Gail Devers

African American athlete Gail Devers (born 1966) stunned the world of track and field by bouncing back from a severe illness to win the gold medal in the 100 - meter sprint at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. She had previously set records in the 100 - meter hurdles, but placed fifth in the event at the 1992 games. Since her return to the sport, she has excelled in both her signature events, winning a second gold medal in the 100 - meter dash at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and participating in the gold medal - winning 4x100 - meter relay team as well. She is a ten - time World Champion in the 100 - meter hurdles.

Yolanda Gail Devers was born on November 19, 1966, in Seattle, Washington, to Larry Devers, a Baptist minister, and Adele Devers, a teacher's aide. The family later moved to National City, California, near San Diego. Devers first became interested in running as a child, spurred on by the taunts of her brother, Parenthesis. "Since I was a young girl, I've always been a runner," Devers recalled on the Gail Devers Website. "In fact, my brother Parenthesis (P.D.) used to race me and then tease me when I lost. Well one day, I decided I was not going to lose anymore. So I started practicing - and it paid off. I beat P.D. the next time we raced, and he never raced me again. From then on, running was all that mattered. I had found my stride." She joined the track team at Sweetwater High School, from which she graduated in 1984. Although she began her high school track career as a middle - distance runner, she eventually established herself as a sprinter and hurdler, one year winning the 100 - meter dash and 100 - meter hurdles, as well as taking second place in the long jump, at the state championships.

Due to her performance on the track, Devers had her pick of colleges and attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she majored in sociology and trained under Bob Kersee, a legendary presence in United States track and field and the husband of Devers' close friend, the sprinter Jackie Joyner - Kersee. Kersee immediately pegged Devers as a future Olympic champion and began grooming her for the games. By her senior year in 1988, Devers was ranked one of the top female hurdlers in the country. That year, she set a national record in the 100 - meter hurdles with a time of 12.61 seconds and qualified to compete for a spot on the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team.

Mysterious Illness Surfaced

Devers made the Olympic team, keeping Kersee as her personal coach, but during her training she experienced frequent muscle pulls and tired legs. She performed poorly at the Olympics, held that year in Seoul, Korea, logging her slowest time in the 100 - meter hurdles since her high school career and failing to qualify for the finals. Her condition worsened after the games, when she began to suffer from impaired hearing, memory loss, migraine headaches, hair loss, convulsions, fatigue, and extreme weight loss. Devers visited a series of doctors, none of whom could offer a proper diagnosis. She attempted to compete again in 1990 at a minor track meet, but performed poorly. That same year, a UCLA team physician she encountered by chance noted that Devers' eyes were bulging and she had a goiter on her throat, both symptoms of a thyroid condition. Tests confirmed that Devers had Graves' disease, an autoimmune disorder resulting from an overactive thyroid gland, and that the growth on the gland would have soon become cancerous. Devers underwent radiation treatment to destroy the growth, but the treatment also destroyed her thyroid gland. She had to start taking a synthetic thyroid medication, something she would most likely be forced to do for the rest of her life.

The radiation treatment alleviated many of Devers' symptoms and she resumed her training with Kersee. Complications began to surface in 1991, however, including the formation of blood blisters on the soles of her feet and between her toes. Walking became so painful that Devers often had to crawl or be carried, and one doctor discussed amputating her feet. A second opinion revealed that the blisters were a side effect of the radiation, however, and within one month of halting radiation therapy, Devers was on the road to recovery. She eased back into training with Kersee, riding a stationary bicycle and walking around the track in her socks until shoes no longer hurt her feet. Soon, she resumed her full - fledged workouts and in March 1991 she qualified for a June TAC (The Athletics Congress) meet, where she won the 100 - meter hurdles, setting the women's record for the year in that event. "Deep down, I was scared to death that my life as an athlete was over," Devers wrote on her web site. "But I wasn't going to give up - the word 'quit' has never been a part of my vocabulary." That same year, she divorced runner Ron Roberts, whom she had married in 1988.

