So says Frank Wykoff, Olympic champion of 1928, '32 and '36 games.

Wykoff gained fame and fortune for his ability to be a great individual during the Olympic games of three decades ago.

Not only did the fine athlete participate in the gathering of the world's greatest athletes, but he set world records and later broke his own marks to earn recognition as a great among greats of the track world.

Wykoff now leads a more relaxed and quiet life with his wife Ethel Mae, in a section of Alhambra where sporting events are almost always at his front door -- across from Moor Field.

Records Wykoff set and broke are very numerous -- but the records he talks about most are the world record marks he set in the Olympic games.

In 1928, after graduation from Glendale High, and only eighteen years old, Wykoff went to Amsterdam, Holland, where he was a member of the U. S. 400 meter relay team.

Uncle Sam's squad ran the 400 meters in 40.2 seconds for a new Olympic and world record.  The same year, Wykoff competed in the 100 meter dash and finished fourth.

During that same year (1928) - as he participated in the final Olympic trials in Boston - Wykoff accomplished the impossible.

In one afternoon he tied the world record in the 100 meter dash four times!

Four years later (1932), site of the Olympics was the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Wykoff - a real hero to Southern California sports fans, ever since his high school record-breaking performances at Glendale and continuing through college -- was hitting the front pages of many California newspapers.  There was almost daily coverage of the talented  young athlete from USC.

In 1932, under the guidance of his trainer - Mrs. Wykoff -- Frank competed once again in the 400 meter relay.

And much to the joy of his many fans, the relay team again won a gold medal for the United States by shattering their four-year-old record.  It was now 40 seconds flat!

And this was not the end of Wykoff's career.

In 1936 Frank was once again a member of the United States Olympic team.  And in his final performance as a representative of our country he once again participated in "the race that made him famous."

"The first runner on that relay team was Jesse Owens," Wykoff related to us in a thoughtful mood as he looked through one of his scrap books of his many track clippings.

When the race was over, Wykoff and the other three members of the U.S. 400 meter relay team stood proudly on the winners platform in Berlin, Germany, as the American Flag was raised and they received the gold medal for their new Olympic and world's record of 39.2 seconds!

This made three gold medals for the Southern California track star and with this feat behind him, Wykoff returned home and (resumed)  his teaching career.

In 1950 he took a job as the superintendent of schools in Carpinteria and later began his present job as superintendent of the Schools of Correction of L.A. County.

Wykoff talked very fondly of his alma mater - USC - where he received his degree in education.  At USC, Wykoff participated in the quarter and half mile sprints, as well as the broad jump.

At one of the Trojan track meets in 1930 he set a past state record for the broad jump - now the long jump - with a leap of 23 feet and 1½ inches.

In 1930, Wykoff was undefeated in all track meets throughout the season, while setting four new USC records.

"Dean Cromwell was the greatest coach of all times," Wykoff told the Post Advocate, as he looked up from his scrapbook.  Cromwell was his coach at USC and later became the Olympic coach for the United States in 1936.

"Cromwell guided USC track teams to national fame for almost a quarter of a century as he handled and instructed young athletes toward goals of personal achievement," Wykoff related to us.

Wykoff's career began when he was a sixth grader.

"I won my first race and went home and told my dad that someday I would be the world's fastest sprinter," Frank recalled.

With this goal in mind he set out to achieve what was his life long dream.

When reaching high school he immediately qualified for the varsity track team.

And in four years as a high school sprinter at Glendale, Wykoff earned four varsity letters, also managing one in Cee football.

With the 1968 Olympics only two weeks away, Wykoff has some ideas on the threatened boycott.

"If athletes boycott the Olympics," he thoughtfully told us, "their names will soon be forgotten, but if they run and win, their names will be remembered for many years."

"Track is an individual effort and you are trying to represent your country.  And it is a real thrill to see your country's flag go up after winning the event!"

Although Wykoff loves to travel and plans to see much of the world after his retirement, he will be forced to miss this year's Olympic games in Mexico City.

When asked about the altitude in Mexico City and it's possible effect on the athletes, he commented: "The distance runners will feel it, but all the athletes are in training now in higher altitudes, which will help."

After a slight pause and with a big smile showing a deep feeling of pride he exclaimed, "We will win!"

Today's track stars are shooting for records much faster than those Wykoff pursued in the thirties.

"Today's track stars have starting blocks to push off from, while we had to dig our own holes," he related to us.

"Today's athletes are taking better vitamins and have better training programs along with better elementary school training."

Wykoff also listed the condition of the tracks today and the sizes of the runners compared with the sprinters of his day as factors in today's track excellence.

"They are much taller and stronger, which certainly helps to cut down the times," he said.

Wykoff has had a life of excitement and thrills from his running days until now.

Since retiring from teaching and going into the administrative field of education he has also raised (a son, Frank David; and a daughter, Marjorie Louise).

An Alhambra resident now, living a quiet but active life as he approaches his 59th birthday, listed among Wykoff's favorite pastimes is the art of building household items in his garage.

And he's still an avid sports fan. "I still follow all sports and I'm a real Dodge fan," he told us.

The road to success was not an easy one for Wykoff.

In 1929 he had his tonsils removed and almost died due to complications.

But the "little warrior" battled back only to have his leg broken when he got kicked by a horse later the same year.  "After that I worked very hard," he confided.

Track is a very highly competitive sport, but to a man who set many records -- locally, nationally, and worldwide - it is a sport that brings back many fond memories.

Although none of the records Wykoff set still stand, he can honestly say "track IS and individual effort."

A GREAT effort in the case of one Frank Wykoff!