American athlete (born 1966)
Gail Devers
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Personal information |
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Full name | Yolanda Gail Devers |
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Born | November 19, 1966 (1966-11-19) (age 57)[1] Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
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Height | 5 ft 3 in (160 cm)[1] |
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Weight | 121 lb (55 kg)[1] |
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Sport |
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Event(s) | Hurdles, Sprints |
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College team | University of California, Los Angeles |
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Yolanda Gail Devers (/ˈdiːvərz/ DEE-vərz;[2] born November 19, 1966) is an American retired track and field sprinter who competed in the 60 metres, 60 m hurdles, 100 m and 100 m hurdles. One of the greatest and most decorated female sprinters of all time, she was the 1993, 1997 and 2004 world indoor champion in the 60 m, while in the 60 m hurdles, she was the 2003 world indoor champion and 2004 silver medalist. In the 100 m, she is the second woman in history to defend an Olympic 100 m title, winning gold at both the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. She was also the 1993 world champion in the event, becoming the first ever female sprinter to simultaneously hold the world and Olympic titles in the 100m.[3] In the 100 m hurdles, she was the 1993, 1995 and 1999 world champion, and the 1991 and 2001 world silver medalist. In 2011, she was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Life and career
Devers was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up near National City, California, graduating from Sweetwater High School in 1984.[1] Sweetwater's football and track stadium would later be named Gail Devers Stadium. A young talent in the 100 m and 100 m hurdles, Devers was in training for the 1988 Summer Olympics, started experiencing health problems, suffering from among others migraine and vision loss. She qualified for the Olympics 100 m hurdles, in which she was eliminated in the semi-finals, but her health continued to deteriorate.[citation needed]
Devers started in 800m in high school and ran a personal best of 2:08.[4]
In 1990, she was diagnosed with Graves' disease and underwent radioactive iodine treatment followed by thyroid hormone replacement therapy.[citation needed] During her radiation treatment, Devers began to develop blistering and swelling of her feet. Eventually, she could barely walk. Devers recovered after the radiation treatment was discontinued, and she resumed training. At the 1991 World Championships, she won a silver medal in the 100 m hurdles.
At the 1992 Summer Olympics, Devers starred. She qualified for the final of the 100 m, which ended in an exciting finish, with five women finishing close (within 0.06 seconds). The photo finish showed Devers had narrowly beaten Jamaican Juliet Cuthbert. In the final of the 100 m hurdles, Devers' lead event, she seemed to be running towards a second gold medal, when she hit the final hurdle and stumbled over the finish line in fifth place, leaving Voula Patoulidou from Greece as the upset winner.
In 1993, Devers won the 1993 World Championships in Athletics 100 m title after – again – a photo finish win over Merlene Ottey in an apparent dead heat, and the 100 m hurdles title. She retained her hurdles title in 1995.
The 100 m final at the 1996 Summer Olympics was an almost exact repeat of the World Championships final three years before. Ottey and Devers again finished in the same time and did not know who had won the race. Again, both were awarded the same time of 10.94 seconds, but Devers was judged to have finished first and became the first woman to retain the Olympic 100 m title since Wyomia Tyus. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce duplicated the feat in 2012, and Elaine Thompson-Herah in 2021. In the final of her favorite event, Devers again failed, as she finished fourth and outside of the medals. With the 4 × 100 m relay team, Devers won her third Olympic gold medal.
After these Olympics, Devers concentrated on the hurdles event, winning the World Championship again in 1999, but she had to forfeit for the semi-finals at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Devers competed in the 100 m and 100 m hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, her fifth Olympic Games.[5]
Devers left competition in 2005 to give birth to a child with her husband and returned in 2006.
