Gail Devers will go down as one of the fastest female combination sprinters and hurdlers in history, as well as one of the greatest track and field athletes.While her awards and accomplishments, including setting several American and world records in various indoor and outdoor events, are impressive, they are only half the story. Devers came into the 1992 and 1996 Olympics with a more established reputation as a 100-meter hurdler. That was a record for her age group and only 0.12 off her American record. "Don't assume like I did that it's just a part of your Graves' disease and you have to deal with it. She was born on Saturday, November 19, 1966. At the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Devers was fresh off her new American record, but pulled a hamstring. I always felt like if she could do it, I could do it, too, Devers said. Sprinter and hurdler Gail Devers is the second woman in history to win two Olympic gold medals in the 100 meters. With her health stabilized, she started training again to regain her strength in order to be able to return to competitive athletics. "There are so many budget cuts that there might be up to 30 kids in a classroom. She qualified for the final of the 100 m, which ended in an exciting finish, with five women finishing close (within 0.06 seconds). Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. She went from doctor to doctor, hearing that her hair was falling out because of stress or other misdiagnoses for her fatigue and brittle nails. I felt like a baseball player flying into first. It just wasnt meant to be.. Even with a mask on, shes recognizable by her signature long nails about an inch and a half now and, of course, the boots. Since retiring from competition in 2007, Devers has replaced speed workouts and weight-lifting sessions with outdoor games, bike rides, walks and hikes. (In Barcelona, she was leading the final but fell over the final hurdle and stumbled to fifth place. The radiologist said: 'You will feel sick but don't vomit or we'll have to start again. Nationality: United States Executive summary: Olympic runner. 1966-American track and field athlete. Father: Larry Devers (minister) Mother: Adele Husband: Ron Roberts (m. 1988, div. Her condition worsened to the extent that a doctor suggested amputating her feet. Gail Devers was at the peak of her collegiate running career at UCLA when her health started to fail. Her birth sign is Scorpio. I figure thats their way of retiring me, so I have to accept it., But every now and then Devers gets an invitation to run: People say, You must be fast, so do you want to race? she said. [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. I reached the Olympic 100m hurdles final in Barcelona and Atlanta. "Graves' hyperthyroidism can turn a high-functioning, extremely productive individual into a poorly functioning one over a period of weeks to months," says Dr. Henry Burch, M.D., an endocrinologist and cochair for the American Thyroid Association. By 1991 she found herself training again, this time for the world championships to qualify for the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, where she won gold in the 100 meter dash a victory she would repeat at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, along with winning gold in the 4100-meter relay. If you save them, I will use them for however long you wish me to.' Devers, who lives in Buford, Ga., now gives motivational speeches . Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.2. One speed, one lane, I dont have to do curves. But at her hurdling and sprinting events, her body would not perform. You get to the point where it just doesnt work out, but what you can say is that you did your all and you went for as long as you could and thats what I did, Devers said. According to our records, she has no children. How far is a half marathon? Devers said. Stephanie Emma Pfeffer is a writer and editor at PEOPLE, where she has been covering health and fitness since 2013. She was seen primarily as a hurdler and so was an outsider for the Olympic 100m on the flat in Barcelona, but won the race and, at Atlanta in 1996, she became the first woman to retain the 100m title since 1968. But now my condition became even worse. But she learned to know that the 100 was really her baby.. But winning that first gold was indescribable. Most of the skin fell away from my face; the rest merely hung off it. God, let your will be done.' The 1960s was the decade dominated by the Vietnam War, Civil Rights Protests, Cuban Missile Crisis, antiwar protests and saw the assassinations of US President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Gail qualified for the Olympics 100 m hurdles, in which she was eliminated in the semi-finals, but her health continued to deteriorate even further. The 55-year-old, three-time Olympic Gold medalist suffered a slew of. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. At the Games, she says, "I was running the hurdles, but it was like I was looking through film it was blurry.". Once I was done, I was done, Devers said. If she would get in shape, she would probably want to run against elite athletes at 55. Yolanda Gail Devers born November 19, 1966, is a retired three-time Olympic champion in track and field for the US Olympic Team. BEL AIR, CA - JULY 15: Track legend Gail Devers and friend Mike Phillips hang out during Fight Night at the Playboy Mansion on July 15, 2003 in Bel Air, California. You cant sit take a lap around the house. Given Name: Yolanda Gail Devers. "Quality of life can become greatly diminished in patients with TED due to visual disability, as well as altered appearance," says Dr. Burch. In 1988, Gail Devers married Ron Roberts, the captain of the UCLA men's track team. Devers, was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame presented by Allstate and the ceremony will be broadcast by NBC Sports Network on Aug. 23. The 100 m final at the 1996 Summer Olympics was an almost exact repeat of the World Championships final three years before. In 1993, Devers won the 100 m World Championship title after - again - a photo finish win over Merlene Ottey in an apparent dead heat, and the 100 m hurdles title. She competed in five Olympic Games, winning gold medals in the 100 meters in 1992 and 1996 and on the 4 x 100-meter relay in 1996. I competed in the Games of 2000 and 2004 as well, even if injury blighted my chances. If it didnt work