Won Olympic Gold

The following summer, Devers placed second in the 100 - meter hurdles at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, set a new U.S. record in the event at a meet in Berlin, Germany, and qualified for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, in both the 100 - meter dash and the 100 - meter hurdles. Devers stunned spectators when she won the 100 - meter dash, beating second - place finisher Julie Cuthbert of Jamaica by .01 seconds and logging her personal best time in the event. Competitors raised speculation that Devers' miraculous comeback was aided by the use of performance - enhancing drugs, but the suspicions were never confirmed. Devers' performance in the 100 - meter hurdles was less spectacular. After tripping over a hurdle, she fell across the finish line and placed fifth in the event, dashing her hopes of becoming the second woman in history to win gold medals in both the 100 - meter dash and the 100 - meter hurdles. "It just wasn't meant to be," she told Sports Illustrated in a 1993 interview.

Devers achieved her dream of a double victory the following year at the World Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. Devers and Jamaica's Merelene Ottey finished so close in the 100 - meter dash that judges spent three minutes studying the photograph taken at the finish line to determine the winner. The Jamaican team protested the decision, but Devers, who set records in both the 100 - meter dash and 100 - meter hurdles that year, prevailed. She anchored the silver medal - winning 4x100 - meter relay team at the championships as well.

Devers won the 100 - meter dash at the World Outdoor Championships again in 1994 and the following year she won the 100 - meter hurdles at both the Outdoor Championships and the World Championships. In 1996, she became the second woman in Olympic history to win the 100 - meter dash in two consecutive games, and she brought home a second gold medal for her performance in the 4x100 relay. She competed in the 100 - meter hurdles as well, but placed fourth.

Bowed Out in Sydney

Aside from a season off in 1998, Devers continued to remain at the top of her game through the 1990s, winning several outdoor championships in the 100 - meter dash, 100 - meter hurdles, and 4x100 relay, and several indoor championships in the 60 - meter dash and 60 - meter hurdles. Devers injured her right Achilles tendon and left hamstring while training for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, but won the 100 - meter hurdles at the Olympic trials, beating her own American record in the event. Ultimately, her injuries forced her to pull out during the Olympic 100 - meter hurdles semi - finals, however. In a 2004 interview in Science of Mind magazine, Devers said she does not measure success by the number of medals she wins. "To me success does not mean that you have to be number one or have the most money or own the company, it means that you have to give your all," she said. "I tell people that at the end of every task, ask yourself a question, a very basic one: 'Did you do all that you can do?' And if the answer is 'yes,' you're successful and don't let anybody tell you anything different."

Devers continued to train and compete, although she dismissed Kersee as her coach in 2001, making her one of the few major U.S. runners to work without a personal coach. "It's just me, a seven - pound Pomeranian, and God on the track," Devers, who begins her practices by racing her dog, is quoted as saying on the USA Track & Field web site. She won the 60 - meter hurdles at both the USA and World Indoor Track & Field Championships in 2003. In 2004, she became the first athlete to win both the 60 - meter dash and the 60 - meter hurdles at the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, posting times of 7.81 seconds in the hurdles and 7.08 in the sprint, which she won in a photo finish. She won a gold medal in the 60 - meter dash and a silver in the 60 - meter hurdles at the World Indoor Championships that same year. Devers qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, but failed to make the finals in the 100 - meter dash. Her string of bad luck in the 100 - meter hurdles continued as well; she was eliminated after aggravating a sprained calf.

Off the track, Devers established the Gail Devers Foundation in 1999 to fund education, health, and community development projects. "When I look at what I've accomplished during my life thus far, I realize I've been truly blessed," Devers wrote on her web site. "Now I want to share my good fortune by passing it on and helping others. Then, I'll consider myself a true champion."

Books

Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 7, Gale Research, 1994.

Great Women in Sports, Visible Ink Press, 1996.

Periodicals

Ebony, March, 1997.

Science of Mind, August, 2004.

Sports Illustrated, May 10, 1993.

Online

Gail Devers Official Website,http://www.gaildevers.com (December 20, 2004).

"Gail Devers," USA Track & Field,http://usatf.org (December 21, 2004).

track and field athlete

Personal Information

Born Yolanda Gail Devers, November 19, 1966, in Seattle, WA; daughter of Larry (a minister) and Alabe Devers (a teacher's aide); married Ron Roberts, 1988 (divorced, 1991).
Education: University of California at Los Angeles, B.A., 1988.

