He's one of America's top distance runners now, but once he was just the new kid with the funny name and the dorkiest clothes in his San Diego seventh grade.
"There could be some cruel, cruel people," remembers Meb Keflezighi.
But the talk stopped when the tongue-tied boy from someplace in Africa tore up the school track. He was a high-school phenom.
"By the second week I said, 'this kid is really, really good,'" says his high school coach Ed Ramos.
At UCLA, Keflezighi was a four-time national champ. He still holds the American record for the 10,000 meters.
His event in Athens is the marathon, the race that ends at Athens' old Olympic stadium. Marathon is a good fit for Keflezighi because his life — his family's remarkable story — is all about overcoming obstacles, absorbing pain, and reaching the finish line.
Keflezighi lived his first ten-years in Eritrea, an African nation ravaged by war. He remembers in the early 1980's his brothers hiding from marauding soldiers in the bush by his family's humble village. They had no electric lights and no running water. His father escaped the chaos by walking day and night 600 miles into neighboring Sudan.
For three-years his father worked menial jobs until he finally scraped up enough money to get his family out. Eventually they settled in San Diego.
"My dad is a very, very strong person. I get the attention just because of my running. But he's done a great job," says Keflezighi.
Today, his father drives a cab to support those in his family of ten still at home. The six oldest children have all gone to college — one is an engineer, another son has his MBA, and others are studying medicine and law. Then there’s Meb, the Olympian.
“I am proud. I'm very proud of my son,” says his father.
Among Meb's memorabilia is a photo album of a trip he took two years ago, back to Eritrea for the first time since his family left.
He was reunited with his grandfather and hailed as a national hero. Thousands lined the streets to see him run.
"I was very proud and tears started coming down my eyes, believe it or not. And other people to cheer for you: 'Meb! Meb! Meb!' — that was an amazing experience."
So now he’s in Athens. Running a new race for him, only the fourth marathon of his career.
"I mean, it's gonna be rough. A hot, humid, tough course, but it's possible," he says.
Meb Keflezighi, going after a medal that no American has won since 1976. It’s a long distance and against long odds — call it a family tradition.