out, it just didnt work out because it wasnt meant to be, not because I didnt try.. The world is my classroom - my story can surely help and educate people. It was, Oh wow, were just glad to see youre back. , But Devers believed in herself. Im like OK, because they just assume youre going to say, No. I dont back down from a challenge now We can go in the heels, too, not a problem.. I woke one day and had a blister on my left foot that was so big I couldn't put my shoe on. Even before she was coaching, Devers would go to meets and was always happy to help anyone who asked for advice. During the 1996 Summer Olympics, Gail earned her third gold medal in the womens 4 x 100 m relay. Advertisement Article. Select from premium Gail Devers of the highest quality. Yolanda Gail Devers, better known as Gail Devers, is a retired American track and field athlete who was born in Seattle, Washington, on November 19, 1966. But the 100-meter hurdles were arguably Devers signature event. Generation X, known as the "sandwich" generation, was born between 1965 and 1980. Gail Deverss birth sign is Scorpio. "I was like a deer in headlights when I heard my name. However, she turned the tables by becoming the surprise gold medalist in the 100-meter dash at both Games while missing the podium in the hurdles. I dont want to just age, I want to age gracefully. The following year she was elected into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame. So it made me feel like a leper when, one day in a grocery store, a little girl looked at me, turned to her mother and asked: 'Mommy, what's wrong with that woman? While Devers may not be a certified teacher, she takes the role of educator seriously, whether it's speaking about Graves' disease or teaching people of all ages how to set worthwhile goals. She was born on Saturday, November 19, 1966. Gails first marriage was to her husband Ron Roberts, a fellow athlete, their marriage unraveled after Gail became ill with Graves disease, and the couple divorced in the year 1991, she is currently married to Mike Phillips and has two daughters. He was her previous husband. They were separated during her encounter with the Graves' disease. "And if I decide to do something, I don't give less than 110 percent to it. She is American by nationality. At the 1991 World Championships, she won a silver medal in the 100 m hurdles. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images). Devers fingernails are now very short. This triumph in 1996 made Gail only the second woman (after Wyomia Tyus) to successfully defend an Olympic 100 meter championship (the first was Wyomia Tyus). In 1990, she was diagnosed with Graves' disease and underwent radioactive iodine treatment followed by thyroid hormone replacement therapy. Finally I was diagnosed with Graves' disease, an illness of the thyroid gland. That was her baby, the hurdles. When is Jamb 2023/2024 Starting, Is JAMB Form Out For 2023? The photo finish showed Devers had narrowly beaten Jamaican Juliet Cuthbert. 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 . Who Is Gail Devers's Husband? She was the first American woman to retain the Olympic 100 meters title since famous Olympian Wyomia Tyus. And thats what life is about. When she saw the 1 next to her name, Devers jumped up and down, clapped, embraced Kersee, who had somehow gotten onto the track, and took off running on her victory lap. Gail is currently married to Mike Phillips and has two daughters. No, Im good. Harrison clinched the win on his fourth jump of the. Gone are the exceptionally long and loudly decorated fingernails that were her trademark when she was a competitor -- they're impractical for the jobs, such as painting her parents' house, that make up her daily routine. She began showing symptoms of the autoimmune disorder, where the thyroid gland is overactive, when she was training for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but it wasn't until 1990 that she was diagnosed with Graves'. RELATIONSHIP DETAILS BELOW Yolanda Gail Devers is an American retired track and field athlete. Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers was diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder Graves' Disease when she was in college, but it was another 30 years before she learned she also had Thyroid Eye Disease Just walking around, I felt like, This is not me, its not my body. The following year she was elected into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame. Nineteen months earlier I had been crawling on my hands and knees. Here are some interesting facts and body measurements you should know about Gail Devers. And a miracle happened. Fun Fact: On the day of Gail Deverss birth, "You Keep Me Hangin On" by The Supremes was the number 1 song on The Billboard Hot 100 and Lyndon B. Johnson (Democratic) was the U.S. President. We have estimated In 2011, she was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. It was so disillusioning that I refused to go out because my appearance made people look away. Her husband is Ron Roberts (m. 19881991), Mike Phillips. You don't.". Ottey and Devers again finished in the same time and did not know who had won the race. Having successfully managed the debilitating condition that once threatened to cripple her, she qualified for the final of the 100m at the 1992 Summer Olympics and narrowly beat Jamaican Juliet Cuthbert to clinch the gold. They ask, Did you win? and she did. I was blessed with a long career where I won gold medals for myself and my country. The hurdles are a rhythm race, and her rhythm was off. She was struggling to get through practice, and at the U.S. Olympic Trials, her coach, Bob Kersee, pulled her out of the 100 so she could be rested for the hurdles. Her husband refers to her as "Ms. PTA," in reference to the copious amounts of time she commits to volunteering at the local elementary school, helping out in classrooms and organizing fund-raisers. ", Her conditioned worsened and her self-esteem took a hit. Also learn how She earned most of networth at the age of 54 years old? Whos the richest Runner in the world? The education details are not available at this time. And while Devers still has an eye on today's crop of competitors -- she will attend the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials, which begin later this week in Eugene, Ore. -- her attention these days is set squarely on raising her own children, as well as giving motivational speeches to groups of all kinds across the country. She is Sports Persons (Athlete) by profession. Empower Team USA athletes to achieve sustained competitive excellence and well-being. Another daughter, Legacy, joined the family in 2007. In 2013, she received the Silver Anniversary Award that is given each year by the American National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to distinguished former college student-athletes on the 25th anniversary of the end of their college sports careers. Now, it seemed, I would pay. "I love teaching them how to put their bodies in a position for speed. 