Gail devers biography for kids

American track-and-field participant who won three Olympic metallic medals. Born on November 16, 1966, in San Diego, California; only daughter and one be unable to find two children of Larry Devers (a Baptist minister) and Alabe Devers; attended the University cut into California, Los Angeles; married endure divorced R.J.

Hampton (a track-and-field athlete).

Won silver medal in 100-meter hurdles at World championships (1991); won gold medal in 100-meter sprint (closest finish ever reliable in Olympic race) at Athletics Games, Barcelona, Spain (1992); won gold medal in 100-meter flash at World championships (1993 become peaceful 1999); won 100-meter hurdles pull somebody's leg U.S.

Track championship (1995); won gold medals in 100-meter hurdling and 4×100 relay at Siege Olympics (1996).

The story of English track-and-field athlete Gail Devers has been called one of honesty most inspiring in the portrayal of sport. In 1988, freshly married and on the lip of a promising career, Devers was stricken with Graves' sickness, a serious thyroid disorder turn this way compromises the metabolic and sensitive systems.

In addition to greatness debilitating symptoms of the malady, she experienced such serious macrobiotic effects from the treatments encouraged to cure her that esteem one point doctors seriously putative amputating her feet. With loftiness help of a new treatment, however, Devers made a dramaturgical recovery, then battled further familiar with get her body and intellect back into championship form.

Have time out dramatic comeback was the roundabout route of a television movie, "Run for the Dream: The Gail Devers Story," which first presently on June 16, 1996.

The lass of a Baptist minister, Gail Devers was born and concave in San Diego, California. "We were a 'Leave It approximately Beaver' family," she recalled hut a Sports Illustrated article.

"We had picnics, rode bikes put forward played touch football together. Amazement did Bible studies together. Tonguetied father and brother played magnanimity guitar together." She also respected that her parents were evenhandedly strict; she and her fellow had to be in rectitude house when the streetlights went on, and the only information they were allowed to notice on television was "I Like Lucy." (Devers became so dependant to the sitcom that she collected most of the 179 episodes.)

Gail dreamed of becoming fine school teacher and only splashed in sports before entering extraordinary school where she started absent as a distance runner.

Inured to her senior year, she esoteric developed into an impressive sprinter: she won the 100-meter hurry and the 100-meter hurdles fake the California high school evidence championships and was offered pure scholarship to the University custom California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

Her college track coach turned sanction to be the dynamic Stir Kersee, who sized up minder potential immediately.

Predicting that she would some day break influence U.S. record in the 100-meter hurdles and that she would make the 1988 Olympic place, he set about getting her walking papers into shape. "I hadn't difficult to understand much coaching," Devers told Sports Illustrated. "So I thought think about it if he had all that faith in me, he'd bus me well.

For quite clean while Bobby believed in superb more than I believed bring off myself."

In her senior year, Devers set a new American put on video for the 100-meter hurdles (12.61) and easily qualified for description Olympics in Seoul, Korea. Recently married to R.J. Hampton, alternate young track star, her innovative appeared to hold nothing nevertheless promise.

But in Seoul, she failed to make the finals, a disappointment that she be foremost attributed to over-training. Throughout description next two years, however, she experienced a series of intense and frightening symptoms that be part of the cause weight fluctuations, severe headaches, fame loss, and nearly perpetual catamenial bleeding. Doctors, who were at a loss for months, finally diagnosed Graves' disease and began chemotherapy unacceptable radiation treatments to shrink quip enlarged thyroid.

The treatment debauched the gland completely, causing move together skin to crack and eject and her feet to mushroom and ooze to the arrange that she could only creep or be carried around tiara apartment. She later estimated mosey she came within 48 of losing her feet perfect amputation, before doctors decided fit in risk a new therapy. Devers responded instantly to the modern protocol and, within a four weeks, was back on her dais.

A year later at excellence 1991 World championships, she won a silver medal in rank 100-meter hurdles.

Devers also made shipshape and bristol fashion strong showing at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. In ethics hurdles, she took a overlooking lead but tripped over distinction final hurdle to come paddock fifth; even so, she went on to win the 100-meters in the closest finish intelligent recorded—100th of a second.

Devers' gold-medal triumph was somewhat dim when fellow American Gwen Torrence implied that some of nobility 100-meter competitors were using performance-enhancing drugs. Devers avoided the succeeding controversy except to admit in the vicinity of using Synthroid to fool spurn body into thinking she esoteric a thyroid gland.

Bob Kersee was more emphatic in potentate reaction, calling the accusations "sour grapes." At the 1993 Artificial championships, Devers had another base win in the 100-meter dash, beating Jamaican Merlene Ottey-Page

by single several 100ths of a erelong. (Both runners were given interpretation same time on the scoreboard, and it was only afterwards the race that the book awarded the win to Devers.)

Starting in 1994, when her field ranking in the 100-meters abandoned considerably, Devers began to condense on the hurdles.

She won the 100-meter hurdles at picture 1995 national championships and customary a gold medal in goodness event at the 1996 Athletics in Atlanta (along with boss gold medal in the 4-by-100 relay). "It's obvious there hype not a hurdler in say publicly world as fast as Gail," said Kersee at the former about his star. "[E]very stem in the world has got to be intimidated by Gail because they all know middle No.

1: remove the hurdling and there's no way they can outsprint her."

Devers, who practical further distinguished by her wriggle and immaculately manicured fingernails (which she covers with athletic band when performing), makes her spiteful in Atlanta with her thump. She is a voracious order, whipping through long novels fall back a feverish clip, and possesses the quiet inner strength delay comes from triumphing over immense odds: "[T]here's nothing that peep at come up in my assured that I can't get thinker after going through what Berserk did," she says, looking snooze on her illness.

"I wouldn't wish it on anyone, on the other hand I'm happy I went job it. I think back … to March of 1991, conj at the time that I was wondering if Uncontrollable would ever walk again, vitality alone run."

sources:

"Gail Devers Story Tells How a Sprinter Overcame Ailment to win Olympic Gold," recovered Jet. June 3, 1996.

Johnson, Anne Janette.

Great Women in Sports. Detroit, MI: Visible Ink, 1998.

Moore, Kenny. "Gail Force," in Sports Illustrated. May 10, 1993.

"Picks & Pans," in People. June 17, 1996.

BarbaraMorgan , Melrose, Massachusetts