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Every 2008 Olympian will be traveling to Beijing with a feel-good story, each with unbelievable talent and each with determination for victory- but not all of them will be overcoming tremendous odds to get there like the USA Cycling team's Michael Friedman.

In December of 2006, Friedman was diagnosed with a life-threatening pulmonary embolism that severely damaged one of his lungs, putting more than just his cycling career in jeopardy.

Just one-year later the 25-year old, born in Pittsburgh, with a mother from Jamestown and aunts, uncles and grandparents still living in the city, was standing on the podium after winning a first-place medal in the Beijing World Cup.

''He is determined and he has worked really hard,'' said his grandmother, Shirley Benson of Jamestown.

Immediately after being diagnosed with the medical condition, Friedman was doing 10 mg of Coumadin, the anti-coagulant drug, every day while he was rebuilding strength to continue his career.

Friedman used Coumadin to improve his health, but performance-enhancing drugs to jump-start his rehab? Absolutely not.

''Mike has always had a clean record,'' Friedman's grandfather Doug Benson said. ''It's such a bad habit in bike racing, but the team has always been clean.''

Garmin, the popular GPS navigation system company, just inked the USA Cycling Team to a big-time contract, in part because of their drug-free record and global recognition.

So, how did Friedman make Team USA bound for China?

Experience racing in 22 countries may have helped.

First-place honors in eight major events in just over two years certainly helped. Friedman's best event, known as the Madison, was also in need of riders for Team USA.

But nothing was certain.

Friedman's deadline to make the team was July 1, 2008 and if he didn't hear by then, he and his family would have had to wait four more years for the phone to ring.

''It was like having a new baby,'' Doug Benson said. ''Everyone kept asking us-when's it coming, when's it coming?''

The phone call came-on June 30, and Friedman was going to Beijing.

All of the hard work had paid off. His persistence to keep training and all of the travel and time away from home the past few years had paid off.

''He missed a lot,'' Shirley Benson said. ''Christmas, Thanksgiving, Birthdays, Easter-all of it.''

In a conversation with his grandfather, even Friedman agreed that the journey to success was not an easy one.

''Mike said to me,'Papa, It sounds glamorous-all the travel and everything- but it's a lot of work and I miss a lot','' Doug Benson described.

After spending a few years training at the Olympic Training Facility in Colorado Springs, Colo., Friedman is relocating once again-this time to Beijing.

Currently, Friedman is in Girona, Spain, preparing for the Olympic Games, but will be flying back on the 21st with several members of his cycling team for a dinner event with the President of the United States.

The first of August is when Friedman is scheduled to coast into China with several days off before the opening ceremonies.

An event requiring strategy, speed and endurance, Friedman's event, the Madison, is also known globally as the ''American Race'' and is named after Madison Square Garden.

''It's frightening to watch,'' Shirley said of the event run at high speeds with racers in close proximity to each other.

Friedman has an unorthodox body type for professional cyclists, standing at a stocky 5-9 and weighing in at 170 pounds, unlike the conventional taller, lean cyclists built for long, endurance races.

Friedman is built for speed and the Madison is a race that showcases speed in the form of a two-man team.

In just 10 years, Friedman's career has gone from bicycling under the watchful eye of his father, to bicycling against the world's best under the watchful eyes of billions worldwide in the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.