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AMSTERDAM -- At the lowest point, when chemotherapy had turned Thomas Van der Plaetsen bald and weak at 23, even his brother, coach and biggest fan, Michael, thought chances for a comeback were minuscule. Now, barely a year and a half later, he is heading to the Rio Olympics as the European decathlon champion -- and with a full head of hair.Failing to get close to the medal stand at the Olympics wont feel anything like losing gold. Just being back among the best, participating in the 10-event competition that crowns the worlds greatest athlete, is already his biggest victory of all.It was a long road back, the Belgian said. If I can reach and convince only one person to stay positive in such a situation, I will take that as a victory.Even if life had already given him a few knocks -- he lost his father to cancer at 20 -- he was well on the way up in 2014 when he won a bronze medal at the world indoor championships.Then, early that fall, he got a letter at home from anti-doping authorities.It was notification that he had an abnormal test for the HCG hormone, which usually indicates doping in athletes. Before he had time to wrap his head around it, Belgian media had caught wind of the test, and rumors were rife that yet another athlete was not what he promised to be.But Van der Plaetsen knew he hadnt doped and sought another explanation. It led him to testicular cancer.For a man and athlete, both options were shocking, likely career-ending and life-changing. Yet, as a doping suspect, it forced him to make his illness, so utterly personal, a public issue within days.It was extremely painful, he said. To be put at the stake at such short notice when I could not defend myself is totally wrong. There was little time to dwell on being wronged, though. There was an operation to remove the tumor, sapping sessions of chemo to endure.Three months later, he made his first appearance as an athlete again when he received Belgiums Golden Spike as best athlete for his bronze at the world indoors the previous March. It already seemed a lifetime ago.Sheer on willpower, he decided to make a comeback. This is where his brother, Michael, came in. Not any coach can push a recovering cancer patient, but when it is your brother, things are different.Michael took him on training camp in South Africa. They set out with little medical guidance but one defining motto: You cannot train on self-pity.You cannot moan and complain about it all the time, Michael said in an interview with The Associated Press. You need to forget and look ahead. Look for the little victories in life. It is the only way forward.Still, it was painful enough early on. What looked like a simple warmup left him exhausted. A good day would be followed by two bad days. With 10 running, jumping and throwing events, there was always something to cloud his mind. If it was not the javelin, it could be the 100 meters. He knew that the days when he could improve on sheer athleticism alone were gone. I was real tough on him, but he knew he had to get moving again, Michael said. Thomas realized he had to fundamentally change to survive.The most important lesson is that I took a huge leap when it comes to skills, Thomas said, honing his technical talents to make up for loss of raw power. And I learned how to stay focused. There was no option. If I made one mistake, it was over and out. I was with my back against the wall, one error and its over. That is the biggest victory. I reinvented myself as an athlete to be able to get back at my level even despite the physical setbacks.Michael knew his brother thrived on championships. Despite the short deadline, he entered him to defend his World University Games title last summer. Against the odds, he did. There was a glimmer of hope, and the chance to become an Olympian now had a whiff of possibility. Still, it was a setback when he barely missed out on qualifying for Rio at last years world championships, where he came in 14th.Van der Plaetsens elbow started acting up over the winter, a huge drawback for the javelin and shot put events. Qualifying had to be postponed until the European championships in Amsterdam in early July.He came through, not only with the qualifying margin but also with a European gold medal. Yes, he was overjoyed, when thousands were cheering him. Yet, he knew some opposition had stayed away to prepare for Rio, and he was frustrated for falling short of his personal record of 8,255 points by 37 points in windy and chilly weather. I wont get lyrical about it, but it is simply good, he said.Michael now wants to see his brother beat his personal best in Rio.Symbolically that would be great -- to close out the season with proof that he is better than ever before.---Follow Raf Casert on Twitter at http://twitter.com/rcasert Cheap Off White Air Max 90 . