PEOPLE KNOWN FOR: athletics
American athlete
Allyson Felix is an American sprinter who is the most decorated female Olympian in track and field. Her 11 Olympic medals—7 gold, 3 silver, and 1 bronze—are also the most won by an American track and field...
Indian athlete
Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track-and-field athlete who shot to fame after earning a gold medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, and further secured his position as a leading...
American sprinter
Noah Lyles is an American sprinter who became known as the “fastest man in the world” after winning a trio of gold medals—in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, and the 4 × 100-meter relay—at the 2023 world...
Chinese track-and-field athlete
Su Bingtian is a Chinese track-and-field athlete who in 2015 became the first Asian-born sprinter to run the 100 meters in under 10 seconds. At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo (held in 2021 because of...
American runner
Joan Benoit Samuelson is an American long-distance runner who won the first Olympic gold medal awarded for the women’s marathon, which debuted at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. During her career,...
American athlete
Steve Prefontaine was a long-distance runner who is often regarded as one of the most important figures in American running, known for both his athletic prowess and celebrity. At his untimely death in...
Jamaican athlete
Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter who won gold medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter races in an unprecedented three straight Olympic Games (2008, 2012, and 2016). He is widely considered the greatest...
Indian athlete
Milkha Singh was an Indian track-and-field athlete who became the first Indian man to reach the final of an Olympic athletics event when he placed fourth in the 400-meter race at the 1960 Olympic Games...
South African athlete
Oscar Pistorius is a South African track-and-field sprinter and bilateral below-the-knee amputee who, at the 2012 London Games, became the first amputee to compete in an Olympic track event. In 2015 Pistorius...
Venezuelan athlete
Yulimar Rojas is considered the “Queen of the Triple Jump,” known for her series of historic performances. In 2022 she set the world record in the sport, jumping 15.74 meters (51.64 feet). In addition,...
American athlete
Sha’Carri Richardson is one of the world’s fastest female sprinters, known for her record-breaking performances in the 100-meter dash. The American runner first garnered national attention in 2021 when...
Jamaican sprinter
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is a Jamaican athlete who is considered one of the world’s best sprinters. She won gold medals in the 100-meter race at both the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2012 London Games,...
New Zealand athlete
Valerie Adams is a retired shot-putter and Olympian who was virtually undefeated in the major international competitions in her sport between 2006 and 2014. She competed in five Olympic Games, earning...
Russian athlete
Yelena Isinbayeva is a Russian pole-vaulter who achieved numerous world records and became the first woman to clear the 5-metre (16-foot 4.75-inch) mark in the sport’s history. Isinbayeva was enrolled...
Australian track-and-field athlete
Nicola Olyslagers is the first Australian woman to jump 2 meters (6 feet 6.74 inches) in the high jump. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games (held in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic), the track-and-field...
British athlete
Mo Farah is a Somalian-born British distance runner who won gold medals in both the 5,000-metre and 10,000-metre races at both the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. According to...
Pakistani track-and-field athlete
Arshad Nadeem is the first Pakistani track-and-field athlete to win an Olympic medal—a feat he accomplished with no less than a gold medal in the men’s javelin throw event at the 2024 Paris Games. With...
Ethiopian athlete
Meseret Defar is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, world champion, and Olympic medalist who broke a number of world records, including those in the 3,000-metre, 5,000-metre, and 2-mile races. Defar began...
Kenyan distance runner
Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan distance runner who is widely considered the world’s greatest marathoner. Between 2014 and 2019 he won all 10 marathons he entered, and in 2018–23 he held the world record in...
Australian athlete
Sally Pearson is a retired track athlete and Olympian considered to be one of the most successful Australian hurdlers of all time. Pearson won a gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles at the London 2012 Olympic...
American athlete
Jesse Owens was an American track-and-field athlete who became one of the sport’s most legendary competitors after winning four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. His victories were a blow...
British distance runner
Paula Radcliffe is a British distance runner who set world records in the marathon. Radcliffe was born into an athletic family. Her great-aunt Charlotte Radcliffe won an Olympic silver medal in the 4 ×...
Ethiopian athlete
Kenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who won Olympic gold medals in the 10,000 metres in 2004 and in both the 5,000 metres and the 10,000 metres in 2008. He later had success in the marathon....
American athlete
Babe Didrikson Zaharias was an American sportswoman who was one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century, achieving particular success in basketball and track and field, though she is perhaps best...
American athlete
Marion Jones is an American athlete, who, at the 2000 Olympic Games, became the first woman to win five track-and-field medals at a single Olympics. In 2007, however, she admitted to having used banned...
Algerian athlete
Noureddine Morceli is an Algerian middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist who broke multiple world records in the 1990s. At age seven Morceli was inspired by his brother Abderrahmane, a world-class...
American athlete
Jackie Joyner-Kersee is a former athlete from the United States who was the first participant to score more than 7,000 points in the heptathlon. Joyner showed great enthusiasm for athletics early on, and,...
