- Michael Johnson
Michael Duane Johnson (born September 13, 1967) is a retired American sprinter who holds world records in the 200 m, 400 m and 4 x 400 m relay (2:54.20, as part of the USA team). He also has run the fastest 300 m ever, an event not recognized by the IAAF. He won five Olympic gold medals and was a world champion nine times. He is the only man to win both the 200 m and 400 m races at the same Olympics, accomplishing the feat at the 1996 Summer Olympics, …
- Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton ("Carl") Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is a retired American track and field athlete who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 golds, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were golds, in a career that spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and subsequently retired. He currently lives in Los Angeles and is pursuing an acting career.
- Carolina Klüft
Carolina Evelyn Klüft (born February 2, 1983) is a Swedish athlete competing in heptathlon, long jump and pentathlon. She is the current Olympic, World (twice) and European (twice) heptathlon champion and is regarded as one of the best female athletes in the world. Since 16/09/2002, Klüft has been continuously ranked as the world's leading heptathlete, by the IAAF. This is currently the longest of any athlete.
- Allen Johnson
Allen K. Johnson (born March 1, 1971) is a hurdling athlete and won Olympic Gold in the 110 metre high hurdles at the 1996 games in Atlanta, Georgia. Born in Washington, D.C., an all-round athlete Johnson attended University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and excelled at high jump, long jump and decathlon as well as hurdles. Johnson was troubled by injury in 2000 and it was much to his credit that he made the final at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, …
- Andreas Thorkildsen
Andreas Thorkildsen (born April 1, 1982 in Kristiansand) is a Norwegian javelin thrower. He is the world junior record holder in the event and has won gold medals at the Summer Olympics and European Championships in Athletics as well as a silver medal at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. He is the current leader of the IAAF world ranking in javelin throw.
- Merlene Ottey
Merlene Joyce Ottey (b. May 10, 1960 in Hanover, Jamaica) is a Jamaican-born Slovenian track athlete. Ottey began her career representing Jamaica, but since 2002, has represented Slovenia, where she now resides. She ranks at number four on the list of the all time female athletes on the 100 meters, and number three on the corresponding 200 meters list. Ottey holds the record for being the oldest track medalist ever, …
- Dwight Phillips
Dwight Phillips (born: October 1, 1977 in Decatur, Georgia, USA) is an athlete who specializes in the long jump. Dwight was a promising sprinter in his early days but concentrated on the triple jump while at University of Kentucky before switching to the long jump after moving to Arizona State University in 2000. He hit the big time in 2003 when he won both the IAAF indoor and outdoor World Championships.
- Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan David Edwards, CBE, (born May 10, 1966 in London, England) is a former British triple jumper and widely regarded as the finest triple jumper of all time. He is an Olympic champion and has held the world record in the event since 1995. He lives with his wife Alison in Gosforth, Tyneside and also has a flat in London.
- Debbie Ferguson
Debbie Ferguson (born: January 16, 1976) ia a Bahamian sprint athlete. Debbie attended St Andrew's School in Nassau, Bahamas and graduated in 1994. She is still fondly remembered by many of her peers, teachers, and administrators. Debbie graduated from University of Georgia from where she launched her senior athletics career since which she has gained medals at the Summer Olympics, IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Commonwealth Games and Pan American Games.
- Susanthika Jayasinghe
Susanthika Jayasinghe (born December 17, 1975 in Atnawala, Sri Lanka) is a sprint athlete specializing in the 100 and 200 metres. Brought up in a poor family in a small village 60 kilometres north of Colombo, where running spikes cost more than the average month's wage, Susanthika had no access to proper sports equipment or coaches.
- John Godina
John Carl Godina (born May 31, 1972 in Fort Sill, Oklahoma) is an American shot putter, whose record includes three World Championship wins and two Olympic medals. He also competes in discus.
- Lars Riedel
Lars Riedel (born June 28, 1967 in Zwickau) is a successful German discus thrower. He ranks sixth in all-time longest discus throw distances with a personal best of 71.50m. Riedel began his discus career in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). He grew up in Thurn which is next to Zwickau. In 1983 he went to join SC Karl-Marx-Stadt.
- Iván Pedroso
Iván Lázaro Pedroso Soler is a Cuban athlete specializing in long jump. In July 1990, still at the age of 17, Pedroso jumped more than 8 metres for the first time. Facing tough competition from Carl Lewis, Mike Powell and others, he still won numerous gold medals in international competitions in the early nineties. He almost never finished in less than first place. When Powell and Lewis retired, Pedroso became a dominant athlete, …
- Lidia Simon
Lidia Slavuteanu Simon (born September 4, 1973 in Targu Carbunesti) is a Romanian long-distance runner. Competing in marathon, she won bronze medals at the World Championships in 1997 and 1999, before finally winning in Edmonton 2001. She won the Osaka Marathon in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and a bronze medal over 10000 metres at the 1998 European Championships. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney she won the silver medal behind Naoko Takahashi, …
- Noureddine Morceli
Noureddine Morceli (born February 28, 1970) is a retired Algerian athlete, winner of the 1500 m run at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Born in Tenes, Algeria, Noureddine Morceli rose to athletic prominence after winning the silver medal in the 1500 m at the World Junior Championships in 1988. Morceli attended college in Riverside, California, and throughout his career, in winter, he would return there to enjoy the mild climate and train.