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. Air Max 90 Ultra Outlet . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. http://www.outletairmax90cheap.com/outlet-air-max-90-black-royal-blue-cheap.html .com) - Richie Incognito has reportedly been admitted to a psychiatric care unit in Arizona. Fake Air Max 90 Black . In the response filed Wednesday to the complaint by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley, attorneys say the former University of Florida player is invoking his Fifth Amendment right that protects people from incriminating themselves. Air Max 90 Leather Iron Bronze . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Field hockey has not been one of the most successful Olympic sports for the United States. Neither the men nor the women have ever won a medal, unless the Olympics were held in Los Angeles. The men won their only bronze in 1932, and the women won their only bronze in 1984. It was difficult enough that I recall tales from the 1996 Olympic of players having to beat snakes with their sticks while practicing at the training center.The women finished dead last at the 2012 Olympics in London after finishing eighth in 2008. They did not compete in the two Olympics previous to that.The sport is improving, however, at least on the womens side. The American women won the championship at last summers Pan Am Games in Toronto by beating rival Argentina. They finished third in the Champions Trophy event in London this summer (with Argentina winning). They have risen to No. 5 in the world rankings. They showed they are a force to be reckoned with here by beating world No. 2-ranked Argentina 2-1 on Saturday in their opening Pool B game of these Olympics.How have they gotten better? Part of it is drawing determination from the poor London 2012 showing. Much of it also is Craig Parnham, who played for Great Britain in two Olympics and took over as coach after the London Games.Hes great. The entire coaching staff is great, goalkeeper Jackie Briggs said. Craig, [assistant coach] Janneke Schopman and our trainer, they work so well together, and they balance each other out. They give us a lot of confidence and let us set the standard. And thats what we have to live up to.More weight drills, conditioning and scientific training have made a difference as well. Players say everything is closely tracked and monitored. Briggs said if they were lifting at 100 percent before, they are at 110 percent now.We really had to grind it out it, she said. It wasnt easy. It was just work, work, work. We just keep going.There wasnt a large crowd for Saturdays game, and not surprisingly, most of the fans were for neighboring country Argentina. When the small group of American fans cheered U-S-A! U-S-A! the Argentinians booed just as loudly, iff not more so.ddddddddddddThe U.S. and Argentina have a fierce rivalry. They have played for the gold medal at every Pan Am Games competition except 1991. Argentina also won every time until 2011, when the U.S. finally beat them. The U.S. came through again last summer.It is a huge rivalry, Briggs said. Theyre an amazing team, and they always give us a great game. We know them inside and out because we play them pretty frequently. They didnt have Carla Rebecchi at Pan Ams, so that hurt them a little bit. Shes back here, so that made them better here. We tried to deny her the ball a little bit. We were outstanding with our one-to-one defense and coverage all over the field.Playing on a blue turf field that made the game seem as if it were at Boise State, the two teams squandered several scoring opportunities in the first two periods and were tied 0-0 at halftime. Argentina took an apparent 1-0 lead early in the third period, but that goal was taken away when a referee video review ruled that the shot should not count. The U.S. responded quickly, with a goal from Katie Reinbrecht in the 35th minute to take a 1-0 lead, then extended it to 2-0 with a goal by Michelle Kasold on a penalty corner.Argentina scored to make it close with barely over three minutes left, but the U.S. held firm for the victory.We had to defend well, Parnham said. We did that, and that gave us a nice platform to build off. Even before halftime, I thought we created some really good opportunities to score, and that continued into the second half.The schedule doesnt get a lot easier for the U.S., which faces No. 3 Australia on Monday in its next Pool B game. The Netherlands, the gold medal team in 2008 and 2012 and currently ranked No. 1, is in Pool A. The top four teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinals.With the way the U.S. has improved since London, dont be surprised to see the Americans going very deep and perhaps up on the podium for the first time in 32 years -- even though these Olympics arent in Los Angeles. ' ' '