When the U.S. Olympic track and field trials begin this week in Eugene, Ore., the quadrennial push will be on to crown "the greatest." To find out who is the fastest, the strongest, the best.

But with the current state of track so badly tarnished by the scourge of performance-enhancing drugs, the trustworthy answer to such questions lies in the past. Forty years in the past, to be precise.

The best ever? The answer is the 1968 U.S. track team.

"That was the greatest Olympic team in history," said John Carlos, one of the most memorable figures on that team.