Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #53 - Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

Jamaica

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#13 among Track & Field Athletes

#4 among Female Track & Field Athletes

#3 among Jamaican Olympians

#2 among Female Jamaican Olympians

Olympic Results

2008

100m - Gold

2012

100m - Gold

200m - Silver

4x100m Relay - Silver

2016

100m - Bronze

4x100m Relay - Silver

2020

100m - Silver

4x100m Relay - Gold

Total

Events - 11

Gold - 3

Silver - 4

Bronze - 1

Shelly-Ann Fraser was born on December 27, 1986 in Waterhouse, Jamaica, and was a good sprinter from the time she was a small girl. As a young adult, she was somewhat nervous about competing in big competitions, and wasn't super dedicated to training, but after going to the World Championships in 2007 as a relay alternate, she realized that she enjoyed the experience, and became more focused on her craft, and the results were almost immediate.

The next year, she finished second in the Jamaican Olympic trials in the 100m, earning a coveted spot on the team headed to Beijing. Once there, Fraser won each of her 3 heats to advance to the final, along with her two Jamaican teammates. In the final, Sherone Simpson of Jamaica had a slight lead on Fraser early, but Fraser pulled away in the second half to win easily by 0.2 seconds, with Simpson and Kerron Stewart of Jamaica tying for the silver medal, giving Jamaica all 3 medals, and Fraser her first gold in her first Olympic event.

With the top three 100m runners on the team, Jamaica was expected to cruise to victory in the 4x100m relay, and they had the fastest time in the semifinal heat, but in the final, after Fraser had given them the lead on the first leg, they missed the second handoff and were disqualified.

She won the 100m World Championship the next year, becoming just the second woman ever to win the two major titles in back-to-back years. The following year, she was suspended for 6 months for testing positive for oxycodone, which is not performance-enhancing, but required to be disclosed, which she failed to do. She was married in early 2011, and changed her last name to Fraser-Pryce, then spent much of the year recovering from a calf injury. 

Because of the rough couple of years she had endured, it was a bit of a surprise when Fraser-Pryce won both the 100m and the 200m at the Jamaican Olympic trials, earning her spot on the team headed to London. In the 100m, she won both of her heats to get back to the final, and she had the best start in the final, but by the halfway point, Carmelita Jeter of the USA had pulled even, and the two remained tied right through the finish, where Fraser-Pryce was able to win the gold with a lean at the line, triumphing by .03 seconds to become the third woman ever to repeat as 100m champion.

In the 200m, she won her first heat, but came in second to Sanya Richards-Ross of the USA in her semifinal, though both advanced to the final. In the final race, Allyson Felix of the USA took a slight lead by the end of the turn over Jeter, then pulled away down the stretch to win gold, while Fraser-Pryce came from behind to pass Jeter at the finish to end up with a silver medal.

Her final event in London was the 4x100m relay, which was expected to come down to Jamaica and the USA, who had the top five 100m runners between them. Fraser-Pryce gave Jamaica a small lead after her lead-off leg, but on the second leg, Felix pulled away from Simpson, and the USA had a solid lead the rest of the way, beating Jamaica by 0.59 seconds in world record time, giving Fraser-Pryce another silver medal.

She had graduated from college just before the London Olympics, and felt that she was able to focus more fully on her training after that. In 2013, she won all 3 of her events at the World Championship, the first woman ever to do that. She also became the first woman ever to own the Olympic and WC 100m titles at the same time twice. 

In early 2016, she injured her toe, which made running difficult, so she didn't run in many events, but she still was able to qualify for the Olympic team. She was attempting to become the first woman ever to win the 100m three straight times, and she won both of her heats to reach the final, but in the last race, her teammate, Elaine Thompson, got off to a better start and would not be caught, while Fraser-Pryce finished third to take the bronze medal.

She also ran the anchor leg for Jamaica in the 4x100m relay. It was again expected to be a battle between Jamaica and the USA, but the Americans held the lead the entire way, despite Jamaica's efforts to catch up on the middle legs. Fraser-Pryce was behind by a bit when she took the baton, and was unable to catch up, and Jamaica ended up 0.35 seconds behind and took another silver medal in the event.

