Track and Field | Page 5 of 6 | U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum

Gail Devers

Diagnosed with Graves' disease, sprinter Gail Devers nearly needed her feet amputated. But she recovered to win three gold medals and competed in five Olympic Games.

Glenn Davis

Glenn "Jeep" Davis had blazing speed that carried him to three Olympic gold medals. Following his track career, he played two years of professional football in the NFL before becoming a track coach.

Willie Davenport

Willie Davenport ran the 100-meter hurdles in four Summer Games and won one gold medal. At the Lake Placid 1980 Olympic Winter Games, he was part of the U.S. four-man bobsled team.

James Connolly

James Connolly dropped out of Harvard to participate in the first-ever modern Olympics, the Athens 1896 Olympic Games, where he placed first in the very first event, the triple jump.

Alice Coachman

Alice Coachman first won a national title in 1939; in 1940 and 1944 The Olympics were canceled because of World War II. Coachman finally won gold in the high jump at the London 1948 Olympic Games.

Milt Campbell

Milt Campbell's first-ever decathlon was at the 1952 U.S. Olympic Trials. He went on to win silver at the Helsinki 1952 Olympic Games. Campbell won gold at the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games.

Lee Calhoun

Lee Calhoun was the first male athlete to win consecutive Olympics gold medals in the 110-meter hurdles, winning photo finishes at the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games and Rome 1960 Olympic Games.

Ralph Boston

Relatively unknown until a tuneup meet prior to the Rome 1960 Olympic Games, long jumper Ralph Boston broke Jesse Owens' long-standing world record and went on to win Olympic gold.

Joan Benoit had knee surgery 17 days before the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials, but finished first at the Trials and won gold in the first-ever Olympic women's marathon at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games.

Bob Beamon

Bob Beamon broke the previous world record in the long jump by nearly two feet as he soared 29 feet 2 1/2 inches to win a gold medal at the Mexico City 1968 Olympic Games.

Sport: Track and Field