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. Although Devers set a California Interscholastic Federation record in that event, she wanted to sample different events. Let's find out! He said, Well you better work the h-e-l-l out of your hands and tell your feet to keep up. I said OK. Devers left competition in 2005 to give birth to a child with her husband and returned in 2006. Devers started in 800m in high school and ran a personal best of 2:08.[4]. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. Yolanda Gail Devers was born in Seattle in 1966. "I went in my house. Her health continued to deteriorate over the following months and she was finally diagnosed with Graves disease, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid, in 1990. In 2011, Gail was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. And the last thing he told me, he said, Your hands, do you feel tingling in your hands? I said no. In 1993 she beat Merlene Ottey to win the 100m World Championship title and also the 100m hurdles title. "Gail is crazy," Phillips said with a laugh. "I'm a sprinter," says Devers, who lives in Atlanta with her husband Mike and daughters Karsen, 16, and Legacy, 14. Gail Devers. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. She qualified for the Olympics 100 m hurdles, in which she was eliminated in the semi-finals, but her health continued to deteriorate even further. In February 1991, I was rushed to hospital in Los Angeles to have my feet amputated. Then at age 37, Devers again doubled in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, but aggravated a calf injury. But she never won any medal in the hurdles in those five Olympic Games, due to hard luck, illness, injury or just being too fast for her own good when she crashed over the 10th hurdle in 1992. Earlier this year, Devers took Karsen to an indoor meet in South Carolina to run her first 60-meter dash. 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Told it was 13.1 miles and that a good time for her age group was two and a half hours, Devers figured she could handle an 11-minute-per-mile pace. In the first of those I tripped after the final hurdle just as I was leading the race [Devers stumbled over the finish line in fourth position]. Discover the net worth of Gail Devers on CelebsMoney. Sweetwater's football and track stadium is named Gail Devers Stadium. The experience has motivated her to help others. Incredibly, she made a considerable recovery and was soon able to regain the use of her feet. After giving birth to daughter Karsen, Devers returned to competition at age 40, winning the 60-meter hurdles at the Millrose Games in 7.86 seconds. 2023 Getty Images. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. The doctors had told me before those Games that my problems were caused by preparing too hard. Her primary source of income is her career as a retired track and field athlete. Its what you believe you can do and what youre willing to work for thats what makes the difference. We're loving life.". You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. The doctors said, Youre really lucky because had you continued to walk on those feet and not gotten any treatment, the thought is that we may have had to amputate both of them, Devers said. But while she might no longer look like exactly like the Olympic champion her fans remember, she still knows the motivational power of her gold medals. She is the daughter of Larry Devers (father) and Alabe Devers (mother). With that kind of speed, it was just a matter of time before she went out for track, too. If theyre running the 200 and theyre not running it the way I want them to, Ill cut across the field and run it with them.. Now 55, Devers said, People always comment that I look like I can still go.. She is a member of famous Athlete with the age 56 years old group. After she started itching and scratching all over her body until she bled, her brother took her to the hospital. She left the stadium on crutches. Then it just kind of went downhill from there, Devers said. Devers said she never paid any attention to the BALCO controversy, but her husband, Mike Phillips, bought "Game of Shadows" two days after it came out in late March. In 1990, Gail was diagnosed with Graves disease and underwent radioactive iodine treatment followed by thyroid hormone replacement therapy. TED presents with uncomfortable and embarrassing symptoms such as irritation, pain, tearing, swelling and in extreme cases, loss of vision. Gails long nails came as the result of a contest her father devised to get her to stop biting her nails as a child. Gail is 54 years old as of 2020, she was born on November 19, 1966, in Seattle, Washington, the United States as Yolanda Gail Devers. Gail Devers has not been previously engaged. Now, it would be a pill, but I actually drank radiation. She has one elder brother, Parenthesis, who grew up to become a professional bodybuilder. I won the race. Now she can be remembered as a Hall of Famer as well. Today, 30 years on from her Graves' disease diagnosis, Devers wants to raise awareness for the condition and its accompanying symptoms - especially as July marks Graves' disease awareness month. Finished in the same time and did not know who had won the race underwent iodine. Willing to work for thats what makes the difference the extent that a doctor suggested amputating her.... Before those Games that my problems were caused by preparing too hard during the Summer... Gail earned her third gold medal in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Devers was born between and! One elder brother, Parenthesis, who grew up to 30 kids in a position for speed months! 100 m relay but fell over the final hurdle and stumbled to fifth place remembered! 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