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A wry smile creased the ruddy, rugged face of Madison native Peter Mueller when he assessed his life in a handful of words: "Never a dull moment. That's for sure."
Mueller was a 1976 Olympic speedskating champion, boyhood pal of Eric Heiden, coach of Bonnie Blair and Dan Jansen during their glory years, and a 1980s Superstars competitor alongside the likes of Roberto Duran and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
An infamous party animal, Mueller had a Vegas marriage and ugly split with Dutch Olympic champion Marianne Timmer. He even had a stint as a cycling coach.
Mueller has been an itinerant traveler who took charge of such teams as France and Austria before successfully leading the dominating Dutch as a foreigner.
And to think, the "crazy American" is only 51.
The list on Mueller's resume now stops in Norway, the cradle of speedskating. Over the past few years he has resurrected a faltering program that had seen precious little success since the triple gold medal of Johann Olav Koss at the 1994 Games.
Just days ahead of the Turin Games, Mueller has groomed several medal contenders over the middle and long distances and team relay. And he has turned a nation of doubters into believers again.
"He changed everything. He turned everything upside down," said Berit Rekaa, a skating reporter for NRK Norwegian network, adding even...