Devers biography

1966-

American track and field athlete

Gail Devers will go down as one of the fastest female combination sprinters and hurdlers in history, as well as one of the greatest track and field athletes. While her awards and accomplishments, including setting several American and world records in various indoor and outdoor events, are impressive, they are only half the story. Devers's triumph over Graves' disease—a debilitating and potentially dangerous thyroid condition—early in her career is the stuff of legend. The disease and the treatments that she pursued made Devers so ill that she had to be carried around by her family. At one point, doctors almost amputated her feet because they were so swollen. Devers's professional comeback, which began

in 1991 after years of sedentary living with her condition, was extraordinary, and included gold medals in the 100-meter dash in both the 1992 and the 1996 Olympics.

A Born Competitor

Yolanda Gail D