Bruce Jenner, a Complete Timeline: From Olympic Gold Medalist to Reality Star

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As Bruce Jenner sits down with Diane Sawyer for the highly-anticipated 20/20 interview, ET looks back at the milestones of the Olympic gold medalist's career -- many of which we were there for.

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Jenner became an American hero after winning the decathlon in spectacular fashion at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Following the Olympic victory, Jenner stayed in the spotlight by going into acting. Jenner briefly replaced Erik Estrada on CHiPs in 1981 and made appearances on Murder, She Wrote and The Love Boat. Even with all the success, it was clear that Jenner had an inner struggle.

"I enjoy trying to be something else," Jenner said in 1984. "For years and years in athletics, I had to control my emotions. I had to depress crying, depress tremendous times of joy or sorrow and I had to work on that."

In 1982, ET went inside Jenner's home with his second wife, Linda Thompson, whom he wed immediately following his split with first wife Chrystie Crownover.

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"Bruce really is typically all-American," Linda told ET at the time. "He doesn't smoke, doesn't drink. He's very moral. He's very down to earth. But it's not [boring]. He's pretty bizarre. He's a little off the wall from time to time. There's something going on that I don't relate to."

Jenner later re-invented himself again as a sportscaster and even acted as an ET special correspondent during the 1984 Olympics, which were held in Los Angeles.

In 1986, Linda and Bruce divorced, they had two sons together, Brandon and Brody. According to a source, it was then that Jenner began flirting with the idea of transitioning -- he started hormone therapy,electrolysis and plastic surgery. However, all stopped when Bruce on a blind date in 1990 and married her just months later.

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Bruce and Kris invited ET into their home in 1992 and again in 2001 when they had two daughters of their own -- Kylie and Kendall -- along with the rest of Kris' brood: Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Rob.

"I'm allowed minimal input," Bruce told ET in 2001, six years before Keeping Up With the Kardashians would premiere on E!. "Everything I say, [Kris] goes the other direction."

Now, Bruce seems to be finding a voice again.

"I think everybody can learn from his story and I'm excited for him to be able to share that," Kim Kardashian exclusively told ET when asked about the two-hour interview early Friday. "None of us have spoken, and we're letting Bruce talk first."

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"At the end of the day, life is about being happy being who you are and I feel like we are so blessed to have the support system and the best family to really just support each other no matter what we're going through," Kim said.

And Bruce seems hopeful that everything will be OK, telling Sawyer, "Yeah. I hope I'm going to be OK. I feel like I'm going to be OK."