- Tiger Woods
Eldrick "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Currently the World No. 1, Woods was the highest paid professional athlete in 2006, having earned an estimated $100 million from winnings and endorsements.
- Oscar Pistorius
Oscar Pistorius (born November 22, 1986) is a South African Paralympic runner. Known as the "Blade Runner" and "the fastest man on no legs", Pistorius is the double amputee world record holder in the 100, 200 and 400 metres events and runs with the aid of carbon fibre transtibial artificial limbs. His artificial lower legs, while enabling him to compete, have also generated claims that he has an unfair advantage over other runners.
- Tyson Gay
Tyson Gay (born August 9, 1982) is a top ranked American sprint athlete. Tyson attended Lafayette Senior High School in Lexington, Kentucky where he was a standout track star, winning several state titles. Gay competed collegiately at Barton Community College and the University of Arkansas and in 2004 he won the 100 metres contest at the NCAA Outdoor Championships as well as achieving 10.06 in June. 2005 saw him concentrate more on the 200 metres, …
- Dwain Chambers
Dwain Anthony Chambers (born 5 April 1978 in London) is a former English sprinter, turned American football player, currently contracted to NFL Europa with the Hamburg Sea Devils.
- 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, …
- Ladainian Tomlinson
LaDainian Tomlinson is an American football player who currently plays running back for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. Tomlinson, frequently called "LT", set several records during the 2006 NFL season by scoring a league-leading 186 points through 31 touchdowns. He received additional honors by winning the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award and the Associated Press’ Offensive Player of the Year Award.
- Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson (born October 20, 1984) is a full back or ruckman for the Fremantle Dockers. Recruited from Perth Football Club in the WAFL with selection 8 in the 2004 Preseason Draft, he is a graduate of the Clontarf Football Academy<small><sup>;</sup></small>. He made his debut against Richmond in Round 4 of 2005 when Matthew Carr was a late withdrawal from the team due to illness. Due to promising performances at both WAFL and AFL levels and his versatility, …
- Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals; one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the long jump, and as part of the 4x100 meter relay team.
- 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.
- Asafa Powell
Asafa Powell (born 23 November 1982) is a Jamaican sprinter, and is currently the 100m co-world record holder with Justin Gatlin, with a time of 9.77 seconds.
- 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.
- Steve Smith
Steve Smith (born 29 March 1973 in Liverpool) is a retired high jumper from England. At the 1992 World Junior Championships he equalled the junior world record of 2.37 metres, which Dragutin Topic had achieved in 1990. Smith equalled this result a few times but never broke his personal best, which is also the British record. Smith retired after rupturing his achillies tendon in 1999, …
- 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
- Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt (born 21 August 1986 in Trelawny) is a Jamaican sprinter and current world junior record holder over the 200 m, with a time of 19.93s (+1.4 m/s). He is the only junior (under 20 years of age) ever to have run the 200 m under 20 seconds.
- Allyson Felix
Allyson Felix (born November 18, 1985 in Los Angeles, California) is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for the United States in the 200 meters.
- 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".
- Tim Montgomery
Timothy Montgomery (born January 25, 1975) is a former American athlete and 100 m record holder. He was stripped of his records after being found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs.
- Clinton Portis
Clinton Earl Portis (born September 1, 1981 in Laurel, Mississippi) is an American football player who currently plays running back for the Washington Redskins of the NFL.
- Jamarcus Russell
JaMarcus Russell (born August 9, 1985 in Mobile, Alabama) is a quarterback for the Oakland Raiders. He played collegiately for the LSU Tigers, and was the first overall selection in the 2007 NFL Draft.
- John Daly
John James Daly (born 22 February,1880) was a British athlete who competed mainly in the 2590 metre steeple chase. He competed for Great Britain in the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St Louis, United States in the 2590 metre steeple chase where he won the Silver medal.
- Trevor Graham
Trevor Graham is a Jamaican-born athletics coach, based in the United States. Graham was part of the silver medal winning Jamaican 4×400m team at the 1988 Summer Olympics, running in the first round and semi-final, though not the final. He is a graduate from Saint Augustine's College with a degree in Business Management. Graham is currently the head coach at Sprint Capitol USA, based in Raleigh, North Carolina.
