Louis Zamperini was about to near the final lap of his very first 5,000 meter run at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Although Zamperini finished eighth, he had run the 5,000 meter faster than any other American runner at the 1936 Olympics. Zamperini's time was 14:46.8 and he set a world record of running a single lap around the track in fifty-six seconds (Hillenbrand 34). Louis Zamperini had become a famous Olympian. Zamperini was born in Olean, New York to Italian immigrants Louise and Anthony Zamperini on January 26,1917. Two short years later, the Italian family packed up their belongings and moved across the U.S. to the warm state of California (5). Speaking little English, Louis Zamperini had a hard time making friends as a child, and he was often bullied because of this. Zamperini turned down a wrong path, which resulted in him constantly getting into trouble at school, at home, and in public (Zamperini 7). Upon entering high school, Zamperini was faced with an ultimatum. He could either run track and be eligible to graduate, or he could continue his mischief and end up in jail (18). This ultimatum was just the beginning of Louis Zamperini's legacy, which leads to an obvious question: How did Louis Zamperini affect society in a positive way?
