Sport: Whatever It Takes

His handsome, ebony face lined with strain and bathed with sweat, Rafer Johnson collapsed wearily on a folding chair at the University of Oregon's track field last Saturday. "It's ridiculous," he muttered. "The whole thing's ridiculous.'' The 4,500 cheering spectators sympathized—but disagreed. In his first competitive fling at the decathlon—among the most grueling of all sports events—since he injured his back in an automobile accident last year, Johnson had just turned in the greatest individual performance in modern track history. In last week's Olympics decathlon trials, Johnson amassed 8,683 points and eclipsed by a fantastic 326 points the world record, set...