SYDNEY— Cliff Meidl survived three times the volts used in the electric chair to execute capital offenders in the United States. He overcame the pain and disfigurement of losing toes and a portion of his skull, damaging his knees and having his back severely burned in a near-fatal accident. And he avoided having his legs amputated when a plastic surgeon stretched his calf muscles and attached them at the knees in a radical operation.
And Friday, Meidl will carry the United States flag as he leads — with a slight limp — Team USA into Sydney Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Games.
"It's an extra honor . . . the icing on the cake," said Meidl, a 36-year-old kayak paddler from Redondo Beach, Calif.
He walks on reconstructed legs after a 1986 accident that sent 30,000 volts through his body. Working as a plumber's apprentice while a college student, Meidl jackhammered through three unmarked high-voltage cables.
The powerful shock initially blew Meidl out of the hole he was working in, but he slid back in and his knees came in direct contact with the charged jackhammer. Twice he was brought back to life after cardiac arrest, and it was his parents who rejected recommendations to amputate their son's legs.
Meidl, who had done a little kayaking before the accident, took to the sport afterward because of the demand of upper-body strength. Another Olympic kayaker, American Greg Barton, who won a pair of gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Games, served as his inspiration; Barton had been born with club feet.
Meidl is competing in his second Olympics, having been selected for the 1996 Atlanta Games.