Devers, Gail

Devers, Gail

▪ American athlete
in full  Yolanda Gail Devers  
born November 19, 1966, Seattle, Washington, U.S.

      American track athlete who overcame physical adversity to win Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996.

      Devers began running in high school. Later, at the University of California at Los Angeles, she won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 100-metre dash in 1988 and set an American record of 12.61 sec in the 100-metre hurdles, which she held or shared for three years. While she was training for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, Devers's health began to deteriorate. She suffered from migraine headaches, sleeplessness, and fainting spells; in 1990 her condition was diagnosed as Graves disease, a thyroid disorder. After months of painful radiation treatment, with brutal side effects, Devers resumed training and won the 100-metre hurdles at the Athletics Congress championship—with a time of 12.83 sec—and finished second at the world championships in Tokyo. In 1992, less than 17 months after doctors had considered amputating her feet, Devers won a gold medal in the 100-metre dash at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, and was leading in the 100-metre hurdles before stumbling and finishing fifth. At the 1993 world championships in Stuttgart, Germany, she won both events. Devers picked up two gold medals at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, the first in the 100-metre run and the second as part of the 4 × 100-metre relay team. She competed at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia, and the 2004 Games in Athens but failed to win a medal.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Devers,Gail — De·vers (dēʹvərz), Gail. Born 1966. American athlete. A sprinter and hurdler, she won gold medals in the 100 meters in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. * * * …   Universalium

  • Gail Devers — Informations Discipline(s) 100 m, 100 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gail Devers — (Yolanda Gail Devers; * 19. November 1966 in Seattle, Washington) ist eine ehemalige Leichtathletin aus den USA. Ihr Erkennungszeichen waren ihre überdimensioniert langen Fingernägel. Devers war eine vielversprechende Medaillenhoffnung bei den… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gail — can refer to:People: * Gail Devers, an American athlete * Gail Emms, an English badminton player * Gail Friedland, A film actress/writer/producer best known for her work in It s All Relative (film) * Gail Halvorsen, the Candy Bomber * Gail Jonson …   Wikipedia

  • Devers — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Gail Devers (* 1966), US amerikanische Leichtathletin Jacob L. Devers (1887–1979), US amerikanischer General Devers heißt der Ort Devers (Texas) Diese …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Devers —   [ dɪvəz], Gail, amerikan. Leichtathletin ([Hürden ]Sprinterin), * Seattle 19. 11. 1966; u. a. Olympiasiegerin 1992 und 1996 (100 m), Weltmeisterin 1993 (100 m, 100 m Hürden), 1995, 1999 (100 m Hürden) und Hallenweltmeisterin 1997 (60 m) …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Gail Devers — Yolanda Gail Devers (born November 19, 1966 in Seattle, Washington, USA) is a three time Olympic 100 m champion in athletics for the US Olympic Team. Devers grew up near National City, CA and graduated from Sweetwater High School in National City …   Wikipedia

  • Gail Devers — Yolanda Gail Devers (Seattle, 19 de noviembre de 1966) es una atleta estadounidense especialista en pruebas de velocidad y vallas que se proclamó dos veces campeona olímpica de los 100 metros lisos, en Barcelona 1992 y Atlanta 1996, además de… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Devers — /ˈdivəz/ (say deevuhz) noun Gail (Yolanda Devers), born 1966, US champion sprinter and hurdler; Olympic Games gold medallist 1992, 1996 …  

  • Liste der Weltmeister in der Leichtathletik/Medaillengewinnerinnen — Weltmeister Leichtathletik Übersicht Alle Medaillengewinner Alle Medaillengewinner …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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