Sport: Athletics

Hometown: Munich, Allied-Occupied Germany

Biography: Frank Shorter was born October 31, 1947, Munich, Germany. When the distance running boom started in the U.S. in the late 1970s, Frank Shorter was a driving force in that surge. A Yale University graduate, Shorter didn't become a nationally ranked runner until after his college days although he was the national collegiate 10,000-meter champion in 1969. It was in 1972, however, when Shorter literally hit the jackpot. That year, he won the Olympic marathon in Munich --ironically the city of his birth. Shorter also was second in the 1976 Olympic marathon and was a double winner at the 1971 Pan American Games, taking both the 10,000 meters and the marathon. A 14-time national champion, Shorter's 1972 Olympic victory earned him the Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete. Shorter earned a law degree in 1974 and later started his own athletic supply company. He also worked in television as a sports commentator. He was elected to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1984. Frank Shorter is best known for his Olympic accomplishments. As a member of the U.S. Olympic marathon team, he won the gold medal at the 1972 Olympic Games and returned to the 1976 Olympics to win the silver medal. He is a five-time national 10,000-meter champion and a four-time national cross-country champion. Shorter was a strong competitor internationally having won the Fukuoka International Marathon four consecutive years. He was the World Masters Biathlon Champion in 1989 and a gold medalist at the 1971 Pan American Games. Shorter was admitted to the Colorado Bar Association in 1975 after earning his law degree at the University of Florida. While a law associate at French and Stone, P.C. in 1977, he started his own company, Frank Shorter Sports. He has extensive television commentary experience for NBC-TV as a commentator for the 1988, '92 and '96 Olympic Games. He also commentates for the Boston Marathon and does independent contract work for ESPN, TBS, Fox Sports Net and Golden Gate Productions. Shorter's accomplishments have earned him many endorsements, including Hilton Hotels, United Airlines, Canon Camera, Sanyo Video, Mastercard International and New Balance Athletic Shoes. Shorter lives in Boulder, CO.