Imagine you’re the son of a hardworking immigrant shopkeeper, and at age 6 you get to follow a brilliant world champion skier around on a brand-new ski hill, learning the most efficient racing technique in the most challenging snow and terrain on the continent. That’s how Jimmie Heuga’s story began. By age 16 he could beat anyone on the U.S. Ski Team, and most of the Olympic medalists, too. In 1964, with his friend Billy Kidd, he became the first American man to win an Olympic medal in alpine skiing. Then, his career ended by multiple sclerosis, he became a real hero: he revolutionized treatment of the disease. --Seth Masia