At the 1955 Pan American Games he won a gold medal in the discus and a silver in the shot put.

According to the Guinness Book of Track and Field: Facts and Feats, the smallest crowd ever to see a world record may have been 48, the number attending a Pasadena, California all-comers track meet in 1953 when Gordien set his last world record that stood for six years.

[3] Gordien grew up in Minneapolis, graduating from Roosevelt High School, and attended the University of Minnesota.

In the 1950s, Gordien had a few minor roles in films and TV series, including The Cisco Kid (1950), The Egyptian (1954), Not for Hire (1959) and North to Alaska (1960).

[6] July 1968 Gordien competed in the first Masters National Outdoor Track and Field Championship held in San Diego, winning the DT.