Career

Fastest female combination sprinter and hurdler in history. Overcame serious illness to become one of the top track and field performers of her era. Won 100-meter dash and 100-meter hurdles, and placed second in long jump in California high school state championships, 1984; earned berth on U.S. Olympic team, 1988; set American record and earned silver medal in 100-meter hurdles, World Track & Field Championships, 1991; won gold medal (100-meter dash) at Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, 1992; ran world's fastest time in 100-meter hurdles, 1992 and 1993; won gold medal (60-meter dash) at World Indoor Track & Field Championships, 1993; won gold medals (100-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles) at World Track & Field Championships, 1993; set American indoor record in 50-meter dash and world's record in 60-meter dash, 1993; won 21 of 23 races in hurdles and sprints, 1993; ran world's fastest time in 100-meter dash, 1993.

Life's Work

While Gail Devers achieved fame as the fastest combination female sprinter and hurdler in history, she is perhaps best known for having overcome a serious illness that almost rendered her permanently disabled. After suffering for nearly two years from Graves' disease, a dangerous thyroid condition, Devers made a dramatic return to competition and rapidly established herself as one of the leading female track and field performers in the world. Though initially known primarily as a hurdler, she stunned audiences with her victory in the 100-meter sprint at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

Devers has demonstrated a rare blend of power, speed, and intense concentration. "I never know where I am in a race," Devers was quoted as saying in the New York Times. "When I cross the finish line, I wait for someone to say, 'Gail Devers, you won' or 'Gail Devers, you lost.'" This ability to block out distractions is part of the formula that has resulted in so many of Devers's triumphs.

A deeply religious woman, Devers believes that God played a vital role in defeating her illness and helping her realize her potential as an athlete. Her faith was established at an early age. The daughter of Reverend Larry Devers, a Baptist pastor, Devers grew up in San Diego, California. Regarding her childhood, Devers told Sports Illustrated, "We were a Leave It to Beaver family.... We had picnics, rode bikes and played touch football together. We did Bible studies together." She began winning gold medals during her adolescence; while attending Sweetwater High School in National City, her outstanding performance on the women's track team helped the school win the San Diego sectional track and field team title. In 1984, at age 17, Devers won the 100-meter dash and 100- meter hurdles, and also took second in the long jump at the state high school track and field championships.

While attending UCLA, Devers's development as a runner made a quantum leap under the coaching of Bob Kersee, who is the husband of Devers's closest friend, the renowned athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Bob Kersee saw Devers's immense potential and, much to the young athlete's approval, put her on a grueling training regimen. Quoted in Track & Field News, Devers said, "I loved doing six or seven events in a meet because I was the first to start and the last to finish and there was no time in between to just sit around." Initially, she had planned to concentrate on her sprints and not even pursue hurdling while in college, due to her small size. Nevertheless, under Kersee's guidance, she stuck with the event and reaped tremendous success; by 1988 Devers had become one of the top female hurdlers in the U.S. That year she set a national record of 12.61 seconds in 100-meter hurdles, and also qualified to compete for the U.S. team in the event at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea.

However, just as Devers appeared to be approaching her peak as an athlete, she began suffering from a variety of physical problems. After qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team, she found herself plagued by frequent muscle pulls and tired legs, making it difficult for her to complete simple workouts. Devers's problems took their toll at Seoul, where she produced her slowest time in the 100-meter hurdles since her high school days and failed to qualify for the finals. Soon after, she suffered from impaired hearing, memory loss, migraine headaches, and involuntary shakes and convulsions. Her hair began falling out and, by January 1989, Devers had lost nearly 23 pounds, her frame becoming so slight that she had to wear children's clothing.

Over the next two and a half years, Devers visited more than a dozen physicians. Several doctors told her that she was simply training too hard, while others thought she had diabetes. Meanwhile, Devers's condition worsened, her list of symptoms expanding to include vision loss and nearly perpetual menstrual bleeding. At one point, she seriously considered ending her track career. "I felt like a washed-up athlete, and I began to doubt I could ever again compete at my former level," she explained in Family Circle. But Kersee convinced her to stay with it.