On February 2, 2007, at the age of 40, Devers edged 2004 Olympic champion Joanna Hayes to win the 60 m hurdles event at the Millrose Games in 7.86 seconds – the best time in the world that season and just 0.12 off the record she set in 2003. Furthermore, the time bettered the listed World Record for a 40-year-old by almost 7 tenths of a second.[6]
During her career, Devers was notable for having exceptionally long, heavily decorated fingernails. One of the fastest starters in the world, Devers even had to alter her starting position to accommodate her long nails.[7] Her long nails came as the result of a contest her father devised to get her to stop biting her nails as a child.[8]
International competitions
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result |
Representing the United States |
1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 8th (sf) | 100 metres hurdles | 13.51 |
1991 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 2nd | 100 metres hurdles | 12.63 |
1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 1st | 100 metres | 10.82 |
5th | 100 metres hurdles | 12.75 |
1993 | World Indoor Championships | Toronto, Canada | 1st | 60 metres | 6.95 |
World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 1st | 100 metres | 10.82 |
1st | 100 metres hurdles | 12.46 |
2nd | 4 x 100 metres | 41.49 |
1995 | World Championships | Göteborg, Sweden | 1st | 100 metres hurdles | 12.68 |
1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | 1st | 100 metres | 10.94 |
4th | 100 metres hurdles | 12.66 |
1st | 4 x 100 metres | 41.95 |
1997 | World Indoor Championships | Paris, France | 1st | 60 metres | 7.06 |
World Championships | Athens, Greece | 1st | 4 x 100 metres | 41.47 |
1999 | World Indoor Championships | Maebashi, Japan | 2nd | 60 metres | 7.02 |
World Championships | Seville, Spain | 5th | 100 metres | 10.95 |
1st | 100 metres hurdles | 12.37 |
4th | 4 x 100 metres | 42.30 |
2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | — | 100 metres hurdles | DNF (sf) |
2001 | World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 2nd | 100 metres hurdles | 12.54 |
2002 | IAAF World Cup | Madrid, Spain | 1st | 100 metres hurdles | 12.65 |
2003 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1st | 60 metres hurdles | 7.81 |
World Championships | Paris, France | 6th | 100 metres | 11.11 |
3rd (sf) | 100 metres hurdles | 12.87 |
World Athletics Final | Monte Carlo, Monaco | 1st | 100 metres hurdles | 12.45 |
2004 | World Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 1st | 60 metres | 7.08 |
2nd | 60 metres hurdles | 7.78 |
Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 7th (sf) | 100 metres | 11.22 |
— | 100 metres hurdles | DNF (sf) |
Achievements and recognition
In 2011, she was elected into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. The following year she was elected into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.[9] In November 2012, Devers was announced as a 2013 recipient of the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, presented annually to six distinguished former college student-athletes on the 25th anniversary of the end of their college sports careers.[10]
References
- ^ a b c d "Gail Devers". usatf.org. USA Track & Field. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
- ^ "Say How? A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures: D – Library of Congress". Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ Landells, Steve (August 17, 2009). "Event Report – Women's 100m – Final". IAAF. Archived from the original on August 21, 2009. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Athletics LLC EP35: Gail Devers". YouTube. December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ "Gail DEVERS | Profile".
- ^ "Records Indoor Women". Archived from the original on December 5, 2009. Retrieved February 7, 2010. WMA World Indoor Record
- ^ "Long Nails: Gail Devers's long nails – 1". Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- ^ "Athlete: Gail Devers – the Many-Splendored Faces of Today's Black Woman Ebony – Find Articles". findarticles.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
- ^ "USA Track & Field – Devers, O'Brien, Temple, Connolly selected to U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ "NCAA announces Silver Anniversary Award winners" (Press release). NCAA. November 8, 2012. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
External links
- Biography portal
Articles related to Gail Devers |
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- 1928: Bobbie Rosenfeld, Ethel Smith, Jane Bell, Myrtle Cook (CAN)
- 1932: Mary Carew, Evelyn Furtsch, Annette Rogers, Wilhelmina von Bremen (USA)
- 1936: Harriet Bland, Annette Rogers, Betty Robinson, Helen Stephens (USA)
- 1948: Xenia Stad-de Jong, Netti Witziers-Timmer, Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs, Fanny Blankers-Koen (NED)
- 1952: Mae Faggs, Barbara Jones, Janet Moreau, Catherine Hardy (USA)
- 1956: Shirley Barbara de la Hunty, Norma Croker, Fleur Mellor, Betty Cuthbert (AUS)
