新澳门开奖结果

30 World-Famous Runners Who Made History

Athletics is one of the most challenging sports to undertake as it requires athletes to be committed fully. Running requires one to have the spirit to endure, stamina, speed, and determination to complete the challenge ahead of them. Many gave their all to be great athletes but failed.

However, there is a class of athletes who have passed all the hurdles and challenges to become the greatest in this stressful sport. They have defied laws of physics by running distances and gliding across obstacles to win the greatest prices. Runners like Usain Bolt, Kipchoge Keino, and others have made history through their commitment and determination.

Their experiences serve as examples of triumph, tenacity, and unmatched excellence that motivate future generations to explore the limits of human potential. Join us as we take you through these incredible athletes鈥� lives and accomplishments.

1. Usain Bolt, Jamaica

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Born on 21st August 1986, Usain St. Leo Bolt OJ CD OLY is best known as the fastest man in the world earning the nickname Lightning Bolt. His history and decoration on the track are enviable as he has attained all and broken several records. Usain Bolt is considered the world鈥檚 greatest sprinter of all time.

Bolt, an eight-time Olympic gold medallist, is the first sprinter to have won the 100-meter and 200-meter Olympic titles in three back-to-back Games (2008, 2012, and 2016). He also won two gold medals in the 4 100 relay. He became famous all around the globe after winning two sprint events in Olympic world records in the 2008 Beijing Games, becoming the first person to accomplish so since fully automatic timing became required.

Bolt was listed among Time magazine鈥檚 2016 list of the 100 Most Influential People. Bolt announced his retirement following the 2017 World Championships, where he finished third in his final 100 m solo race, chose to forego the 200 m, and suffered an injury during the 4100 m relay final.

2. Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopia

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Haile Gebrselassieormer is a former road runner, long-distance track athlete, and businessman who hails from Ethiopia. He won four titles at the World Championships in the 10,000 meters in addition to two Olympic gold medals. In addition to winning three times in a row at the Dubai Marathon, Haile won the Berlin Marathon four times in a row. Additionally, he won the 2001 World Half Marathon Championship and four world championships indoors. Other than being a renowned athlete, Haile is also a peace lover whose acts were seen during the Tigray War.

3. Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopia

Ethiopian long-distance runner Kenenisa Bekele won gold medals at the Olympics in the 10,000-meter race in 2004 and the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races in 2008. In a feat never before done by a male runner, Bekele won the senior long-course (12 km [7.5 miles]) and short-course (4 km [2.5 miles]) crowns at the 2002 World Cross-Country Championships. Bekele鈥檚 track season was cut short in 2002 due to an Achilles tendon injury, but he returned to competition at the world cross-country championships in March 2003 when he was healthy and repeated his astounding double victory.

In 2004, 2005, and 2006, he would go on to win both races at the global cross-country championships, setting a record for the most career victories in the event鈥檚 history. Bekele eventually demonstrated his potential on a track on 1st June 2003, when he defeated world record holder Gebrselassie in the 10,000 meters at the IAAF Grand Prix in Hengelo, Netherlands. Later in the same year, he won gold medals in the 3,000 and 10,000 meters at the IAAF World Athletics Final and IAAF World Championships, respectively.

4. Eliud Kipchoge, Kenya

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Eliud Kipchoge EGH is a Kenyan marathon competitor who originally focused on the 5000-meter event. He is regarded as the best marathon runner of all time, having won the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathons and holding the marathon world record with a time of 2:01:09 achieved at the 2022 Berlin Marathon. Four out of the six fastest marathon times in history were run by him.

Eliud鈥檚 career has been one to admire through his commitment and dedication even though age is catching up with him. He has won multiple awards and accolades that make him one of the most admired athletes in history.

5. Mo Farah, the United Kingdom

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Born Hussein Abdi Kahin, Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah CBE OLY is a renowned British-Somali retired long-distance runner. His achievements during his running career are admirable and many people get their mentorship from him. He is considered as one of the greatest runners of all time.

Mo Farah won ten global championship gold medals, four in the Olympics, and six World titles. These wins make him the most successful male track distance runner in history. Mo Farah is also ranked as the most successful British track athlete who won it all in the modern Olympic Games history.

6. Carl Lewis, the United States

Fredrick Carlton Lewis OLY is a retired American track and field athlete who won 10 medals at the World Championships, including eight gold, and nine gold and one silver medal at the Olympics. His professional career lasted from 1979 through 1996, the last year he took home an Olympic medal. Only six Olympic athletes have ever won a gold medal in the same individual competition at four separate Olympic Games, including Carl Lewis.

