Champions Gallery
The accomplishments of the selected athletes in this Gallery Of Champions comprise some of the highlights that OPT helped to bring about…from the mid-1980s to 2025. The specific year(s) in which the athlete won his or her championship(s) working with OPT is in parentheses.
OPT Research Systems have assisted many more athletes than are listed here to achieve their ultimate goals...whether they be statistical, financial, championships...or any combination of the three. For a year-by-year exploration of OPT's successes, a highly detailed PowerPoint Presentation is available for interested viewers.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Olympic Track and Field (1987)
Two-time Olympic Heptathlon Champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee wins her first World Championship and is featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the caption “Super Woman.”
She is later voted (in 1999) by Sports Illustrated to be the “Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century.”
Ian Baker-Finch
Pro Golf (1991)
Ian Baker-Finch wins the British Open after faltering under pressure in the same tournament in two previous tries, including the year before he won (without the benefit of OPT).
His final two rounds ties the lowest score by a champion in the history of the British Open, dating back to 1860.
Pete Sampras
Pro Tennis (2002)
Pete Sampras wins the U.S. Open by beating Andre Agassi, after not having won a tournament of any kind for over two years (pre-OPT use). He retires following this match with the most Grand Slam Championships in the history of men’s tennis (up to that point in time)…14 total.
Barry Zito
Major League Baseball (2012)
Barry Zito is the key pitcher as the San Francisco Giants win their second World Series title in three seasons.
He pitches a shutout against the defending World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series to rally his team from a 3-1 deficit, then shuts down American League MVP/Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers in the World Series in Game 1 to catalyze a four-game sweep.
Stephon Marbury
Pro Basketball (2012,14-15)
Stephon Marbury, a former NBA All-Star, wins three Chinese Basketball Association Championships, including Playoff MVP in 2015 at 38 years old. His success catapults him to become the “Michael Jordan of Chinese basketball,” by far and away that country’s most popular sport in one of the world’s most highly-populated nations.
His legendary status is confirmed when a statue of him is erected in front of the Beijing Olympic Stadium, as well as receiving the Keys to the City (of Beijing) and an Honorary Citizenship, the first foreign athlete so recognized.
Vernon Davis
NFL (2015)
Vernon Davis, star tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, is traded to the Denver Broncos at mid-season. His heroic and selfless play helps to lift the Broncos past their nemesis, the New England Patriots, propelling his team into Super Bowl 50 vs. the Carolina Panthers. His contribution during that Super Bowl results in the biggest play from scrimmage for his team.
Denver’s Super Bowl Title sends Peyton Manning into retirement with the distinction of being the only starting quarterback to win Super Bowls with two different teams (up to that point in time). Tom Brady has since joined Manning as having accomplished that feat.
Helen Maroulis
Olympic Wrestling (2015-17, 2021 & 2025)
Helen Maroulis of the United States wins World Championships in 2015 and 2017, defeating her 9 opponents by combined score of 78-0 (including one pin).
She tops off her amazing stretch of dominance during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, winning the gold medal by beating the best female wrestler ever…a 13-time World, 3-time Olympic Champion from Japan…in the finals.
Rulon Gardner, who was the victor in the greatest Olympic wrestling upset ever in 2000, provides information that Hirschman, Wickline and Maroulis use to prepare her to have virtually the same outcome as Gardner’s. This knowledge contributes to her success in the 2016 Olympics.
Maroulis goes on to win two more World Championships in 2021 and 2025. She caps off her Olympic career with a bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Helen Maroulis now has the second most Olympic wrestling medals of any American, male or female.
Steve Fraser
A esteemed member of Hirschman's and Wickline's research team is Steve Fraser. He won a historic gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, becoming America's first-ever Olympic Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling. Fraser went on to have a lengthy career as an Olympic coach, where his accomplishments actually overshadowed his highly successful competitive career.
Steve Fraser is the “Coach of Coaches.” His track record is almost beyond belief…but everything he has done is indeed verifiable.
At the end of the Beyond Intensity section of this presentation, the reader will find a detailed description of Coach Fraser’s unprecedented run of success over a seven-year period to start the new millennium. Fraser accomplished more in that window of time than most coaches do in triple the number of years on the job.
Explosive Success
OPT Co-founder, Anthony Hirschman, is seen with Vernon Davis in front of the 49ers’ Wall of Fame at the team hotel in Santa Clara, California.
A photo of Davis is directly behind them, scoring one of his two touchdowns vs. the Saints in the Niners' first playoff victory in almost a decade in 2012.
Davis goes on to score two more touchdowns when his team plays the Giants in the NFC Championship Game a week later.
It took one of the NFL’s best-ever tight ends, Tony Gonzalez, 17 seasons to score 4 touchdowns in the playoffs. Ditto with Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, who also scored 4 playoff touchdowns in 14 seasons. Davis scored that many in just two playoff games, averaging almost 150 receiving yards per game.