``It was just another competition, not a big thing,'' she said of the events, held in Munich, Montreal and Moscow, respectively.

Now a family practitioner at the Margaret J. Weston Medical Center in Clearwater, Dr. Bruce placed ninth in the world in the high jump in 1972 but couldn't remember her ranking in the other two Games. She competed in the pentathlon at the 1976 Olympics and was back in the high jump in 1980. Dr. Bruce said she did not place in the top 10 either of those years.

Her nonchalance may stem from the fact that she's modest; she doesn't even tell people that she went to the Olympics. She also keeps newspaper clippings of the events packed away at home instead of on display at the office.

Modest or not, Dr. Bruce doesn't deny that she has beaten life's odds in more ways than one. Growing up poor on a farm in Jamaica, she used her athletic abilities as a vehicle to attend college and pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.

Dr. Bruce has been with the Weston Medical Center since October. She said she was immediately attracted to the area when she interviewed with the center.

Asked about the secret of her success, a mischievous smile stretched across her slender face. ``I like a challenge,'' she calmly replied.

She ran track in high school to prove she could beat the boys on the team. When the coach recognized her talent, she gave the talented teen an ultimatum: Run track or flunk.

Her performance earned her a scholarship to Prairie View A&M University in Texas, where she majored in medical technology. She went on to the University Health Science College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kansas City.

Barbara Jacket, Dr. Bruce's coach from Prairie View, said the former track champ has always been nonchalant, but she tagged her ``ahead of her time.''

``She was jumping 6-feet-2 inches in the high jump in the 1970s when it wasn't even thought of,'' Ms. Jacket said. ``She was 21 plus feet in the long jump. On any given day she felt like it, she went 21 feet, 9 inches.

``During that time we had five people on the team and she could do more than anybody else. She was easy to coach because she was so talented.''

Ms. Bruce's talent and discipline carried over to her coursework, Ms. Jacket said.

``Her social life was secondary to track and academics,'' she said. ``She's a perfectionist. That's why she's a doctor now.''

Dr. Bruce said her childhood was also an important factor in her decision to become a doctor. Living in a poor environment, she saw friends and relatives die of illnesses that could have been cured with proper medical facilities and accessibility to doctors.

``You say, `Hey, you have to do something to change this,'Á'' she said.

Although she's happy being a doctor, Dr. Bruce said she regrets that she stopped running competitively. She decided not to stick with track and field because it wasn't a high-profile sport in the 1970s.

She said she may watch the Olympics on television, although her attitude about the Games is still ``been there, done that.''

``Every time I see people run, I get upset because I stopped running,'' she said, staring down at her long, brown fingers. ``I quit at such a young age because track wasn't as big then as it is now. I didn't reach my maximum potential.''

But Dr. Bruce does maximize her potential at the Weston Center, said Roger Davis, the center's director.

``She has dedicated her life to serve her patients,'' said Mr. Davis. ``We get a lot of calls and letters about her. She has excellent bedside manner.''

And although Dr. Bruce has packed her Olympic dreams away, she stays in shape by running up to six miles a day.

Besides her career, she said her focus is now on raising her sons, ages 12 and 1.

And will they follow in Mommy's Olympic tracks?