11 Facts About Gail Devers

Yolanda Gail Devers is an American retired track and field sprinter who competed in the 60 metres, 60 m hurdles, 100 m and 100 m hurdles.

Gail Devers was the 1993 world champion in the event, becoming the first ever female sprinter to simultaneously hold the world and Olympic titles in the 100 m In the 100 m hurdles, she was the 1993,1995 and 1999 world champion, and the 1991 and 2001 world silver medalist.

Gail Devers started in 800 m in high school and ran a personal best of 2:08.

Gail Devers recovered after the radiation treatment was discontinued, and she resumed training.

The photo finish showed Gail Devers had narrowly beaten Jamaican Juliet Cuthbert.

Ottey and Gail 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 Gail Devers was judged to have finished first and became the first woman to retain the Olympic 100 m title since Wyomia Tyus.

Gail Devers competed in the 100 m and 100 m hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, her fifth Olympic Games.

Gail Devers left competition in 2005 to give birth to a child with her husband and returned in 2006.

One of the fastest starters in the world, Gail Devers even had to alter her starting position to accommodate her long nails.

In November 2012, Gail 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.