© Stade de France ®
Macary, Zublena et Regembal
Costantini - Architects
ADAGP - Paris - 2002
|
|
COMPETITION  PORTRAITS |
 NOTHING STOPS DEVERS
Paris 2003 Saint-Denis
At 36, the American is as explosive as ever. In Paris Saint-Denis, she will be setting her sights on a sixth world crown, whether it be in the 100m hurdles, at which she is reigning World Champion, or over 100m. The girl from Atlanta is irrepressible.
 |
| Gotenburg 1995 Vandystadt |
“I still enjoy what I do and I’m still learning.” An emphatic answer to those who dare to question what makes Gail Devers continue to run. It is true that with five world titles and three Olympic gold medals, there would appear to be little compulsion for her to pound the tracks of the world any longer. But the quest for pleasure is overriding… The serious illness which struck her at the start of the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988 – a thyroid gland dysfunction – and the threat of a foot amputation should not be discounted either.
Tokyo 1991, the renaissance
That painful experience could well have brought a premature end to a promising career which already boasted 10 titles in two years at UCLA University. Quite the opposite. The Atlanta-born sprinter showed ferocious desire to come through the adversity and, after a silver medal at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, landed her first Olympic title in Barcelona over 100m. Just a year and a half after the start of her illness…
Since then, nothing seems capable of quenching the thirst for victory of the Baptist minister’s daughter who was introduced to the passion for speed by her brother. Her never-ending fingernails, more than a mere manifestation of her outgoing personality, are a perfect reflection of the exuberant side to her character. At the World Championships in Stuttgart, she left her opponents empty-handed, pulling off a 100m / 100m hurdles double – rounded off with a silver medal from the 4x100m relay. A feat which had not been achieved since Holland’s Fanny Blankers-Koen did as much in 1948…
 |
| Atlanta 1996 Vandystadt |
The most decorated woman in World Championships history
Ten years and six medals (including two golds from the Atlanta Olympics) later, Gail Devers is still the woman to beat in the 100m hurdles. A fact demonstrated by her victory in 12’’49 at the Golden League meeting in Paris Saint-Denis. Nothing has changed apart, that is, from her new form of preparation, based upon self-management: “ For the last two years, my challenge has been to train myself”, says the former Bob Kersee pupil. “For me, seeing just how far I can go is a new source of motivation”. At the Stade de France®, she also hopes to consolidate her status as the most decorated woman in the history of the World Championships by adding to her haul of 5 gold medals (8 medals overall) won for hurdles (1993, 1995, 1999), 100m (1993) and 4x100m (1997).
|
|
|
|