- Gwen Torrence
Gwen Torrence (born June 12, 1965) was a sprint athlete and an Olympic gold medalist from the United States. She was born in Decatur, Georgia. She attended Columbia High School, then the University of Georgia. Torrence has won medals at nearly every major athletics competition, including the Summer Olympics, Outdoor & Indoor World Championships, Pan American Games, Goodwill Games, and World University Games.
- Jean Galfione
Jean Galfione (born 9 June 1971 in Paris) is a French athlete. In 1995 he won the bronze medal pole vault at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. In 1996 he won the gold medal in the pole vault at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1999, he won the IAAF Indoor World Championships clearing 6.00m.
- Svetlana Masterkova
Svetlana Alexandrovna Masterkova (born January 17, 1968) is a Russian former middle distance runner. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in both the 800 and 1,500 metres. Born in Achinsk (Siberia), Masterkova started out as an 800 meter runner. Her breakthrough came in 1991, winning the national championships of the Soviet Union, which also qualified her for the World Championships. In Tokyo, she placed eighth in the final.
- Noah Ngeny
Noah Kiprono Ngeny (born November 2, 1978) is a Kenyan athlete, the surprise winner of the 1500 m at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
- Svetlana Krivelyova
Svetlana Vladimirovna Krivelyova ("Russian": Светлана Владимировна Кривелёва; born: June 13, 1969 in Bryansk, Russia) is an athlete who specialises in the shot put. In a long and distinguished career Krivelyova's highlights were the Summer Olympics gold medal in 1992 whilst representing the Unified Team where she beat the reigning world champion Huang Zhihong of China and her World Championship victory in 2003.
- Calvin Smith
Calvin Smith (born January 8, 1961) is a former sprint athlete from the United States. He is a former World Record holder in the 100 metre sprint, and was twice World Champion over 200 metres. Smith was undoubtedly one of the best sprinters in the world in the 1980s, though for most of his career Smith, who was a quiet and unassuming character, ran in the shadow of the more charismatic American sprinting great Carl Lewis. Smith set the 100 metre world record on July 3 1983, …
- Natalya Nazarova
Natalya Nazarova (born May 24, 1979 in Moscow, Russia.) is a sprint athlete. Following a personal best time of 49.65 seconds run a fortnight earlier, Natalya had lost form by the start of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and only just made the final finishing 8th. She did get a silver in the relay. She finished fourth at the 2003 World Championships.
- Gezahegne Abera
Gezahegne Abera (born April 23, 1978) is an Ethiopian athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Born in Etya, Arsi Province, Abera's first international competition was the 1999 Los Angeles marathon, where he finished fourth, behind of three Kenyans. That earned him a place in the Ethiopian 1999 World Championships team, where he finished eleventh.
- Kelli White
Kelli White (born April 1 1977 in Oakland, California) is a former American sprinter. She won two gold medals in the World Championships in Paris in 2003. However, on 2004-06-18, she was stripped of her medals because she tested positive for modafinil on a drug test. She admitted guilt and testified before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). All her performances since December 15, 2000, have been annulled.
- Moses Kiptanui
Moses Kiptanui (born October 1, 1970 in Marakwet District, Kenya) is a middle and long distance athlete mostly famous for 3,000 m steeplechase in which he was the number one ranked athlete from 1991 to 1995 and three time IAAF World Champion. Kiptanui was also the first man ever to run 3000 m steeplechase in under eight minutes. Kiptanui emerged in 1991 as a relatively unknown athlete. He won several Grand prix races that season.
- Billy Konchellah
Billy Konchellah (born 20 October, 1961 in Kilgoris) is a former Kenyan 800m runner who won two consecutive World Championship gold medals in Rome 1987 and Tokyo 1991. His victory in the 1991 final was unexpected. He sprinted past Paul Ereng and Jose Luiz Barbosa on the final straight. In 1993 Konchellah made an unexpected comeback when he won the B-race at the meeting in Zurich.
- Ana Fidelia Quirot
Ana Fidelia Quirot (born March 23, 1963 in Santiago de Cuba) is an athlete from Cuba, who specialised in the 800m but was also successful over 400m. Quirot won a silver medal at the 1991 IAAF World Championships in Athletics and a bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. However the following year she was involved in a horrific domestic accident that left her seriously injured.