Following an almost two-year layoff, Devers tested her condition in a minor track meet in 1990, but performed poorly. Then in the fall of that same year, a chance meeting with a team physician at UCLA finally led to solving the mystery. The physician noticed that Devers's eyes were bulging and that she had a goiter on her throat, both of which might reflect a thyroid condition. Subsequent tests revealed that Devers was afflicted with Graves' disease, an autoimmune disorder resulting from an overactive thyroid gland. She was told that her condition had progressed almost to a cancerous state, perhaps as little as weeks away from malignancy.

Because the beta-blocker medication for the disease was prohibited by the Olympic Committee as an illegal substance for athletes, Devers elected to receive radiation treatment. Several weeks of radiation targeted against the diseased part of her thyroid gland resulted in a dramatic improvement in her symptoms, prompting her to think that she was cured. However, new problems erupted in early 1991, among them severely painful blood blisters on the soles of her feet and between her toes. Devers told Family Circle, "The pain was so excruciating that I sometimes crawled because it hurt too much to walk."

Devers went to a podiatrist who wrongly diagnosed the condition as a severe case of athlete's foot. Eventually, the pain of walking became so great that her parents had to carry her around her apartment. Devers began to believe that she might never walk again, a fear that seemed imminent when one doctor told her that he might have to amputate her feet. After consulting a second opinion though, it was determined that Devers's problems with her extremities and skin were side effects from the radiation. The radiation had also completely destroyed her thyroid gland, forcing Devers to be placed on a lifetime regimen of daily medication.

One month after the radiation was stopped, Devers was more or less healthy again, except for a sensitivity to the sun and occasional skin-related problems due to her medication. Virtually as soon as she could walk again, she resumed her practice at UCLA. The first workout of her comeback was a slow walk around the track, which she had to do wearing only socks because shoes still hurt her feet. Progressing rapidly from walking to jogging to sprinting workouts, Devers regained her strength in time for a meet in March of 1991, where she qualified for the prestigious TAC (The Athletics Congress) Meet to be held in June. At the TAC Meet she won the 100-meter hurdles, achieving the fastest time by an American woman that year.

The following summer, Devers took second place in the 100- meter hurdles at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, and two weeks later, set a new American record in the event at a track meet in Berlin, Germany. While she achieved tremendous success in track that year, Devers's three-year marriage to Ron Roberts fell apart. She explained in Family Circle that, because of her illness, "I had lost touch with myself. My only desire was to be alone.... I felt if I could just get back to running, I would find Gail again."

As the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona approached, Kersee convinced Devers to put more effort into the 100-meter dash, since he had always felt that her greatest potential was as a sprinter. With her physical problems behind her, Devers trained harder than ever and made the 1992 Olympic team in both the 100-meter dash and the 100-meter hurdles. While at the Olympics, during the quarter finals of the 100 meters, she temporarily lost all feeling in her feet in the starting blocks. Despite fears that her illness was flaring up again, Devers shocked everyone by winning the gold medal in the 100-meter dash with the best time of her career, which nipped second-place finisher Julie Cuthbert of Jamaica by only .01 seconds.

Her surprise victory led to some suspicion about use of performance-enhancing drugs, but no evidence of such assistance was found and rumors were soon dispelled. However, the ecstasy of victory turned to agony five days later. Running too fast in the finals of the hurdles event, Devers overstrided and caught one of the barriers with her foot, tripped, and fell across the finish line. The fall dropped her to fifth place, ruining her chances of becoming the second woman in Olympic history to win gold medals in both the hurdles and the 100-meter dash. "I guess it just isn't meant to be," she said afterwards, displaying her fatalistic view of life.

Confirming her position as the fastest woman in the world, Devers dominated the indoor track season in 1993. She focused more on sprinting than hurdling at that time, and lost just one indoor dash in eight performances. Her achievement was especially impressive since she had paid little attention to indoor running prior to that year. She set an American record of 6.99 seconds in the 60-meter dash at the USA/Mobil Indoor Track and Field Championships in New Jersey in February, and in March she sped to a world-record time of 6.95 seconds while winning the event at the World Indoor Championships held in Toronto, Canada.