- 1960: Martha Hudson, Lucinda Williams, Barbara Jones, Wilma Rudolph (USA)
- 1964: Teresa Ciepły, Irena Kirszenstein, Halina Górecka, Ewa Kłobukowska (POL)
- 1968: Barbara Ferrell, Margaret Bailes, Mildrette Netter, Wyomia Tyus (USA)
- 1972: Christiane Krause, Ingrid Mickler, Annegret Richter, Heide Rosendahl (FRG)
- 1976: Marlies Göhr, Renate Stecher, Carla Bodendorf, Bärbel Wöckel (GDR)
- 1980: Romy Müller, Bärbel Wöckel, Ingrid Auerswald, Marlies Göhr (GDR)
- 1984: Alice Brown, Jeanette Bolden, Chandra Cheeseborough, Evelyn Ashford (USA)
- 1988: Alice Brown, Sheila Echols, Florence Griffith Joyner, Evelyn Ashford, Dannette Young (USA)
- 1992: Evelyn Ashford, Esther Jones, Carlette Guidry, Gwen Torrence, Michelle Finn (USA)
- 1996: Gail Devers, Inger Miller, Chryste Gaines, Gwen Torrence, Carlette Guidry (USA)
- 2000: Savatheda Fynes, Chandra Sturrup, Pauline Davis-Thompson, Debbie Ferguson, Eldece Lewis (BAH)
- 2004: Tayna Lawrence, Sherone Simpson, Aleen Bailey, Veronica Campbell, Beverly McDonald (JAM)
- 2008: Olivia Borlée, Hanna Mariën, Élodie Ouédraogo, Kim Gevaert (BEL)
- 2012: Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter, Jeneba Tarmoh, Lauryn Williams (USA)
- 2016: Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, Tori Bowie, English Gardner, Morolake Akinosun (USA)
- 2020: Briana Williams, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Natasha Morrison, Remona Burchell (JAM)
- 2024: Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha Terry, Gabrielle Thomas, Sha'Carri Richardson (USA)
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World champions in women's 100 metres |
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World champions in women's 100 m hurdles |
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World champions in women's 4 × 100 metres relay |
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- 1983: Silke Gladisch, Marita Koch, Ingrid Auerswald, Marlies Oelsner-Göhr (GDR)
- 1987: Alice Brown, Diane Williams, Florence Griffith Joyner, Pam Marshall (USA)
- 1991: Dahlia Duhaney, Juliet Cuthbert, Beverly McDonald, Merlene Ottey, Merlene Frazer (JAM)
- 1993: Olga Bogoslovskaya, Galina Malchugina, Natalya Pomoshchnikova-Voronova, Irina Privalova, Marina Trandenkova (RUS)
- 1995: Celena Mondie-Milner, Carlette Guidry, Chryste Gaines, Gwen Torrence, D'Andre Hill (USA)
- 1997: Chryste Gaines, Marion Jones, Inger Miller, Gail Devers (USA)
- 1999: Savatheda Fynes, Chandra Sturrup, Pauline Davis-Thompson, Debbie Ferguson, Eldece Clarke-Lewis (BAH)
- 2001: Melanie Paschke, Gabi Rockmeier, Birgit Rockmeier, Marion Wagner (GER)
- 2003: Patricia Girard-Léno, Muriel Hurtis, Sylviane Félix, Christine Arron (FRA)
- 2005: Angela Daigle, Muna Lee, Me'Lisa Barber, Lauryn Williams (USA)
- 2007: Lauryn Williams, Allyson Felix, Mikele Barber, Torri Edwards, Carmelita Jeter, Mechelle Lewis (USA)
- 2009: Simone Facey, Shelly-Ann Fraser, Aleen Bailey, Kerron Stewart (JAM)
- 2011: Bianca Knight, Allyson Felix, Marshevet Myers, Carmelita Jeter, Shalonda Solomon, Alexandria Anderson (USA)
- 2013: Carrie Russell, Kerron Stewart, Schillonie Calvert, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sheri-Ann Brooks (JAM)
- 2015: Veronica Campbell Brown, Natasha Morrison, Elaine Thompson, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sherone Simpson, Kerron Stewart (JAM)
- 2017: Aaliyah Brown, Allyson Felix, Morolake Akinosun, Tori Bowie, Ariana Washington (USA)
- 2019: Natalliah Whyte, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jonielle Smith, Shericka Jackson, Natasha Morrison (JAM)
- 2022: Melissa Jefferson, Abby Steiner, Jenna Prandini, Twanisha Terry, Aleia Hobbs (USA)
- 2023: Tamari Davis, Twanisha Terry, Gabrielle Thomas, Sha'Carri Richardson, Tamara Clark, Melissa Jefferson (USA)
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1927–1979 Amateur Athletic Union | |
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1980–1992 The Athletics Congress | |
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1993–present USA Track & Field | |
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Notes | * Distances have varied as follows: 60 yards hurdles (1965-86), 55 m hurdles (1987-90), 50 m hurdles (1933-41, 1948), 50 yards hurdles (1928-32, 1945-46, 1949-54, 1957-58, 1964), 80 m hurdles (1955), 70 yards hurdles (1956, 1959-63). From 1965-68, there were 4 hurdles instead of 5 hurdles other years. |
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1923–1979 Amateur Athletic Union | |
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1980–1992 The Athletics Congress | |
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1993–present USA Track & Field | |
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Notes | - OT: 1928, 1932, and since 1992, championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
- 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Distance: The event was over 100 yards until 1927; from 1929 to 1931, 1955, 1957 to 1958, 1961 to 1962, 1965 to 1966, 1969 to 1970 and 1973 to 1974.
