John Martin

In 1975, John O'Meara and his daughter Sue placed third, with their time of 63 minutes, 16 seconds. Photo: Fermilab

Sept. 30, 1979, about 1:45 p.m.: SNAP!! Gerd Hartner, in the bow of his canoe at the race starting position, dipped his paddle in the water, gave a mighty first pull and, to his astonishment, broke it in half.