He ran well enough in Europe that summer to trade in the Corsica for a 2003 Impala — used, but still a major upgrade that made him feel like he was "styling and profiling." When the transmission went bad in the Impala this year, the Denver East High School graduate bought himself a new Jaguar. And on Sunday, Oliver went from zero to Beijing in 12.95 seconds.

Having already posted three of the fastest five times in the world this year, Oliver made his first Olympic team at Hayward Field, where his mother, Brenda Chambers, competed in the 1980 Olympic Trials...