- Liu Xiang
Liu Xiang (born July 13, 1983) is a Chinese hurdling athlete and Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the 110 metres hurdles at 12.88 seconds. Born in Shanghai, China, his given name, 翔, means "to soar". - 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, … - Paula Radcliffe
Paula Jane Radcliffe, MBE (born December 17, 1973) is a British long-distance runner. She is the current world record holder for the women's marathon, which she set during the 2003 London Marathon, with a time of 2:15.25. This mark is currently the highest scoring performance ever, in terms of IAAF world ranking points, at 1307, higher in value than Florence Griffith-Joyner's 100 and 200m records, Marita Koch's 400m, and Michael Johnson's 400m record. - Yelena Isinbayeva
Yelena Gadschiyevna Isinbayeva is a Russian pole vaulter. She won the 2004 Olympic Gold Medal with a new World Record (then 4.91 m), was elected Female Athlete of the Year by the IAAF twice (2004 and 2005), and Sportswoman of the Year by Laureus, and has set 20 world records. On July 22, 2005, she became the first female pole vaulter to clear 5.00 metres. At the age of 25 she is seen as the best female pole vaulter in history. - Justin Gatlin
Justin Gatlin (born February 10, 1982) is an American sprinter. He is an Olympic gold medalist who shares the world record in the 100 m sprint (with Asafa Powell), with a time of 9.77 seconds. He is currently serving an eight-year ban from track and field for testing positive for doping - Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne (born 13 September 1969 in Upper Ferntree Gully, Victoria), is an Australian cricketer and the current captain of Hampshire. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in cricket history. Warne retired from international cricket in January 2007, following Australia's 5-0 Ashes series victory over England. Two other players integral to the Australian team of recent years, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer, … - Libby Lenton
Lisbeth "Libby" Constance Lenton OAM is a member of the Australian Women's Olympic swim team, an Athens gold medalist, and former holder (with teammates Alice Mills, Petria Thomas, and Jodie Henry) of the world record in the women's 4 × 100 metre relay (with a time of 3:35.94). Lenton was also a bronze medalist in the Women's 50 metre Freestyle. She had previously been the holder of the 100 m Freestyle world record (53.66) set at the Olympic swimming Trials held in Sydney, … - 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. - Takeru Kobayashi
(b. March 15, 1978) is a Japanese competitive eater and a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). He held the world record for hot dog eating for nearly six years, and holds several other eating records, and is the second ranked eater in the world according to the IFOCE. - Mike Powell
Michael ("Mike") Anthony Powell is an American Track and Field athlete, and the holder of the long jump world record. Mike Powell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 1991 World Championships in Athletics (Tokyo), he broke Bob Beamon's 23-year-old long jump world record by 5 cm (2 inches), leaping 8.95 m (29 ft 4½ in). The world record still stands. - Megan Jendrick
Megan Jendrick is an American swimmer. She won two gold medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Jendrick has set 26 American records and one World record in her swimming career up to date. She is a ten-time National champion and ten-time US Open champion. Jendrick was the star of the 2005 World University Games in İzmir, Turkey, winning three gold medals and setting two Universiade records. - Bob Beamon
Robert ("Bob") Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is a former American track and field athlete, best known for his long-standing world record in the long jump. Beamon, from Jamaica, New York, set a world record for the long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City with a jump of 8.90 m (29 ft. 2-1/2 in.). His world record stood for 23 years, and was named by Sports Illustrated magazine as one of the five greatest sports moments of the 20th century. - Florence Griffith-Joyner
Florence Griffith-Joyner (born Delorez Florence Griffith), also known as Flo-Jo (December 21, 1959 - September 21, 1998) was an American track and field athlete. She is best known for her media flamboyance and setting World Records in the 100 m and 200 m, which still stand as of 2007. Her career was dogged by allegations of drug use, which was speculated to have caused her premature death. - Jodie Henry
Jodie Clare Henry OAM (born 17 November 1983), Australian swimmer, is a triple Olympic gold medallist and a four time gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games,former world champion in the 100 m freestyle and former women's world record holder for the 100 metre freestyle. With team mate Libby Lenton, a member of the world record breaking and gold medallist 4x100 m freestyle & the 4x100 m medley teams for Australia in the new mellenium. - Jon Drummond
Jonathan A. "Jon" Drummond is an American athlete, winner of gold medal in 4x100 m relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jon Drummond is known for being among the world’s best starters. In 1991, Drummond won the 200 m at the World University Games. At the 1993 World Championships, Drummond ran the opening leg on the American 4x100 m relay team, which won the gold medal and equalled the world record of 37.40. - Dana Vollmer