From 1981 to the beginning of the 1990s, Lewis, a renowned long jumper and sprinter, frequently finished first in the world rankings for the 100 and 200 meters as well as the long jump. In the indoor long jump, his world record has remained since 1984, and he also established marks in the 100 m, 4 x 100 m, and 4 x 200 m relays. One of the longest undefeated runs in the sport is his 65 victories in a row in the long jump over ten years.

Lewis clocked ten seconds or less for the 100 meters fifteen times during his athletic career and ten times for the 200 meters. Lewis additionally performed 71 long jumps of more than 28 feet.

7. Wilma Rudolph, the United States

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In a family of 22, Wilma Rudolph was the 20th child. She had scarlet fever, double pneumonia, and polio as a young child, which left her disabled. She always thought she would be able to walk again despite the opinions of many doctors who thought the opposite. She was able to walk once more by the time she was 12 and started participating in sports.

Eight years later, she had won the Olympic gold. Wilma made her Olympic debut in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. She was a member of the American 4x100m relay team that won bronze at the age of 16.

The turning points of Rudolph鈥檚 remarkable life narrative occurred at the 1960 Rome Games. She broke three world records as she swept to gold in the 100, 200, and 4×100-meter relay. The European media dubbed her 鈥淭he Black Gazelle鈥� because of her grace, elegance, and speed.

8. Florence Griffith-Joyner, the United States

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Famously known as Flo-Jo, Florence was a renowned track and field athlete as well as the fastest-recorded woman of all time. Her popularity came through her record-setting athleticism and her style. In 1988, Florence set world records for the 100 and 200 m track competitions.

Her athleticism began when she was young and began her track running as a child. Four years later after the 1980 Olympics, she competed in her first Olympics, taking home a silver medal in the 200-meter race in Los Angeles. Griffith broke the 100-metre sprint world record at the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials. At the 1988 Olympics, she went on to win three gold medals.

9. Jesse Owens, the United States

Owens was a phenomenally talented athlete who excelled in the 100- and 200-meter runs, the long jump, and the relay. His track record and achievements speaks for itself. At a 1935 Michigan competition, he was able to break three world records in less than an hour. It is still an accomplishment that has never been matched.

A year later, in a highly charged political context, he experienced his greatest moment. Owens flew to Berlin to compete in the 1936 Olympics, which Adolf Hitler oversaw and thought would highlight the superiority of the Aryan 鈥渕aster race.鈥� His achievements can be compared to those of Usain Bolt.

10. Fanny Blankers-Koen, the Netherlands

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Francina Elsje Blankers-Koen was a renowned track and field athlete. She is best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics held in London. At this competition, she was 30 years old and a mother of two which earned her the nickname 鈥渢he flying Housewife鈥�.

She began competing in athletics in 1935 and participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics the following year. Although World War II put an end to international competition, Blankers-Koen achieved numerous world records at that time in a variety of disciplines, including the long jump, the high jump, and sprint and hurdling competitions. In addition to her four Olympic wins, she also won 58 Dutch championships, and five European titles, and set or tied 12 world records, the last of which she achieved in the pentathlon at the age of 33 in 1951.

11. Emil Z谩topek, Czechoslovakia

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One of the finest long-distance runners in the history of the sport was Czech athlete Emil Z谩topek. At the 1948 Olympic Games in London, he won the gold medal in the 10,000-meter race, and at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland, he won three gold medals in the marathon, the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races, and the 10,000-meter race.

He broke 18 world records throughout his career, holding the 10,000-meter record from 1949 to 1954 with a best time of 28 minutes, 54.2 seconds. He was the first athlete to break the 29-minute barrier. Additionally, he established world records for distances of 5,000 meters, 10 miles, 20,000 meters, 15 miles, 25,000 meters, and 30,000 meters.

12. Hicham El Guerrouj, Morocco

Born on 14th September 1974, Hicham is a retired Moroccan middle-distance runner. He is currently holding the world record for the 1500-meter and mile events. El Guerrouj is also the former world record holder in the 2000 meters. Since Paavo Nurmi, Hicham is the only man who has won a gold medal in both the 1500 meters and 5000 meters in the same Olympic Games.

13. Sebastian Coe, the United Kingdom

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Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe CH KNE Hon FRIBA popularly known as Seb Coe is another renowned former track and field athlete. He held several records as a middle-distance runner including four Olympic medals (which include 1500 m gold medals at the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games.) In middle-distance track competitions, he broke three indoor and nine outdoor world records, including three in 41 days in 1979. His 800-meter world record from 1981 remained unbroken until 1997.

14. Willye White, the United States

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Track and field athlete Willye Brown White represented the United States in five Olympic Games between 1956 and 1972. She was the top female long jumper in America at the time and also participated in the 100-meter sprint. Coach Ed Temple coached White as a Tennessee State University Tigerbelle.

