Jessica Ennis-Hill is a British retired track and field athlete. She specialized in multi-eventing disciplines and 100 meters hurdles. In 2012, she won an Olympic gold in the heptathlon. She was introduced to sports as a young girl and immediately took an interest in athletics. She has won several other titles as well in addition to her Olympic gold.
Five-time Olympic medalist and renowned sprinter Justin Gatlin is a specialist in the 100m and the 200m categories. In 2005, he became the first to win both the 100m and the 200m world titles. He was a childhood fan of Mike Tyson and had initially been a hurdler.
Cathy Freeman is a former sprinter known for her achievements in the 400 meters events. Her personal best of 48.63, set at the 1996 Olympics, makes her the eighth-fastest woman of all time. She gave Australia an Olympic gold at the 2000 Olympics. Also a humanitarian, Freeman is credited with founding the Cathy Freeman Foundation.
Colin Jackson is a Welsh former athlete who represented Wales and Great Britain during his career. Jackson, who specialized in hurdles, won the silver medal in the 110m hurdles at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. His world record for the 110m hurdles stood for more than ten years, while his world record for the 60m hurdles stood for almost 27 years.
Jarmila Kratochvílová is a Czech retired track and field athlete known for winning gold medals in the 800m and 400m events at the 1983 World Championships and setting a world record in the process in the 400m event. In 1983, she also set a world record in the 800m event. Kratochvílová also won a silver medal at the 1980 Olympics.
Delilah DiCrescenzo is an American track and field athlete who competes in the 3000 meters steeplechase. She helped Team USA win the gold medal at the Americas Cross Country Championships in 2009. Delilah DiCrescenzo is the subject of a hit song titled Hey There Delilah by the popular American rock band Plain White T's.
Two-time Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton began his international career in 2008, winning his first international medal, a silver, at the 2011 World Championships. In the following year, he won two gold medals, one in Heptathlon at the World Indoor Championships and the other in Decathlon in London Olympic Games, defending his Olympic title four years later in Rio de Janeiro.
Annette Tånnander is a former athlete who competed in the high jump and heptathlon events. She represented Sweden at the 1976 and 1984 Summer Olympics. After retiring from athletics, Annette Tånnander went on to pursue a career as a massage therapist and fitness trainer. She also co-wrote a book titled The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fitness.
Long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine had competed in only one Olympic, finishing fourth in the 5000m race in Munich. However, he had begun breaking records since high school and excelled in cross-country running. His tragic death in a car accident after attending a party ended his life and his sports dreams.
Former track and field athlete from Sweden, Carolina Klüft is an Olympic gold medalist. Born to Swedish soccer player Johnny Klüft and long jumper Ingalill Ahlm Klüft, Carolina was naturally drawn toward sports at an early age. She is also a student of peace and development and participates in charitable campaigns.
An enthusiastic runner since his student life, David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, began participating in professional events from the age of nineteen, eventually winning a gold medal in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1928 Olympic Games and a silver at 1932 Olympics. Also a Conservative Party member, he remained associated with different sports organizations even after his retirement.
Katerina Stefanidi is a Greek pole vaulter best known for winning the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. In 2017, she won the gold medal at the IAAF World Championships. Stefanidi has also won two gold medals at the European Championships in 2016 and 2018. Katerina Stefanidi is considered the greatest Greek female athlete of the modern era.
Virgilijus Alekna is a Lithuanian retired discus thrower who won gold medals at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. A two-time world champion, Alekna also won the 2006 European Championship. Virgilijus Alekna was named Lithuanian Sportsman of the Year on four occasions. In 2017, he was honored with the prestigious European Athletics Lifetime Achievement Award.
Patrick Stevens is a Belgian former sprinter best known for winning a bronze medal at the European Championships in 1994. He also won a silver medal at the European Indoor Championships in 2000. Patrick Stevens also represented his country in four World Championships.
Canadian athlete Earl Thomson, or Tommy Thomson, scripted history as the first non-American to win a 110m hurdles Olympic gold medal. In his early days, he excelled in high jump and discus throw, too. He later coached the US Naval Academy team and also co-designed a safer hurdle.
Matej Toth is a Slovak race walker best known for winning the gold medal in the men's 50 kilometres race walk event at the 2016 Olympic Games. He has also won a gold medal at the World Championships and a couple of silver medals at the European Championships. In 2016, Matej Toth was named Slovak Athlete of the Year.
Ottavio Missoni was an Italian fashion designer who founded the fashion label Missoni. He loved sports as a young boy and won the individual national championship in track four times. He fought in World War II and turned to fashion designing after the war. Along with his wife, Rosita, he launched his own label, Missoni, in the 1950s.
In spite of his short international career, Australian athlete Ralph Doubell managed to bag an Olympic gold medal. His 1min 44.4sec world record at the 800m at the 1968 Mexico City Games, matched only with New Zealand’s Peter Snell and is still the fastest recorded by an Australian.
Lou Marsh was a Canadian athlete who participated in a wide variety of sports during his playing career. He then established himself as one of the top hockey and boxing referees of his generation. Lou Marsh also worked for the Toronto Star for more than four decades and is often counted among the pioneers of sports journalism in the country.
Iryna Zhuk is a Belarusian athlete who specializes in pole vaulting. She is best known for winning the bronze medal at the European Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland. Iryna Zhuk has also represented Belarus at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, reaching the final in the latter event.
Karyna Demidik is a Belarusian athlete who specializes in high jump. She started hogging the limelight in 2017 when she won a silver medal at the European Athletics U20 Championships in Grosseto, Italy. She then went on to win a gold medal at the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.
Apart from winning an Olympic gold, Jamaican sprinter Beverly McDonald has also bagged a silver and a bronze medal at the games. She has also been the 1991 World Champion. She is the sister of Jamaican runner Michael McDonald. She was also once named the Jamaican Sportswoman of the Year.
Habib Thiam was a Senegalese politician best remembered for his service as the Prime Minister of Senegal on two occasions; from 1981 to 1983 and again from 1991 to 1998. From 1983 to 1984, Habib Thiam also served as the President of the National Assembly of Senegal.