Strain from her grueling indoor season resulted in a hamstring injury early in her outdoor training in the spring of 1993. She bounced back quickly, however, under Kersee's tutelage, and was in peak condition for the World Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Stuttgart, Germany in August. Avoiding the mistake that had cost her a dual victory at the Olympics, Devers won titles in both the 100-meter hurdles and the 100-meter dash. Her victory over Merlene Ottey of Jamaica in the dash was so close that it took the judges three minutes of studying the photograph taken at the finish before they could confirm Devers as the winner. The head of the Jamaican team protested the decision, but Devers's victory was upheld. Earning three major titles in 1993, Devers finished the year with a phenomenal 21 victories in 23 races. She also ran the fastest times in both the 100-meter dash and 100-meter hurdles that year.

Going from the verge of having her feet amputated to winning an Olympic gold medal in just eighteen months, Gail Devers's return to running glory is widely regarded as the greatest comeback story in the history of track and field. Few athletes, male or female, have possessed her rare combination of great physical skill and steadfastness in the face of debilitating setbacks. She gives much of the credit to God's intervention; in Family Circle Devers noted, "My family and friends gave me tremendous support, but faith in God and myself kept me going. I don't wish what I've been through on anyone, but I'm a stronger, more determined person because of it. After conquering Graves' disease, I know there's no hurdle I can't get over."

Awards

U.S. Women's Athlete of the Year, Track & Field News, 1993; runner-up, World Women's Athlete of the Year, Track & Field News, 1993.

Further Reading

• Essence, May 1993, p. 96.
• Family Circle, May 18, 1993, pp. 21-3.
• Jet, August 17, 1992, pp. 51-2.
• New York Times, August 2, 1992, Section 8, pp. 1, 4; February 24, 1993, p. B14; February 27, 1993, pp. 29, 32; March 13, 1993, p. 32; August 17, 1993, pp. B9, B13.
• Sporting News, August 17, 1992, p. 5.
• Sports Illustrated, August 10, 1992, pp. 18-19; May 10, 1993, pp. 41-3.
• Track & Field News, October 1992, pp. 52-3; November 1993, pp. 36-7, 48-9; February 1994, pp. 10-11, 14, 17.

— Ed Decker

Medal record
Women’s Athletics
Competitor for the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold	1992 Barcelona	100 m
Gold	1996 Atlanta	100 m
Gold	1996 Atlanta	4x100 m relay
World Championships
Gold	1993 Stuttgart	100 m
Gold	1993 Stuttgart	100 m hurdles
Gold	1995 Gothenburg	100 m hurdles
Gold	1997 Athens	4x100 m relay
Gold	1999 Seville	100 m hurdles
Silver	1991 Tokyo	100 m hurdles
Silver	1993 Stuttgart	4x100 m relay
Silver	2001 Edmonton	100 m hurdles
World Indoor Championships
Gold	2003 Birmingham	60 m hurdles
Pan American Games
Gold	1987 Indianapolis	100 m

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 1984.National City, CA. Sweetwater's football and track stadium is named Gail Devers Stadium.

A young talent in the 100 m and 100 m hurdles, Devers was in training for the 1988 Summer Olympics, started experiencing health problems, suffering from among others migraine and vision loss. She qualified for the Olympics 100 m hurdles, in which she was eliminated in the semi-finals, but her health continued to deteriorate even further.

In 1990, she was diagnosed with Graves' disease, and started radiation therapy. Amazingly, Devers recovered quickly and resumed training. At the 1991 World Championships, she won a silver medal in the 100 m hurdles.

At the 1992 Summer Olympics, Devers starred. She qualified for the final of the 100 m, which ended in an exciting finish, with five women finishing close (within 0.06 seconds). The photo finish showed Devers had narrowly beaten Jamaican Juliet Cuthbert. In the final of the 100 m hurdles, Devers' lead event, she seemed to be running towards a second gold medal when she hit the final hurdle and stumbled over the finish line in fifth place, leaving Voula Patoulidou from Greece as the upset winner.

In 1993, Devers won the 100 m World Championship title after - again - a photo finish win over Merlene Ottey in an apparent dead heat, and the 100 m hurdles title. She retained her hurdles title in 1995.

The 100 m final at the 1996 Summer Olympics was an almost exact repeat of the World Championships final three years before. Ottey and Devers again finished in the same time and did not know who had won the race. Again, both were awarded the same time, but Devers was judged to have finished first and became the first woman to retain the Olympic 100 m title since Wyomia Tyus. In the final of her favourite event, Devers again failed, as she finished fourth and outside of the medals. With the 4 x 100 m relay team, Devers won her third Olympic medal.

