There have been many famous runners in track and field history. A lot of them have been Americans. Below are just a few who have made history.
One of the first modern track and field champions was Jim Thorpe. He was an American, born in 1886. In the 1912 Olympic games, Thorpe won two gold medals. He won the decathlon and the pentathlon. Jim Thorpe's 1912 Olympic scores would have won second place in the 1948 Olympics, that's how good he was.
A great woman champion was Babe Didrickson. She won the javelin throw and the 80 meter hurdles in the 1932 Olympic games. She came in second for the high jump. Later in Babe's life she became a great golfer. She was voted Greatest Woman Athlete of the first half of the twentieth century.
Carl Lewis, a more modern track star, won nine Olympic gold medals. He was in sprint races and the long jump. He was the first to win the title "World's Fastest Human" in two Olympics.
Jesse Owens is one of the best known track athletes. He competed in the 1930s. During one Olympics when Owens was running, Hitler refused to recognize him because he was black. This made Jesse run harder. His hard work paid off and Owens brought home three gold's in sprints, jumping, and a relay.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee was an amazing track and field athlete. She is one of the first people you think of when you think of track and field. Jackie won the heptathlon nine straight times. She married her coach and has retired from track and field with over eleven medals to her name.
Florence Griffith-Joyner is another champion of track. She was nicknamed Flo-Jo for her speed. She broke the ten second barrier for the 100 meter dash. Florence's time was 9.97 seconds. Another one of her great accomplishments was breaking her own 200 meter record twice.
Gail Devers is still winning gold medals today. She was the third straight 100 meter gold medal winner to have attended UCLA. Devers is known for competing in hurdles and sprints. In this past Olympic games, Gail Devers was unable to finish because of an injury. 
Lauren Williams is probably the newest Olympian on the USA team. She is from Lancaster, Pa and ran college track at Miami University in Florida. Her first Olympics were in Athens in 2004. She won the silver medal in the 100 meter dash, but was off by one tenth of a second for the gold. Her biggest tragedy of the games was the women's 4x1 relay. Williams dropped the baton during a handoff, disqualifying her team. Lauren Williams is supposed to be an amazing Olympian in future years.
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