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1923–1979 Amateur Athletic Union | |
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1980–1992 The Athletics Congress | |
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1993–present USA Track & Field | |
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Notes | - OT: 1932, and since 1992, championships incorporated the Olympic Trials in Olympic years, otherwise held as a discrete event.
- 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Distance:The event was over 60 yards until 1928, 80 meters 1929-1968
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Qualification | - 1988 United States Olympic trials (track and field)
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Men's track and road athletes | |
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Men's field athletes | |
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Women's track and road athletes | |
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Women's field athletes | |
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Coaches | - Stan Huntsman (men's head coach)
- Dean Hayes (men's assistant coach)
- Irving "Moon" Mondschein (men's assistant coach)
- Tom Pagani (men's assistant coach)
- Russ Rogers (men's assistant coach)
- Joe Vigil (men's assistant coach)
- Terry Crawford (women's head coach)
- Ken Foreman (women's assistant coach)
- Dave Rodda (women's assistant coach)
- Fred Thompson (women's assistant coach)
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Qualification | - 1992 United States Olympic trials (track and field)
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Men's track and road athletes | |
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Men's field athletes | |
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Women's track and road athletes | |
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Women's field athletes | |
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Coaches | - Mel Rosen (men's head coach)
- Harry Groves (men's assistant coach)
- Erv Hunt (men's assistant coach)
- Ed Jacoby (men's assistant coach)
- Bill Moultrie (men's assistant coach)
- Fred Samara (men's assistant coach)
- Barbara Jacket (women's head coach)
- Dorothy Doolittle (women's assistant coach)
- Lance Harter (women's assistant coach)
- Bert Lyle (women's assistant coach)
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Qualification | 1996 United States Olympic trials (track and field) | |
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Men's track and road athletes | |
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Men's field athletes | |
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Women's track and road athletes | |
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Women's field athletes | |
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Coaches | — |
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Qualification | - 2000 United States Olympic trials (track and field)
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Men's track and road athletes | |
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Men's field athletes | |
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Women's track and road athletes | |
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Women's field athletes | |
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Coaches | - John Chaplin (men's head coach)
- Dick Booth (men's assistant coach)
- Dixon Farmer (men's assistant coach)
- Rob Johnson (men's assistant coach)
- John Moon (men's assistant coach)
- Jerry Quiller (men's assistant coach)
- Jay Silvester (men's assistant coach)
- Bubba Thornton (men's assistant coach)
- Karen Dennis (women's head coach)
- Sandy Fowler (women's assistant coach)
- Ernest Gregoire (women's assistant coach)
- Judy Harrison (women's assistant coach)
- Rita Somerlot (women's assistant coach)
- LaVerne Sweat (women's assistant coach)
- Mark Young (women's assistant coach)
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Qualification | 2004 United States Olympic trials (track and field) | |
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Men's track and road athletes | |
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Men's field athletes | |
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Women's track and road athletes | |
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Women's field athletes | |
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Coaches | — |
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