Cancer Athletes

A dominant sprinter and long jumper, Carl Lewis has won ten Olympic medals, nine of them gold. From 1981 to 1991, he topped the world rankings in the 100 m, 200 m and long jump events, slowly starting to lose his dominance thereafter, eventually retiring in 1997. Currently a businessperson, he has also appeared in films and television productions.

Sprinter Wilma Rudolph made history by becoming the first American female athlete to win three track and field gold medals in a single Olympic game. As a child, she needed orthopedic shoes to help her walk. The sports icon lost her life to cancer but was immortalized through books and movies.

Wayde van Niekerk is a South African athlete who competes as a sprinter in the 200 and 400 metres. He is the current Olympic and world record holder in the 400 metres. Wayde van Niekerk holds the world record in the 300 metres as well. He won the gold medal in the 400 metres event at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Hurdler Liu Xiang created history by becoming the first Chinese Olympic gold medalist in any men’s track-and-field event. While he excelled in high jump in his younger days, he deviated to hurdles by 15. He has also earned gold medals at the world championships and the Asian Games.

Lasse Virén is a Finnish retired athlete who specialized in long-distance running. He is best known for his performance in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games, where he won two gold medals at each Games. Lasse Virén is also known for winning a bronze medal at the 1974 European Championships in Rome.

Teemu Selänne is a Finnish retired ice hockey player who played as a winger. Dubbed the Finnish Flash, Teemu is the highest scoring player from Finland in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL). In 2017, he became only the second Finn after Jari Kurri to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Ethiopian marathon runner, Abebe Bikil,a became the first black African Olympic gold medalist at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Four years later, he won his second gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. He created world record both the times. A pioneer in long-distance running, he participated in a total of 16 marathons. 

Considered one of the greatest athletes India has ever produced, P. T. Usha is often called the Queen of Indian track and field. She has won 14 gold medals throughout her illustrious career. She missed out on the bronze medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics by a hundredth of a second.

Tom Longboat was an Onondaga athlete who specialized in distance running. Nicknamed the bulldog of Britannia, Longboat also served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a soldier during the First World War. In 1996, Tom Longboat was honored posthumously with an induction into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. 

Mary Peters is a Northern Irish former athlete who specialized in the pentathlon and shot put. She was athletic from a young age and received encouragement from her father to pursue her passion. She represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the Summer Olympics in 1972 and won the gold medal in the women's pentathlon.  

Angelica Bengtsson is a Swedish athlete who competes in track and field events with a specialization in the pole vault. In 2010, she became the first athlete to win the pole vault event at the first Summer Youth Olympics. The current national record holder, Bengtsson has won many medals, including bronze medals at the 2015 and 2017 European Indoor Championships.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was an American athlete who specialized in golf, track and field, basketball, and baseball. Considered one of the greatest female athletes ever, Didrikson won two gold medals and a silver medal in track and field at the Summer Olympics in 1932. She then went on to win 10 LPGA major championships, becoming USA's first female golf celebrity.

Michelle Jenneke is an Australian track and field athlete and model. She won a silver medal for Australia at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. She received international recognition in 2012 when her pre-race warm-up dance became famous on the internet. As a model, Michelle Jenneke was featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2013.

Anna Chicherova is a Russian high jumper who won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She has also won medals at World Championships, which includes a gold and silver medal. She is the third female high jumper to win medals at both the World Championships and the Olympic Games. She also holds the Russian national record (2.07 meters).

Arthur Lydiard was a New Zealand athlete and coach. He is credited with popularizing running as a sport and making it mainstream across the sporting world. Arthur Lydiard is also credited with coaching legendary athletes like Peter Snell, who won two gold medals at the 1964 Summer Olympics under Lydiard's tutelage.

Born in England and raised in the U.S., David Hemery competed for England as a hurdler and won the 400m gold at the 1968 Summer Olympics. He also has two Commonwealth gold medals to his credit. He owns the charity 21st Century Legacy and has penned several books, including a memoir.

Raelene Boyle is an Australian former athlete who won silver medal in 200m in 1968 Olympics and silver medal in 100m and 200m in 1972 Olympics. In 1985, she was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Raelene Boyle was named in Australia's Top 100 Sportswomen of All Time list in 2013.

Legendary Jamaican sprinter Herb McKenley not only won an Olympic gold medal but also had 3 Olympic silvers in his kitty. He remains the only person to have ever made the final rounds of the 100m, 200m, and 400m Olympic events. He had also won 3 Pan American Games bronze medals.

Steven Hooker is an Australian former athlete renowned for his skills as a pole vaulter. His personal best of 6.06m makes him the fourth-highest pole vaulter of all time. Hooker won gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2009 World Championships, and 2010 World Indoor Championships. In 2017, he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

A 4-time Olympian and an Olympic gold medalist, retired Canadian track and field athlete Bruny Surin has been a master of the 4×100m relay. He is also a former Commonwealth Champion and a 2-time World Champion. The Haitian-born athlete had moved to Canada as a child. He has been knighted by the Quebec government.

Shirley Strickland was an Australian athlete who won three Olympic gold medals in running sports. The daughter of an athlete, she developed an early love for running and also played hockey. As a young woman, she pursued a teaching career. She took up running seriously in the late 1940s and participated in several competitive events with great success. 

Abeba Aregawi is an Ethiopian-Swedish former athlete who specialized in middle-distance running. She won all her major medals in the 1500 metres event; bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games, silver medal at the 2014 European Championship, and a gold medal each at the 2013 World Championship, 2013 European Indoor Championship, and 2014 World Indoor Championship.