Given that when I 'fail' it's in front of millions of people on international television, I'd be in real trouble if I had a failure complex."

"After the NPR video aired in April people did come up tome and ask about the callus on my neck. I told them, You can touch it if you want.' "

"I'm concerned about competing in China only becauseit's a completely different culture. I was concerned about the 2000 Olympics in Sydney because it was so far away; I was concerned about Greece in 2004 because we weren't sure they'd have the facilities ready."

"The opening ceremonies of the Olympics are a great opportunity for a host country, but they can be a nuisance. I've never walked. You have to be on your feet for as many as 12 hours. I don't need that when I'm competing a week later."

"Society pays a premium to see freaks do freaky things. World records are not meant to be broken every year but that's what people want. They want to see someone hit 70 to 80 home runs a year. Then they want to see more."

"Because of steroids we've been sending a message tothe next generation of athletes that all the performances they see are dirty. We have to instead send the message it doesn't have to be that way. Athletes have to accept that we're role models."

"If I break the world record tomorrowsome people will believe in me, but otherswill say, 'No way can you do that clean.' My biggest frustration as a power athlete is that it doesn't matter what I say, what I do. People will always look at me and speculate."

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS: Olympic silver medalist, 2000 and 2004; Olympic trials champion, 2000 and 2004; 2005 World Outdoor champion; three-time World Outdoor silver medalist; four-time USA Outdoor, two-time USA Indoor champion; 2005 USA Outdoor runner-up; 2001 World Indoor runner-up; 2001 Goodwill Games gold medalist; 1997 NCAA champ; 1994 World Junior gold medalist MEDIAWISE: Featured on NPR's Morning Edition and in videos at www.npr.org—showing his neck callus, his technique and his treatment by a sports hypnotherapist; in 2005 secured a sponsor by auctioning himself on eBay; has Web site, www.throwclean.com EDUCATION: A.B., history; will complete his M.B.A. at University of Virginia's Darden School of Business in December FAMILY: Wife, Lacy; first child due in September