At 30, Witty watches herself on videotape, waving from the victory podiums and answering softly at the news conferences, and she sees a woman that we never knew.

"I look back at the '98 press conferences or after I won the gold medal in 2002," Witty said, "and I was thinking, 'I wish I could tell them what was really making me tick. I wish I could tell them what was really going on in my life.'"

Witty's winter sport, long track speedskating, is ruled by numbers. Four is the number of Olympic Winter Games in which Witty will have competed. Also a world-class cyclist, she is the ninth U.S. Olympian to compete in both the Winter and Summer Games.

And in the 1,000 meters, the prime number is 1:13.83 -- one minute, 13.83 seconds -- Witty's time in Salt Lake City four years ago that shattered the world record and won her the gold.

A 1994 study by David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes against Children Research Center, estimated that 20 percent of U.S. women and 10 percent of men were victims of sexual abuse as children.

Chris Witty's climb to the top of the Olympic podium had a profoundly modest beginning in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, Wis. She had three older brothers. Her father Walter, a welder, struggled to find work.

Her mom, Diane, worked for an insurance company, and so the young Wittys were, in Chris' words, "latchkey kids." One of the people who had a key to the home was a neighbor who lived on the other side of the alley behind the Wittys' house. Clarence Platteter, a hugging, grandfatherly sort, quickly had earned Walter and Diane Witty's trust.

One day when Walter Witty was showering, Platteter sat at a patio table and, according to Chris, touched her inappropriately. She was 4 years old.

"All of a sudden, it had a name, and I knew it was wrong," she said. "I learned that there was no way that it could ever be a kid's fault. I saw that I didn't have to feel ashamed or guilty."

Platteter moved on and found another neighborhood little girl. In 1996, according to Wisconsin state records, Platteter pleaded guilty to molesting a 4-year-old girl who lived four houses away from the Wittys. He was sentenced to four years in state prison.

Still, however, Chris Witty refused to tell her family about her own dealings with Platteter. She was an athlete, a world-class one. What would people say, she wondered? What would they think?

As the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics approached, Platteter's wife died. A Wisconsin court, presumably acting out of sympathy, ordered the probation ankle monitor that Platteter wore removed.

His freedom brought back the painful memories of Chris' past. Finally, at age 26, one year before she won an Olympic gold medal, Chris told her family members, one by one.

At a time when Chris wanted to break her silence and speak out about what had happened, hoping it could help another young victim, Witty's family lapsed into a shamed silence.

Looking back, Witty finds it ironic that her self-imposed silence might have been the strength behind her championship focus. By shutting out her personal life, Witty was able to concentrate singularly on her athletic goals.

She told her story publicly for the first time in late 2004 to a Salt Lake City newspaper. Since then, Witty has spoken to civic and school groups and helped to organize "Good Touch/Bad Touch" programs.

Clarence Platteter, meanwhile, is pictured on a Wisconsin Web site that lists convicted sex offenders. It chillingly shows his photo, his criminal record, his age (90) and his current address.

15 -- Alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsled, cross country skiing, curling, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, figure skating, luge, Nordic combined, short track speedskating, skeleton, ski jumping, snowboard, speedskating.

The United States set a record with 34 medals --10 gold -- in 2002 when it was host for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Germany led all nations with 36 medals, and Norway won the most golds (13).

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