Gail Devers

Yolanda Gail Devers (born November 19, 1966) is a retired three-time Olympic champion in track and field for the US Olympic Team. Devers was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up near National City, California and graduated from Sweetwater High School in 1984. Sweetwater's football and track stadium is named Gail Devers Stadium.

A young talent in the 100 m and 100 m hurdles, Devers was in training for the 1988 Summer Olympics, started experiencing health problems, suffering from among others migraine and vision loss. 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 1990, she was diagnosed with Graves' disease, and underwent radioactive iodine treatment followed by thyroid hormone replacement therapy. Amazingly, Devers recovered quickly and resumed training. At the 1991 World Championships, she won a silver medal in the 100 m hurdles.

wendy fortino

Olympic-level runner Wendy Fortino lost out on a chance to compete on the track and field stage. But the setback wasn’t nearly enough to keep the 26-year-old from Modesto, California away from the gym — proving yet again that you just can’t keep a good athlete down — and as she kept working out, a new interest began to blossom.

Nudged by peers identifying the potential of the determined, highly talented 5-foot-1, 115-pound former gymnast and dancer, Wendy set her sights on fitness competitions. She’s set to make her debut at the Sacramento Pro/Am this fall.

Wendy’s story comes with such a compelling twist that it seems only fitting her shoot happened in the shadows of Hollywood. The only thing left is a fairy tale ending in which the ostensible underdog wins her first show in the capital of her home state — something you can’t help but root for, especially after getting to know her.

Indeed, though only a rookie fitness girl, Wendy is brilliantly accomplished academically, holding a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education from Cal State Stanislaus and a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology from Cal Poly — no small feat given that the prestigious tech school only accepts about one-third of applicants. She’s also a certified personal trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine.

Florence Griffith-Joyner

Florence Griffith-Joyner (born Florence Delorez Griffith), also known as Flo-Jo (December 21, 1959 – September 21, 1998) was an American track and field athlete. She is considered the "fastest woman of all time" based on the fact that she still holds the world record for both the 100 metres and 200 metres, both set in 1988 and never seriously challenged. She died due to epilepsy in 1998 at the age of 38.

Aside from the controversy of whether her 1988 Olympic trial world record was wind-aided, Griffith-Joyner was dogged by rumors of drug use.

In 1988, Joaquim Cruz, Brazilian gold medalist in the 800 meters at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics suggested that her times could only have been the result of using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs, that her physique had changed dramatically in 1988 (showing marked gains in muscle mass and definition), and that her performance had improved dramatically over a short period of time. Before the 1988 season, Griffith Joyner's best 100 meter time was 10.96 seconds. In 1988 she improved that by 0.47 seconds, a time that no one has approached since. Similarly, her pre-1988 best at 200 meters was 21.96. In 1988 she improved that by 0.62 seconds to 21.34, another time which has not been approached. Griffith-Joyner attributed the change in her physique to new health programs.

Her retirement from competitive track and field after her 1988 Olympic triumph further fueled the controversy, with some suggesting that her retirement was linked to the start of mandatory, random drug testing conducted out of competition in 1989. Prior to this type of testing, Griffith-Joyner was tested during competition and did not fail any drug tests. Her husband has stated that Griffith-Joyner was never interested in being a career sprinter, found the early nights and no-junk-food diet restrictive, and wanted to start a family as well as pursue interests in fashion design and crafts.




Joyner's supporters claimed that the autopsy cleared her of allegations that she used performance-enhancing drugs. However, the coroner noted that the autopsy records showed only that she did not die from drugs or banned substances, the autopsy did not prove that Joyner had never used such drugs. Her husband had requested that Joyner's body specifically be tested for steroids, but was informed that there was not enough urine in her bladder and that the test could not accurately be performed on other biological samples.

Personal information
Full name : Florence Griffith Joyner
Nationality : United States
Date of birth : December 21, 1959(1959-12-21)
Place of birth : Los Angeles, California
Date of death : September 21, 1998(1998-09-21) (aged 38)
Place of death : Mission Viejo, California
Height : 1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in)
Weight : 59 kg (130 lb)
Country : United States United States
Sport : Running
Event(s) : 100 meters, 200 meters
Retired : 1988