- Letitia Vriesde
Letitia Vriesde (born 5 October, 1964 in Paramaribo) is a track and field athlete from Suriname. Her main event is the 800 m. She started running in Suriname but after her National Olympic Committee failed to send her to the 1984 Summer Olympics, due to the fact that she was not a world-class athlete, she decided to leave the country and went to train in the Netherlands. She gradually improved, competed in the 800 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics, …
- Ashia Hansen
Ashia Hansen (born 5 December 1971 in Evansville, Indiana, USA) is an athlete who is considered Britain's greatest-ever female triple jumper. Although born in the USA, Hansen was adopted at the age of 3 months by a Ghanaian father and a British mother and grew up in the UK after spending a few years in Ghana. Hansen is a member of the Birchfield Harriers Athletics Club in Birmingham, along with other successful British athletes such as Denise Lewis, Kelly Sotherton, …
- Derval O'Rourke
Derval O'Rourke (born 28 May, 1981, in Cork, Republic of Ireland) is an Irish sprint hurdles athlete. She competes internationally in the 60 and 100 metres hurdles, and is the Irish national record holder in both events. She has participated in the last two Indoor World Championships and "Outdoor" World Championships and the 2004 Olympic Games.O'Rourke attended University College, Dublin where she held a sports scholarship between 2000 and 2004.
- Tony Jarrett
Anthony ("Tony") Alexander Jarrett (born August 13, 1968 in Enfield, London) was a sprint and hurdling athlete from England, who came 4th in the 110m hurdles at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Four years earlier he ended up in sixth place in the same event. Jarrett's career was parallelled by the achievements of fellow Briton Colin Jackson, who beat him into second place on numerous occasions at major competitions such as the World Championships, …
- Butch Reynolds
Harry ("Butch") Reynolds (born June 8 1964 in Columbus, Ohio) is a former 400 meters sprinter, representing the United States. On August 17 1988 he set a 400 meters world record with 43.29 seconds, smashing Lee Evans' 20 year old world record by an amazing 0.57 seconds. The record was finally broken by Michael Johnson (43.18) in 1999. He won a silver medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics on the 400 meters and a gold medal on the 4 x 400 m relay.
- Huang Zhihong
Huang Zhihong (born May 7, 1965 in Lanxi, Zhenjiang) is a former shot put athlete from China. An Olympic silver medallist and a double world champion, she was in fact the first Asian to win a world championship in athletics. Her personal best throw is 21.52, achieved in Beijing 1990.
- Eduard Hämäläinen
Eduard Hämäläinen is a retired decathlete from Finland. He originally competed for the Soviet Union and then Belarus after the Soviet dissolution, but changed nationality. His great-grandparents emigrated from Finland. During his career he won three silver medals at World Championships.
- Nezha Bidouane
Nezha Bidouane (born September 18, 1969) is a retired Moroccan hurdler. She won the 400 m hurdles gold medal at the 1997 World Championships in Athens. In 1999 she won the silver medal at the World Championships in an African record time of 52.90 seconds. In 2000 she won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games. She is married to Abdelaziz Sahere.
- Ghada Shouaa
Ghada Shouaa (born September 10, 1972) is a former Syrian heptathlete. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, she won her country's first - and as of 2004 only - Olympic gold medal. Born in the small Syrian city of Muhardeh in the Hama Governorate, Shouaa's first sport was basketball. She played on the Syrian national team for a few years, but then decided to compete in athletics. She did her first heptathlon in 1991, and was immediately sent to the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, …
- Anastasiya Kapachinskaya
Anastasiya Kapachinskaya (born: November 20, 1979 in Moscow, Russia) is a sprint athlete. At the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 2004 she won the 200 m, but was stripped of the title after testing positive for the banned anabolic steroid stanozolol. She denied all knowledge of how it had happened and during the two year ban that she has received has vowed to work with the World Anti-Doping Agency promoting sports without drugs, …
- Igor Astapkovich
Igor Astapkovich (born January 4, 1963 in Minsk) is a hammer thrower who won two Olympic medals, first representing USSR and later his home country of Belarus. He won silver medals at three consecutive World Championships, and became the 1990 European champion. His personal best throw of 84.62 metres, achieved in 1992, puts him 6th on the all-time performer's list. Astapkovich is married to discus thrower Irina Yatchenko.
- Carla Sacramento
Carla Cristina Paquete Sacramento, <small>OIH</small> (born December 10, 1971 in São Sebastião da Pedreira) is a middle distance runner from Portugal. Carla Sacramento has won medals at a variety of distances but her speciality is the 1500 m. She won the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in 1997 in Athens after having won a bronze medal in the 1995 championships. She won her first national title in 1986 when she was only fifteen years old.
- Sigrun Wodars
Sigrun Wodars is an East German former middle distance athlete, who was born Sigrun Ludwigs in Neu-Kaliß. She started out as a 400 m runner in Schwerin, and proved successful in this event in junior meets. She then switched clubs and changed to the 800 m like her new club mate, Christine Wachtel, who would also become her closest rival. Now competing under the name of Wodards, she won her first national title in 1986, …