Their story starts in an Orlando hospital room with a teenage mother giving birth to premature twins. Alvin Harrison came first, followed by his identical twin brother, Calvin, two minutes later. By the time Calvin passed into the world, doctors had pronounced his older brother dead. At that instant, and with a cry Calvin later described as a call to God, Alvin started breathing again and a remarkable story of courage, tenacity and spirit began to take shape.
They recall "playing with the wind" as children and waking up with their grandmother Lucille, praying over them. Despite a house full of uncles, aunts, sisters and the occasional parent, Alvin and Calvin were drawn to the strong presence of their grandmother, who passed her spirituality on to them. Their "visions" of future events and situations have been a part of their lives for as long as they can remember, their ability to communicate with each other non-verbally is as natural to them as walking or talking.
Though they would bounce between Florida and Northern California for more than 10 years starting at age 12, Alvin and Calvin never lost touch with each other. And once they were able to finally live with their father, Albert, in Salinas, California, he provided stability and support that they hadn't known while growing up in a crime-ridden Orlando ghetto. When their father returned to Florida, the twins stayed in California and became high school track and field phenoms despite living on their own and spending most days looking for a place to sleep.
Then in 1995, while living in their car on a hill in the Northern California town of Hollister for more than three months, Alvin and Calvin read the entire Bible. When they emerged, the brothers decided to make a run for the 1996 United States Olympic Team. Incredibly, after more than a year of inactivity, Alvin qualified for the team with Calvin missing by only 7/1000ths of a second.
Four years later -- and against the backdrop of the tragic loss of loved ones -- the brothers qualified for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team. Alvin won a silver medal in the 400 meters, and the brothers brought home gold with each running a leg on the 4 x 400-meter relay. Alvin and Calvin Harrison now tell the story of a run -- equal parts inspiring and unbelievable -- that started at birth and may well end as the greatest duo in the history of international track and field.
