High jumper Dwight Stones was a long shot. He was 30 years old, the experts said. Few even expected him to make the Olympic team.(Rick Rickman/The Orange County Register)

Men's individual Road Race champion Alexi Grewal reacts after winning the event on the streets of Mission Viejo. (Todd Buchanan/The Orange County Register)

Greg Louganis dives during the 1984 Olympics. (Rick Rickman/The Orange County Register)

Runners are reflected in a pool at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during the Olympic trials just prior to the Olympic games in 1984. (Brian Smith/The Organge County Register)

Rowdy Gaines helped U.S. swimmers dominate the competition held at USC, winning the 100 freestyle and anchoring 4x100 relay. (Hal Stoelzle/The Orange County Register)

The start of the 100 meters backstroke event in the 1984 Olympics. The photographer, Brian Smith, said he had to do a lot of improvising to get good shots. It paid off and the team took home the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography. (Brian Smith/The Organge County Register)

Peter Vidmar of the USA. won two gymnastic gold medals and as well  as a silver medal leading to the first U.S. gymnastic gold medal victory in Olympic history at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. (Brian Smith/The Organge County Register)

Julianne McNamara and Mary Lou Retton celebrate another medal-winning performance in women's gymnastics. Each scored an individual gold and silver , and shared in the women's team's silver medal accomplishment in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.(Hal Stoelzle/The Orange County Register)

Valerie Brisco-Hooks gets congratulatory hugs after winning the 200 for her second gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. (Hal Stoelzle/The Orange County Register)

A triumphant Mary Lou Retton shows the pose of a winner after her win in the all-around competition at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. (Hal Stoelzle/The Orange County Register)

USA women's basketball team basks in the 85-55 gold-medal triumph over South Korea at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.(Brian Smith/The Organge County Register)

Switzerland's Pierre Deleze falls in a vain attempt to catch Britain's Steve Ovett at the finish line of their 1,500-meter semifinal heat. Deleze did not qualify. (Hal Stoelzle/The Orange County Register)

Pauley Pavilion decked out in a swirl of eye-catching color, was the setting for gymnastics competition that culminated in by far the finest showing by an American team; a total of 16 medals, five of them gold. Above all, it was Mary Lou Retton, a 4-foot 9 inch bundle of muscle and teeth, who grabbed the attention of the thousands who packed the arena and the millions who watched on television as she captured the gold in all-around. (Brian Smith/The Organge County Register)