Meidl, at age 20, suffered near-fatal electrical burns and other injuries in a construction accident that sent 30,000 volts through his body. Despite the odds, Meidl overcame his injuries and competed in kayaking at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics at age 30 and 34. After carrying the flag in Sydney, Meidl has worked in asset management and been a motivational speaker.

Bruce Baumgartner (1996)

The New Jersey-born wrestler won four medals, two gold, one silver and one bronze in freestyle (130 kg) from 1984-1996. He served as the host flag bearer in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Baumgartner is the current Director of Athletics at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.

Francie Larrieu Smith (1992)

Larrieu Smith never medaled at the Olympics, but she was one of the most durable long-distance runners of all-time, representing the United States at every Olympics from 1972-1992, with the exception of the boycotted 1980 Games. She peaked with a fifth place finish in the 10,000 meters in 1988. Larrieu Smith has been the cross-country coach at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, since 1999.

Evelyn Ashford (1988)

In 1984, Ashford became the first woman to ever run the 100 meters in under 11 seconds at the Olympics, clocking in at 10.97 seconds. Ashford added three 4x100 relay gold medals in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Games. She also won a silver medal in the 100 meters in 1988. As successful as Ashford was, her prime may have been in 1980 when the United States boycotted the Moscow Olympics. She had previously finished in fifth place in the 100 at the 1976 Games.

Ed Burke (1984)

Burke finished seventh in the hammer throw at the 1964 Olympics and was a favorite in 1968. But Burke walked away from the sport after 1968 because he felt unfairly judged for a disappointing performance. In 1979, 15 years later, while watching the World Cup with his daughters, Burke claims one of them asked, "You did that?" Burke, almost 40 at the time, decided to give hammer throwing a try again. He made the U.S. team in 1984 for his third Olympic appearance, and his comeback story earned him the flag in Los Angeles.

Gary Hall (1976)

Hall carried the flag at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The swimmer entered the Games with two silver medals (400 meter medley in 1968 and 200 meter butterfly in 1972) and added a bronze medal in Montreal in the 100 butterfly. After his swimming career ended, Hall became an ophthalmologist. His son, Gary Hall, Jr., competed in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics in the pool, winning ten medals, including five gold.

Olga Fikotova (1972)

Fikotova's claim to fame came at the 1956 Melbourne Games as a representative of Czechoslovakia. She won gold in the discus throw and simultaneously fell in love with Harold Connolly, the American hammer gold medalist that year. When the couple's relationship went public, the West embraced it, while the communist side of the Iron Curtain scoffed. Fikotova married Connolly and moved to the United States. "We believe in love," U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles said after Connolly's proposal. Fikotova's wish to continue representing Czechoslovakia was disallowed by the Czechoslovak Olympic Committee, and Fikotova began representing the United States in 1960. Fikotova carried the flag in Munich in 1972 at her fifth Olympics. Outside of the Olympics, Fikotova, who had been training to be a doctor in Czechoslovakia, worked cleaning the offices of The Boston Globe, while Connolly sold insurance. The couple divorced in 1973.

Janice Romary (1968)

The fencer became the first female flag bearer for the United States at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. The Games were Romary's sixth Olympics. Although she never won a medal, Romary finished fourth in women's individual foil in 1952 and 1956. After her Olympic career as a competitor, Romary was the women's administrator for the United States Olympic Committee for the 1976 Montreal Olympics and the commissioner of fencing at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Parry O'Brien (1964)

O'Brien arrived at the 1964 Tokyo Games as a three-time shot put medalist after winning gold medals in Helsinki in 1952 and Melbourne in 1956. He won a silver medal in Rome in 1960. At the Tokyo Olympics, O'Brien finished fourth. The Santa Monica, California, native practiced shot put deep into his life, throwing a 6-kilogram shot put 17.72 meters in his early 50s.

Rafer Johnson (1960)

A decathlete from Hills