Dana Vollmer (born November 13, 1987 in Syracuse, New York) is an American swimmer who presently competes at the college level at Cal-Berkeley. Though born in New York, she was raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex suburb of Granbury, Texas. She was a member of the United States' 4 x 200-Meter Freestyle Relay team, along with Natalie Coughlin, Carly Piper, and Kaitlin Sandeno, … - Britta Steffen
Britta Steffen (born November 16, 1983) is a German swimmer who specialises in freestyle, who is holder of the world record in women's 100 metre freestyle. She is a native of Schwedt, Germany. In 1999, Steffen won six titles at the European junior championships, and won a bronze medal as a member of Germany's 4x200m freestyle relay team at the 2000 Summer Olympics. By 2004, though, her individual times were not at world-leader standard. - Lee Evans
Lee Edward Evans (born February 25, 1947) is a former American athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Born in Madera, California, Evans was undefeated in high school and won his first AAU championship in 440 yd (402.34 m) in 1966, shortly after graduating. He repeated his win in next year and won AAU and NCAA 400 m titles in 1968. Lee Evans achieved his first world record at 1966, … - Shani Davis
Shani Davis (born August 13, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American speed skater who competes in both short track and long track speed skating. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Davis became the first black athlete to win a gold medal in an individual sport (1,000-m) and the fifth black Winter Olympics medalist. He also won the silver in the 1,500-m. He won the allround World Allround Championships in both 2005 and 2006, after winning the silver medal in 2004, … - Wilson Kipketer
Wilson Kipketer (born December 12, 1970) is a Danish former middle distance runner. He holds the current world records at both indoor and outdoor 800 and the indoor 1000 metre distances. While dominating the 800 m distance for a decade, remaining undefeated for a three-year period and running 8 of the 11 currently all-time fastest times, he never won an Olympic gold medal. - Svetlana Feofanova
Svetlana Yevgenyevna Feofanova (Russian: Светлана Евгеньевна Феофанова; born 16 July, 1980 in Moscow) is a Russian pole vaulter. She won the silver medal in women's pole vaulting at the 2004 Summer Olympics behind compatriot Yelena Isinbayeva. Feofanova also was a Russian gymnast and was included to Russian national team on 1996 Summer Olympics but didn't became a good athlete in this sport. On July 4 2004 she jumped 4,88 m in Heraklion, Greece, … - Daley Thompson
Francis Morgan Thompson, CBE (born July 30, 1958 in Worcester Park), known commonly as Daley Thompson, is a former decathlete from England. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four times. Thompson is of Nigerian and Scottish heritage. Thompson's best score in the decathlon was 8847 points, set in the 1984 Olympic competition – a world record that stood until 1992, … - Tatyana Lebedeva
Tatyana Lebedeva (born July 21, 1976 in Volgograd) is a Russian athlete who competes on the world stage in both the long jump and triple jump disciplines. In the finals of the 2004 World Indoor Championships, after equalling Ashia Hansen's triple jump indoor world record with her first jump, Tatyana then improved on this twice finishing with a mark of 15.36 metres. In 2004 for the second Summer Olympic Games in a row, … - Edwin Moses
Edwin Corley Moses (born in Dayton, Ohio August 31, 1955) is an American track and field athlete who won gold medals in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Between 1977 and 1987, Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races). He set the world record in his event four times. In addition to his running, Moses was also an innovative reformer in the areas of Olympic eligibility and drug testing. - Steve Ovett
Stephen Michael James ("Steve") Ovett (born October 9, 1955), is a former middle distance runner from England. He was gold medalist in the 800 m at the 1980 Olympic Games, and set world records for 800 m, 1500 m and 1 mile. To this day, he holds the UK record for 2 miles, which he set in 1978. Born in Brighton and educated at Varndean Grammar School, Steve Ovett was an outstandingly talented teenage athlete. - Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller (June 2 1904 - January 20 1984) was an American swimmer and actor who was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven world records. After his swimming career, he became the sixth actor to portray Tarzan in films, a role he played in twelve motion pictures. Other actors also played Tarzan, but Weissmuller was the best-known. - Obadele Thompson
Obadele Thompson (born March 30, 1976) is a sprint athlete from Barbados. In 2000, he became the first individual Olympic medalist for his island nation. Born in Saint Michael, Thompson attended Harrison College (the island's top school) before earning a scholarship, and graduated with honors with a degree in marketing and economics from the University of Texas at El Paso, United States. - Tegla Loroupe