Swedish athlete
Carolina Klüft is a Swedish track-and-field athlete who won a gold medal in the heptathlon at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Her father, Johnny Klüft, was a Swedish first-division football (soccer) player,...
American decathlete
Ashton Eaton is a former decathlete who dominated the sport in the 2010s, winning numerous IAAF (now World Athletics) world championships as well as two gold medals: 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio...
Dutch athlete
Fanny Blankers-Koen was a versatile Dutch track-and-field athlete who, at the 1948 Olympics in London, became the first woman to win four gold medals at a single Games. During her career she set world...
American athlete
Carl Lewis is an American track-and-field athlete, who won nine Olympic gold medals during the 1980s and ’90s. Lewis qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in 1980 but did not compete, because of the U.S....
American athlete
Michael Johnson is a former sprinter who was perhaps the most eminent figure in track and field in the 1990s. For much of the decade he was virtually unbeaten in the long sprints—the 200-meter and 400-meter...
Kenyan athlete
Yobes Ondieki is a Kenyan distance runner who surprised observers in 1993 by setting a world record in the 10,000 metres, an event he had not run on a track in 10 years. At the time, his performance was...
Australian athlete
Cathy Freeman is an Australian sprinter who excelled in the 400-metre dash and who in 2000 became the first Australian Aboriginal person to win an individual Olympic gold medal. Freeman began competitive...
Ethiopian athlete
Tirunesh Dibaba is an Ethiopian distance runner who at the 2008 Beijing Olympics became the first woman to win gold in both the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter races. She defended her gold medal title in...
Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter
Donovan Bailey is a Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter who specialized in the 100-metre dash, winning a gold medal in the event at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Bailey moved to Oakville, Ontario, Canada,...
Australian athlete
Shirley Strickland de la Hunty was an athlete from Australia who won seven Olympic medals between 1948 and 1956, in an era when Australian women dominated track events. Strickland first competed at the...
American athlete
Jim Thorpe was one of the most accomplished all-around athletes in history who in 1950 was selected by American sportswriters and broadcasters as the greatest American athlete and the greatest gridiron...
Kenyan runner
Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot is a Kenyan runner who became the first man to win the Chicago Marathon and the Boston Marathon in the same year (2006). Cheruiyot, a Nandi tribesman, enjoyed success as a high-school...
British runner
Sebastian Coe is a British athlete, who won four Olympic medals and set eight world records in middle-distance running. His great rivalry with fellow Briton Steve Ovett dominated middle-distance racing...
American athlete
Dick Fosbury was a high jumper from the United States who revolutionized the sport by replacing the traditional approach to jumping with an innovative backward style that became known as the “Fosbury flop.”...
Polish athlete
Irena Szewińska was a Polish sprinter who dominated women’s athletics over two decades. Between 1964 and 1976 she earned 7 Olympic medals, tying the then record of Australian Shirley Strickland de la Hunty...
New Zealand athlete
Peter Snell was a New Zealand middle-distance runner who was a world record holder in the 800-metre race (1962–68), the 1,000-metre race (1964–65), the mile (1962–65), and the 880-yard race (1962–66) and,...
American football player, jurist, and writer
Alan Page is an American gridiron football player, jurist, and writer who in 1971 became the first defensive player to win the Most Valuable Player award of the National Football League (NFL). He later...
Czech runner
Emil Zátopek was a Czech athlete who is considered one of the greatest long-distance runners in the history of the sport. He won the gold medal in the 10,000-metre race at the 1948 Olympics in London and...
Finnish runner
Paavo Nurmi was a Finnish track athlete who dominated long-distance running in the 1920s, capturing nine gold medals in three Olympic Games (1920, 1924, and 1928) as well as three silvers. For eight years...
Romanian athlete
Iolanda Balas was a Romanian athlete, the dominant performer in the women’s high jump during the late 1950s and ’60s. She won two Olympic gold medals in the event, set 14 world records, and was the first...
Chinese shot-putter
Gong Lijiao is a Chinese shot-putter who competed in multiple Summer Olympic Games in the early 21st century. During her career she has won gold medals at such competitions as the National Games of China,...
Chinese track-and-field athlete
Liu Shiying is a Chinese track-and-field athlete who competes in the javelin throw event. She became the first Asian woman to win a gold medal in the event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which were held...
Ukrainian athlete
Sergey Bubka is a Ukrainian athlete, the first pole-vaulter to clear 6.1 metres (20 feet). Bubka began pole-vaulting at age 9. When his coach, Vitaly Petrov, was transferred to Donetsk, Ukraine, Bubka,...
- animal training
- athletics
- automobile racing
- baseball
- basketball
- billiards
- boxing
- bullfighting
- chess
- collecting
- cooking
- cricket
- cycling
- diving
- fencing
- football (soccer)
- football, gridiron
- golf
- gymnastics
- horse racing
- ice hockey
- lugeing
- motorboating
- mountaineering
- rodeo
- rowing
- rugby
- skating
- skiing
- sportscasting
- swimming
- tennis
- volleyball
- weight lifting
- wrestling
- yachting