MINNEAPOLIS — When Otis Harris began working courtroom security at the Hennepin County public safety building in January, he carried some impressive medals that initially went undetected.
"I'm not going to walk around boasting or bragging about it," Harris said, as he reluctantly showed off two of his most prized possessions. "This is the silver medal here for the 400 meter dash and the gold medal for the 400 meter relay. It doesn't feel like it was 20 years ago."
Harris, a standout athlete in his home state of Mississippi, who went on to run track at the University of South Carolina, realized his life-long Olympic dream during the 2004 games in Athens, Greece.
"It went by fast," Harris said.
His Olympic medal run began in the 400 meters, where he ran a personal best, 44.16 seconds in the final. He finished in second, just .16 seconds behind fellow American, Jeremy Wariner.
Kent Erdahl: "You ran your fastest ever in the race that mattered the most?"
Otis Harris: "Right. Yes. I always ran my fastest times in all the biggest races."
That's exactly what he did during the 4x100M relay as well. He led off for Team USA, capping the final event of the 2004 Olympics with gold.
Harris: "I'm not married yet and I don't have any Children. So as of as of right now, it's the best experience of my life."
Erdahl: "More proud of the gold or the silver?"
Harris: "The silver... that medal is the most special to me because without the silver, I don't get to gold."
Erdahl: "How much are you looking forward to this Olympics?"
Harris: "I'm looking forward to it a lot. I'm excited to watch Sha'Carri (Richardson) in the 100 m dash, and Sydney (McLaughlin-Levrone), she's already broken the world record in the 400M hurdles and it would be amazing to see her do it again. So, I'm looking forward to it. It only comes around every four years."
Erdahl: "Do you ever take your time and kind of do a little comparison?"
Harris: "Oh, absolutely. I mean, that's human nature, right? You always want to know where you would stack up. Most Olympics, that time would still medal."
Erdahl: "I talked to some of your colleagues on the way in here. They didn't have any idea that you're a medalist."
Harris: "You don't walk around saying that, unless you want people to not like you. I just feel proud, you know, to have them and, uh, it's kind of like, uh, having the result of all that hard work."
That combination of pride and humility stayed with Harris, as he began his post-track career in Mississippi.
"After I got done running, I really didn't know what I want to do," he said. "I asked my Dad, and he asked me what I enjoyed. I told him that I liked helping people. He said, 'Just do that.'
"I worked with at-risk kids and I was a football coach and I was a track coach."
That desire to help eventually led him to Minnesota, where he's again proud to represent his country, while protecting his new county.
"You know, just try to be a help to the community," he said. "I love my country and I want to represent it to the best of my ability."