White, an African-American, was the first American sportsperson to compete in track events across five Olympics. She was inducted into the American Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame. In her honor, a city park was named after her in Chicago.

15. Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the United States 

Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee, a retired track and field athlete is also ranked among the all-time greatest athletes. In her career, she won 3 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze Olympic medals. All these silverware were won by Jackie in two events at four different Olympic Games.

16. Allyson Felix, the United States

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Allyson Michelle Felix OLY is a retired American track and field athlete who ran the 100, 200, and 400 meters races. From 2003 to 2013, she focused on the 200 metres, before progressively switching to the 400 metres later in her career. At 200 meters, Felix has won three world championships (2005鈥�2009), two Olympic silver medals (2004 and 2008), the 2012 Olympic title, and the 2011 world bronze medal.

She won the 400-meter world championship in 2015, the world silver medal in 2011, the Olympic silver medal in 2016, the world bronze medal in 2017, and the Olympic bronze medal in 2020. Felix has won 10 U.S. national championships in short-distance events (2004, 2005, 2007-2012, 2015, and 2016).

17. Edwin Moses, the United States

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Moses played football, track, and cross-country in high school while majoring in physics at Atlanta鈥檚 Morehouse College. He initially competed in the 120-yard high hurdles and the 400-meter race there, but he started running the 400-meter hurdles in 1976.

Moses won the gold medal and established his first world record at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal at 47.64 seconds. He went on to establish three separate 400-meter hurdles world records, the last of which held for nine years with the times of 47.45 seconds in 1977, 47.13 seconds in 1980, and 47.02 seconds in 1983.

At the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics, Moses successfully defended his Olympic title. At the Seoul Olympics in 1988, he finished third with his fastest Olympic time of 47.56 seconds, earning him a bronze medal. Moses has one of the most illustrious victory runs in sports history, going 400 meters hurdles unbroken from 1977 to 1987 and winning more than 100 finals in a row.

18. Paavo Nurmi, Finland

Popularly known as the 鈥淔lying Finn鈥� or the 鈥淧hantom Finn鈥�, Paavo was a middle-distance and long-distance runner. He dominated the tracks in the 1920s and broke several records.

 In his 12 races in the Summer Olympic Games, Nurmi won nine gold medals and three silver medals while setting 22 official world records over distances ranging from 1500 meters to 20 km. At his best, Nurmi won all 121 of his races over distances of at least 800 meters. He was unbeaten in the 10,000 meters and cross-country events for the duration of his 14-year career.

19. Joan Benoit Samuelson, the United States

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Born on 16th May 1957, Joan is a renowned American marathon runner whose records are admirable. She was the first women鈥檚 Olympic Games marathon champion. Joan won the gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics setting this record.

 After winning the 1985 Chicago Marathon, she was able to hold the record for an American woman over the distance for 32 years. It had been 28 years since an American woman had finished the Boston Marathon in a faster time than she did. In 2000, she was inducted into the Maine Women鈥檚 Hall of Fame.

20. Bernard Lagat, Kenya

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Lagat was born in Kenya鈥檚 Kapsabet area. He had a long career as a competitive athlete representing his home nation before relocating to the US. Bernard Lagat holds the records for the 1500 m outdoors, the mile indoors, the 3000 m outdoors, and for the Kenyan nation in the 1500 m distance.

Behind Hicham El Guerrouj, Lagat is the second-fastest 1500 m runner in history. Lagat has participated in the Olympics five times, in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016, and he has won 13 medals overall at the Olympics and World Championships, including five gold ones. He was placed fifth in the 5000 m final at the Rio Olympics at the age of 41.

21. Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopia

Have you ever heard of the 鈥淏aby Faced Destroyer?鈥� Well, Tirunesh Dibaba, an Ethiopian athlete who used to compete in long-distance track events and road races internationally was given this nickname. In total, she boasts of 3 Olympic track gold medals, 4 individual World Cross Country adult titles, 5 World Championship track gold medals, and 1 individual WCC junior title. Initially, she held the record of 5000 metres outdoor track until 2020 when Letesenbet Gidey broke it.

22. Allyson Felix, the United States

Allyson Michelle Felix OLY is a retired American track and field athlete who ran the 100, 200, and 400 meters. From 2003 to 2013, she focused on the 200 metres, before progressively switching to the 400 metres later in her career.

At 200 meters, Felix has won three world championships (2005鈥�2009), two Olympic silver medals (2004 and 2008), the 2012 Olympic title, and the 2011 world bronze medal. She won the 400-meter world championship in 2015, the world silver medal in 2011, the Olympic silver medal in 2016, the world bronze medal in 2017, and the Olympic bronze medal in 2020. She has also won 10 U.S. national championships in short-distance events (2004, 2005, 2007-2012, 2015, and 2016).

