Gail Devers

Three-time 100m hurdles world champion, twice Olympic 100m champion.

Yolanda Gail Devers was born on 19 November 1966 in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in National City, California, becoming state champion in both the 100 metres and 100m hurdles in 1984 before earning an athletic scholarship to UCLA under coach Bob Kersee. Devers qualified for the 1988 Seoul Olympics but performed poorly due to undiagnosed health issues, and was finally diagnosed in 1990 with Graves' disease, an autoimmune thyroid condition. Doctors treated her with radiation therapy rather than medication the Olympic committee deemed illegal, and the treatment caused her feet to swell and bleed so severely that amputation was considered before her condition improved. Devers returned to competition in 1991 and won her first Olympic gold in a photo-finish 100m at the 1992 Barcelona Games, successfully defending the title in 1996 to become only the second woman in history to win back-to-back Olympic 100m titles. Devers won three World Championship titles in the 100m hurdles, in 1993, 1995, and 1999, and was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2011, her recovery from near-amputation to Olympic champion remaining one of the most inspiring comeback stories in the sport's history.

Explosive starter with exceptional speed endurance

One of greatest female sprinters/hurdlers, inspiration for overcoming adversity

• 1992,1996 Olympic gold 100m
• 1993,1995,1999 World champ 100mH
• 1993 World champ 100m