- David Lee
David Allen Lee (born 1943) played football for the former Baltimore Colts and subsequently retired from a career as a General Motors executive in Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish, in northwestern Louisiana. He accumulated several sports records in punting for the Colts in a 12-year career from 1966 until 1978. Lee was born to Roy Lee (1916-1994) and the former Hazel Braley (1919-2007). He grew up in the small town of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish, …
- Don King
Donald "Don" King (born December 6 1931), is a successful American boxing promoter particularly known for his hairstyle and flamboyant personality.
- 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.
- Bernard Lagat
Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat (b. December 12, 1974, Kapsabet, Kenya) is a middle and long distance athlete.
- Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jackie Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American athlete, ranked amongst the all-time greatest heptathletes. She won three gold, one silver and two bronze Olympic medals. Named after Jackie Kennedy, she currently lives in East St. Louis, Illinois. Joyner-Kersee was the first woman to score over 7,000 points in a heptathlon event (during the 1986 Goodwill Games).
- Maurice Greene
Maurice Greene (born July 23, 1974) is an American sprinter in athletics, who holds several world records and Olympic medals. He was the former world record holder for the 100m, with a time of 9.79 seconds, a record which was broken in 2005 by Asafa Powell.
- Sanya Richards
Sanya Richards (born February 26, 1985 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a track and field athlete who competes internationally for the United States. She was a gold medalist in the 4x400m relay at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Richards left Jamaica for the USA at the age of 12 and became a US citizen in May 2002. At St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, she lettered in basketball in high school and is a member of the National Honor Society, …
- Joey Porter
Joey Eugene Porter (born March 22 1977 in Bakersfield, California) is an American football linebacker who currently plays for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round (73rd overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at Colorado State.
- 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.
- Kelly Holmes
Dame Kelly Holmes, DBE (born April 19, 1970) is a retired British middle distance athlete. She won gold medals in the 800 metres and the 1500 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
- Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie is a long distance track and road running athlete born as one of ten children in Asella, Arsi Province, Ethiopia. He is considered by many to be one of the best distance runners of all time, having broken 24 world records and won numerous Olympic and World Championship titles.
- Steve Cram
Steve Cram MBE (born October 14 1960) is an English former athlete who vied with fellow English athletes Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett during their domination of middle distance running in the 1980s. He was the first man to run under 3 minutes and 30 seconds for the 1500 metres. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arrow", he set world records in the 1500 metres, 2000 metres, and the mile, within 19 days in the summer of 1985.
- Christine Arron
Christine Arron (born September 13, 1973 in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe) is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for France. She arrived in Metropolitan France in 1990 and first trained with Fernand Urtebise, who also coached 1997 world 400m hurdles champion Stephane Diagana. She had a hip injury which kept her out of the 2001 World Championships. She was named 1998 European Women's Athlete of the Year, …
- Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele (born June 13, 1982, Ethiopia) is an Ethiopian distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 10,000 m and the silver in the 5,000 m at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He won the Gold in the 10,000 m at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics at Paris completing an Ethiopian sweep with Haile Gebrselassie(2nd) and Sileshi Sihine(3rd), and also won 10,000 m at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics (with Sileshi Sihine(2nd)).
- 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, …
- Jason Campbell
Jason Campbell (born December 31, 1981 in Laurel, Mississippi, USA) is an American football quarterback of the Washington Redskins. A 2000 graduate of Taylorsville High School in Taylorsville, Mississippi, Campbell went on to play college football at Auburn where he led the Tigers to an undefeated season in 2004 and was named the SEC Player of the Year and MVP of the SEC Championship Game. Campbell currently holds the longest touchdown completion in Auburn football history, …
- Lauryn Williams
Lauryn Williams (born September 11, 1983 in Rochester, Pennsylvania) is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for the United States. Williams was born and raised in suburban Pittsburgh and attended the University of Miami. Williams is a silver medalist in the 100 meters at the 2004 Summer Olympics and a gold medalist in the 100 meters at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, where she won (together with Angela Daigle, …
- Cathy Freeman
Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman OAM (born February 16, 1973) is an Australian athlete who is particularly associated with the 400 m race. As an Aboriginal Australian, she is regarded as a role model for her people, and by many in the non-Aboriginal community as a symbol of national reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. She was born in Mackay, Queensland. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, …
- Hope Solo
Hope Solo is a goalkeeper for the United States women's soccer team. She attended Richland High School and the University of Washington, and played for several junior U.S. soccer teams before being named onto the Olympic team in 2004, making the 2004 Olympics in Athens as an alternate. She has recorded several shutouts, and once went 1,054 minutes without allowing a goal (a streak that ended in a 4-1 victory against France in the Algarve Cup).