23. Caster Semenya, South Africa

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 An intersex woman, Mokgadi Caster Semenya is a renowned middle-distance runner. She is the winner of 2 Olympic gold medals and 3 World Championships in the 800-meter women’s competition. Her first gold medal was won in the 2009 World Championships where she also won bronze in the 1500 metres competition.

Her other two gold medals came in the 2011 World Championship and 2012 Olympics when Mariya Savinova faced doping disqualification. 2019 saw the implementation of new World Athletics regulations that bar women like Caster Semenya from competing in the female division of the 400m, 800m, and 1500m races. However, they were to take hormone therapy to lower their testosterone levels. She appealed the limits to the European Court of Human Rights in 2021. The court decided in her favor in July 2023.

24. Paula Radcliffe, the United Kingdom

 Former long-distance runner Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE is another top runner in the world. She has won the London Marathon three times (2002, 2003, 2005), the New York Marathon three times (2004, 2007, 2008), the Chicago Marathon once, and the 2005 World Marathon Championship from Helsinki. She held the Women鈥檚 World Marathon Record with a time of 2:15:25 for 16 years, from 2003 to 2019, before Brigid Kosgei beat her record. She was formerly the fastest female marathoner of all time.

25. Brigid Kosgei, Kenya

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Born on 20th February 1994, Brigid Jepchirchir Kosgei is a famous Kenyan long-distance runner. She has specialized in marathons which she has won multiple awards. Brigid took first place in the 2018 and 2019 Chicago, 2019 and 2020 London, and 2021 Tokyo marathons.

With a time of 2:14:04 completed on October 13, 2019, at the Chicago Marathon, Kosgei holds the title of female runner in a mixed-sex race for the marathon. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics marathon competition, she took home the silver medal.

26. Steve Prefontaine, the United States

Steve Prefontaine developed from a neighborhood hero to a record-breaking collegiate phenomenon to a globally renowned track great during his brief 24-year lifespan. He won seven NCAA championships during that time, finished fourth in the 5K race in the 1972 Olympics, and set American records over a range of distances from 2,000 to 10,000 meters.

27. David Rudisha, Kenya

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David Rudisha understood as a young child that most of his life would revolve around the cattle he used to herd. He was determined to live a warrior鈥檚 life on the pasture field following Maasai tribesmen’s custom. Up until he began having dreams of winning the Olympics.

The fact that his father Daniel was a well-known retired athlete didn鈥檛 sink in for Rudisha until he saw the silver medal that his father earned in the Olympics in Mexico City in 1968. He was very inspired to continue in his footsteps after that. Rudisha realized and surpassed his aim by winning two consecutive 800 m gold medals in the Olympics and shattering the world record. However, his career was cut short by injuries.

28. Hurdler Sally Pearson, Australia

Born on 19th September 1986, Sally Pearson, OAM is a famous retired athlete who used to compete in the 100-metre hurdles. In the 2011 and 2017 World Championships and 2012 Olympics, she managed to bag gold in the 100-meter hurdles. At the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2013 World Championships, Sally managed to bag silver medals.

29. Seb Coe, the United Kingdom

British politician Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe CH KBE Hon FRIBA who is commonly known as Seb Coe was a talented track and field athlete. His record as a middle-distance runner was that he won 4 Olympic medals which included the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games gold medals in the 1500 metres category.

In middle-distance track events, he held nine outdoor and three indoor world records, including three in a row in 1979. His 800-metre world record from 1981 stood until 1997 without being beaten. For a large part of the 1980s, middle-distance racing was dominated by Coe鈥檚 rivals and fellow Britons Steve Ovett and Steve Cram.

30. Gail Devers, the United States

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American sprinter Yolanda Gail Devers, who is now retired, competed in the 60-meter, 60 m hurdles, 100 m and 100 m hurdles. One of the best and most accomplished female sprinters of all time, she won the 60 m world indoor titles in 1993, 1997, and 2004. In the 60 m hurdles, she won the world indoor title in 2003 and finished second in 2004. She won gold in the 100 m at both the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, making her only the second woman in history to successfully defend an Olympic 100 m title.

She won both the Olympic and world championships in the 100 meters in 1993, making history as the first female sprinter to do so. She won the world title in the 100 m hurdles in 1993, 1995, and 1999 and finished second in 1991 and 2001. Her induction into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame took place in 2011.

These world-famous runners are not only known for their track and career records. They have also had positive impacts on the lives of people across the world. They are also mentors to young people who grow up looking up to them and their success stories.