After these Olympics, Devers concentrated on the hurdles event, winning the World Championship again in 1999, but she had to forfeit for the semi-finals at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Devers left competition in 2005 to give birth to a child with her husband and returned in 2006.

On February 2, 2007, Devers edged 2004 Olympic champion Joanna Hayes to win the 60-meter hurdles event at the Millrose Games in 7.86 seconds - the best time in the world this season and just 0.12 off the record she set in 2003.

She is most easily identified by her long nails.

Audio interview

• "TFS podcast interview with 3-time Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers"

External links

• Official Website
• IAAF profile for Gail Devers
• Gail Devers' U.S. Olympic Team bio
• Gail Devers talks about her battle with Graves' disease

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Evelyn Ashford	Women's Track & Field ESPY Award 1994	Succeeded by Gwen Torrence
Preceded by Marion Jones	Women's Track & Field ESPY Award 2003 – 2004	Succeeded by No Award Given
Sporting positions
Preceded by Ludmila Engquist	Women's 100m Hurdles Best Year Performance 1993	Succeeded by Tatyana Reshetnykova Svetla Dimitrova
Preceded by Glory Alozie	Women's 100m Hurdles Best Year Performance 1999 — 2000	Succeeded by Anjanette Kirkland
Preceded by Anjanette Kirkland	Women's 100m Hurdles Best Year Performance 2002 — 2003	Succeeded by Joanna Hayes

v • d • e Olympic Champions in Women's 100 m 1928: Betty Robinson • 1932: Stanisława Walasiewicz • 1936: Helen Stephens • 1948: Fanny Blankers-Koen • 1952: Marjorie Jackson • 1956: Betty Cuthbert • 1960: Wilma Rudolph • 1964: Wyomia Tyus • 1968: Wyomia Tyus • 1972: Renate Stecher • 1976: Annegret Richter • 1980: Lyudmila Kondratyeva • 1984: Evelyn Ashford • 1988: Florence Griffith-Joyner • 1992: Gail Devers • 1996: Gail Devers • 2000: vacant • 2004: Yulia Nestsiarenka • 2008: Shelly-Ann Fraser

v • d • e Pan American Champions in Women's 100 m  1951: Julia Sánchez (PER)  •  1955: Barbara Jones (USA)  •  1959: Lucinda Williams (USA)  •  1963: Edith McGuire (USA)  •  1967: Barbara Ferrell (USA)  •  1971: Iris Davis (USA)  •  1975: Pam Jiles (USA)  •  1979: Evelyn Ashford (USA)  •  1983: Esmeralda García (BRA)  •  1987: Gail Devers (USA)  •  1991: Liliana Allen (CUB)  •  1995: Chryste Gaines (USA)  •  1999: Chandra Sturrup (BAH)  •  2003: Lauryn Williams (USA)  •  2007: Mikele Barber (USA)

v • d • e World Indoor Champions in Women's 60 m Hurdles  1985: Xénia Siska (HUN)  •  1987: Cornelia Oschkenat (GDR)  •  1989: Yelisaveta Chernychova (URS)  •  1991: Ludmila Narozhilenko (URS)  •  1993: Julie Baumann (SUI)  •  1995: Aliuska López (CUB)  •  1997: Michelle Freeman (JAM)  •  1999: Olga Shishigina (KAZ)  •  2001: Anjanette Kirkland (USA)  •  2003: Gail Devers (USA)  •  2004: Perdita Felicien (CAN)  •  2006: Derval O'Rourke (IRL)  •  2008: Lolo Jones (USA)

v • d • e IAAF World Cup Champions in Women's 100 m Hurdles  1977 – 1979: Grażyna Rabsztyn (POL)  •  1981: Tatyana Anisimova (URS)  •  1985 – 1989: Cornelia Oschkenat (GDR)  •  1992 – 1994: Aliuska López (CUB)  •  1998: Glory Alozie (NGR)  •  2002: Gail Devers (USA)  •  2006: Brigitte Foster-Hylton (JAM)

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