LOCAL SPOTLIGHT: DEVERS SET TO CONQUER BIG HURDLE.Byline: Karen Crouse Staff Writer SACRAMENTO - Imagine Marion Jones Marion Jones, also known as Marion Jones-Thompson (born October 12, 1975 in Los Angeles, California), is an American former athlete in track and field. She was the winner of five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, which she later relinquished after winning back-to-back Olympic titles in the long jump and getting shut out of the medals in the 100-meters. It sounds implausible until you consider the career of sprinter Gail Devers Yolanda Gail Devers (born November 19, 1966 in Seattle, Washington, USA) is a three-time Olympic 100 m champion in athletics for the US Olympic Team. Devers grew up near National City, CA and graduated from Sweetwater High School in National City, CA. . The former UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX standout is a hurdler, first and foremost, and yet the 100-meter footrace is where she has made her mark at the Olympics. Devers won consecutive sprint titles in Barcelona in 1992 and in Atlanta in 1996. Meantime, the best finish she has posted in three trips to the Olympics in the hurdles is a fourth - .01-second out of third - in 1996. That void in an otherwise sparkling resume is largely what drives Devers to continue in the sport at the relatively advanced age of 33. ``Everyone says I'm a hurdler and not a sprinter,'' said Devers, who won her preliminary heat Saturday. ``The irony is I have (Olympic) medals in the sprint and not the hurdles. That's one of the reasons I'm still competing; to get a medal in the hurdles.'' She moved a step closer to that goal Saturday when she survived the heats of the 100-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. The semifinals and finals will be run today as part of the final afternoon of competition. Devers finished fifth in the 100 meters last week, so if she earns a berth to Sydney she won't have to worry about her focus being diffused. ``This is my chance to look like a hurdler instead of a sprinter going over the hurdles,'' Devers said with a devilish dev·il·ish adj. 1. Of, resembling, or characteristic of a devil, as: a. Malicious; evil. b. Mischievous, teasing, or annoying. 2. Excessive; extreme: devilish heat. grin. It wouldn't be an Olympic year if Devers wasn't battling some kind of adversity. She overcame Graves disease Graves disease or toxic diffuse goitre or exophthalmic goitre Most common type of hyperthyroidism (oversecretion of thyroid hormone), usually with goitre and exophthalmos (eyeball protrusion). in the three years leading up to the 1992 Summer Games This article is about the Epyx video game series. For the international multi-sport event, see Summer Olympic Games. Summer Games is a sports video game developed by Epyx and released by U.S. Gold based on sports featured in the Summer Olympic Games. . This year Devers missed seven weeks of training because of left hamstring and right Achilles' tendon Achilles' tendon (tendo calcaneus) (tĕn`dō kălkā`nēəs), sinew prominent at the back of the ankle, connecting the tendons of the calf muscles to the heelbone. injuries. Not that it appeared to affect her much. Less than two weeks after shedding the boot she was wearing to stabilize her left foot, Devers ran a 2000 world-best in the 100 hurdles of 12.47. With a time like that, why should she contemplate retirement? Devers knows there are people who want to lump her in with Johnny Gray For the baseball player, see . Johnny Gray (born June 19, 1960) was an American 800m runner of the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1985 he set the US record of 1:42.60 min at a meet in Koblenz. and Jackie Joyner-Kersee, athletes of her era who failed in their bids to stave off the younger generation here. But she's not ready to concede a thing to age or her critics. ``I know the window is closing,'' Devers said. ``I don't think it's closed yet. I don't think anyone can push you out of the sport. You leave when you want to. Right now Gail Devers is still having fun on the track. If I don't have the energy to train, if I'd rather be home playing with my dogs, that's when it's time to retire.'' |
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