Tegla Loroupe (born May 9, 1973 in Kapsait, Kenya) is a long-distance track and road runner, and a global spokeswoman for peace, women's rights, and education. Loroupe holds the world records for 20, 25 and 30 kilometres and previously held the world marathon record. She has run farther in one hour than any woman in history. She is the three-time World Half-Marathon champion. She was the first African woman to win the New York City Marathon, which she has won three times. - Eric Heiden
Eric Arthur Heiden (born June 14 1958 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American former long track speed skater who won all the men's speed skating races, and thus an unprecedented five gold medals, and set 4 Olympic records and 1 world record at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Heiden is an icon in the speedskating community and, in particular, in Europe where the sport is highly regarded. - Leroy Burrell
Leroy Russel Burrell (born February 21, 1967) is a former American athlete who twice set the world record for the 100 meter sprint, setting a time of 9.90 seconds in June 1991. This was then broken by Carl Lewis within a month. Burrell set the record for a second time when he ran 9.85 seconds in 1994, a record that stood until the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, when Donovan Bailey ran 9.84. Burrell grew up in Lansdowne, … - Derartu Tulu
Derartu Tulu (born March 21, 1972) is an Ethiopian long distance track, road and marathon athlete. She was born in the same village Bokoji in Arsi Province as Kenenisa Bekele, the male running sensation. In 2004, she declined to enter the New York Marathon, where she would have been likely to face marathon World Record holder Paula Radcliffe, whom she has had a great rivalry with over the years, and focused instead on the Olympic Games, where she won the bronze medal. - Fanny Blankers-Koen
Francina Elsje (Fanny) Blankers-Koen (Lage Vuursche, 26 April 1918-Hoofddorp, 25 January 2004) was a Dutch athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She accomplished this as a mother of two, during a time when many disregarded women's athletics. Her background and performances earned her the nickname "the Flying Housewife." Having started competing in athletics in 1935, she took part in the 1936 Summer Olympics a year later. - 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, … - Ingrid Kristiansen
Ingrid Kristiansen née Christensen (born March 21, 1956 in Trondheim, Norway), was one of the best female long distance runners in the second half of the 1980s. She finished in fourth place in the first ever Olympic marathon race, at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Kristiansen was world champion over 10,000 metres in 1987, and set five track world records in the course of her career. She simultaneously held the 5000-meter and 10,000-meter world records, … - David Bedford
David Bedford (born London December 30, 1949) was an English long distance runner, whose career spanned the early 1970s. He is currently the Race Director of the London Marathon, and a Representative for UK Athletics. Bedford was a world record holder at 10,000m, improving the record by 7.6 seconds when running 27 minutes 30.80 seconds in 1973, and a British record holder for 3,000m steeplechase and 5,000m. - Sven Kramer
Sven Kramer (born April 23, 1986 in Heerenveen) is a Dutch long track speed skater. He is the current Dutch, European, and World Allround Champion. He also is the reigning world champion and world record holder on the distances 5,000 m, 10,000 m and the teampursuit. - Tanni Grey-Thompson
Dame Carys Davina "Tanni" Grey-Thompson, DBE (born 26 July 1969, Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh athlete and TV presenter. Born with spina bifida, Tanni is a wheelchair-user, and is considered to be one of the most successful disabled athletes in the UK. Thompson competes in events over a wide range of distances, first competing in the 100 m at the Junior National Games for Wales in 1984. Over her career to date, she has won a total of 16 Paralympic medals, including 11 golds, … - Daniel Komen
Daniel Kipngetich Komen is a Kenyan middle and long distance runner. He is the first and only man to achieve back-to-back sub-four minute miles, as he owns the world record for two miles. Komen is also the second man ever to break both the 13-minute mark in the 5000 meter run and the 3½ minute mark for the 1500 meter run. He also holds the world record for the 3000 meters, both indoor and oudoor. - Kevin Young
Kevin Curtis Young (born September 16, 1966) is a former American athlete. He was the winner of the 400 metre hurdles at the 1992 Summer Olympics, and still holds the world record that event. Born in Watts, California, Kevin Young, as an University of California, Los Angeles "walk-on", won the NCAA titles in 400 m hurdles in 1987 and 1988. Young made his debut at the international scene by finishing second at the 1987 Pan American Games. - Jerome Young
Jerome Young (born: August 14, 1976) in Clarendon, Jamaica, attended high school in Hartford, Connecticut at Prince Technical, is a sprint athlete. His reputation as a sprinter has been tarnished as he was caught doping in 1999 casting suspicious shadows over his entire track & field career. In 1995, as a senior in high school, Jerome set a Connecticut state record of 45.01 in the 400.
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