On July 21, 1986, Oklahoma State University sophomore Michele Smith was taking a nap while her dad drove her back home from the oral surgeon's office. When her dad made a turn, Michele's door flung open and she was thrown from the truck into a roadside post. The post chopped off part of her elbow bone and tore the triceps and nerve endings in her pitching arm. This is ordinarily a career-ending injury for an athlete, but Michele didn't want to stop playing. Michele endured 9 months of intensive rehabilitation, and then made her comeback as a college pitcher, eventually throwing harder than ever! Michele won her first Olympic Gold medal in Atlanta 10 years after her accident. Photo courtesy of Michele Smith.