Thirty-nine years ago, Bruce Jenner launched himself into fame as a hero. The former decathlete, who recently announced that he is transgender, rose to fame as an Olympic champion in 1976 — long before he was a reality TV star.
With an infectious smile, Atlas-like physique, shaggy hair, charming personality and ability to slay his Soviet foe in the midst of the Cold War, Jenner became a real-life superhero at the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games — arguably the first U.S. Olympic icon of the modern TV era. And it launched him to fame. He was, as one reporter wrote, “a matinee idol in Olympic Stadium.”
