Two years after completing a seven-year prison sentence for armed robbery, American boxer Michael Bennett has fought his way to the Sydney Olympics, in and out of the ring.

The 29-year-old heavyweight is co-captain of the United States Olympic boxing team and the world amateur champion at his weight class. But Bennett had to win a six-month fight with Australian immigration officials who did not want to let a convicted criminal into the country. He learned only three months ago that he would be cleared to travel to Sydney.

Bennett was 19 when he and a friend robbed a Chicago toy store. Convicted and sentenced to 26 years, a subsequent appeal reduced the sentence to 15 years and good behaviour got him released in seven. Using boxing to stay in shape, Bennett left prison on July 1998 with a Bible that he still carries wherever he goes and a trophy from a prison boxing tournament. A year later, Bennett carried away a world amateur title.