Olympian has golden tales to tell, an article in the Contra Costa Times on Olympic Gold Medalist, Don Tarzan Bragg.

"His is the story of a New Jersey farm boy who lived the Huckleberry life, grew up to be an Olympic champion, almost lived the dream of playing Tarzan on the big screen and somehow survived an adulthood marred by health problems and misfortune."

Hickok Sports bio of Don Bragg: "At the 1960 Olympic trials, Bragg set a world record of 15 feet, 9 1/4 inches. That's still the best vault ever for an athlete using a metal pole; soon afterward, most vaulters began using fiberglass poles....Bragg went on to win the Olympic gold medal, startling the crowd in Rome when he gave his Tarzan yell from the victory podium."

* NAME: Don Bragg

* AGE: 68

* EDUCATION: Villanova University

* CAREER: 1960 Olympic pole vault champion; recreation director; pharmaceuticals salesman; boys' camp founder and director; special assistant in charge of youth affairs and recreation for then-New Jersey Gov. Richard Hughes (1969-70); athletic director for Stockton State College in New Jersey; actor; author.

* RESIDENCE: Clayton, CA

* AUTOBIOGRAPHY: "A Chance to Dare: The Don Bragg Story" (written with Patricia Doherty). Available at tarzanbragg.com

He's vaulting back into the limelight by Sam Carchidi; The Philadelphia Inquirer, Page D18

Carchidi writes about Don's travel from California to his native Penns Grove, NJ where he promoted his autobiography, A Chance to Dare, now available for sale on Amazon.com and autographed from TarzanBragg.com.

To purchase Don Bragg's book, "A Chance to Dare", send an e-mail to
booksales@tarzanbragg.com. Books cost $20 and are payable by check. Please indicate to whom the 'dedication' should be written.

By Don Bragg with Patricia Doherty

It all started with Johnnie Weismuller swinging through the jungle with his trademark Tarzan yodel-- and right into the heart of a scrawny, butt-end-of-everything kid from the Jersey swamplands. Swinging on makeshift ropes, Don Bragg emulated his hero, amassing the upper body strength that transformed him into an unlikely natural for pole vaulting.

His confidence developed more slowly. In fact, it took a herd of willful pigs to catapult Don into Villanova and collegiate sports. Though a quirk of fate kept him off the 1956 Olympic team and out of the movie role of Tarzan, Don kept chasing his Gold Medal. In 1960, despite a nude canoe trip and a close call with a meat grinder, he finally won Olympic Gold in Rome.

Next, Don gave Hollywood a try, but after facing down a loaded gun, he high-tailed it back to the normalcy of New Jersy. Shortly thereafter, an independent producer in New York signed him to do six motion pictures starring as Tarzan. Hollywood execcutives sued the company and the first film was never completed. Shrugging off personal injuries and business disappointments, Don opened a camp for disadvantaged kids with an assit from Muhammad Ali, who delighted in beating up Tarzan.

Though his dreams of a blissful retirement foundered on misplaced trust, Don rediscovered his center within his family and in the enthusastic promotion of his sport.

Welcome to the new TarzanBragg.com, the official web site of Olympic Gold Medalist Don Bragg.