In 2017, Fraser-Pryce gave birth to her first child via emergency C-section, which took her away from training for a long time, but she started training again 11 weeks after giving birth, and ran in her first meet in Jamaica in May 2018. By 2019, she was back to form, and even won the 100m World Championship, becoming the oldest woman ever to win the event, and the first mother to win it in 24 years.

In early 2021, she ran a new personal best in the 100m, then won the Jamaican Olympic trials in both the 100m and the 200m, despite being 34 years old. She went to Tokyo for her 4th Olympics, where she and Thompson, now Elaine Thompson-Herah, were the favorites in the 100m. Both won their heats to advance to the final, and they were even early, but Thompson-Herah maintained her top speed longer, and Fraser-Pryce finished 0.13 seconds behind to take silver, her fourth straight medal in the event, making her the first athlete ever to win four 100m medals, regardless of gender.

In the 200m, the first half went almost the same as the 100m, with an even start, followed by Thompson-Herah pulling away by the end of the turn. On the straightaway, she pulled away to win in the second-fastest time ever, while Fraser-Pryce was passed twice on the way home, finishing 0.07 seconds short of a medal in 4th place.

Jamaica had swept the medals in the 100m, making them clear favorites in the 4x100m relay. Fraser-Pryce ran the third leg, and Jamaica had the lead through the first half, though just barely ahead of the USA. Fraser-Pryce was also unable to pull away, handing off to Shericka Jackson with a tiny lead, but the USA had a rough handoff, and that enabled Jamaica to finally create some space, and they won by 0.43 seconds, finally getting Fraser-Pryce her first relay gold.

She considered retirement after the Olympics, but decided to keep competing since she had run personal bests in both of her events in 2021, and she made history again in 2022 when she won her 5th 100m World Championship, becoming the first ever to win 5, and the oldest athlete ever to win a track world championship. She suffered a knee injury in 2023, which hampered her training over the next year, but she still qualified for her 5th Olympics.

She went to Paris in 2024 to try for a fifth medal in the 100m, and she got off to a good start, leading early in her first heat, but she injured her hamstring late in the race and finished second, which advanced her to the semifinal, but she was unable to continue and withdrew from the competition.

She competed through the world championship in 2025, after which she retired at age 38. Her longevity was legendary, and she won medals at 4 straight Olympic games, finishing her career with 8 total medals, including the pair of 100m golds she won to kick off her career. She is obviously one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #54 - Ole Einar Bjorndalen

Ole Einar Bjorndalen

Norway

Biathlon

Overall Ranks

#3 among Norwegian Olympians

#1 among Biathletes

Olympic Results

1998

Sprint - Gold

Relay - Silver

2002

Sprint - Gold

Pursuit - Gold

Individual - Gold

Relay - Gold

2006

Pursuit - Silver

Mass Start - Bronze

Individual - Silver

2010

Individual - Silver

Relay - Gold

2014

Sprint - Gold

Mixed Relay - Gold

Relay - Bronze

Total

Events - 27

Gold - 8

Silver - 4

Bronze - 2

Ole Einar Bjorndalen was born on January 27, 1974 in Drammen, Norway, and left home at 16 to study at a sports academy, where he specialized in cross country skiing and biathlon, eventually shifting his focus completely to biathlon. At age 19, he won 3 gold medals at the Junior World Championships, and that helped him earn a spot on the Olympic team in 1994, just after his 20th birthday.

His first event was the relay, where he took the first leg, and even though he didn't miss a shot, he still was in 10th place at the end of his turn. His teammates were also perfect in shooting, but weren't able to get any higher than 7th place, which is where they finished. He also competed in the individual 20 km and the 10 km sprint, but wasn't close to the top in either, a disappointing start to his Olympic career.

He kept working hard, and by 1997, he won a bronze medal in the pursuit at the World Championships, and again made the Olympic team heading to Nagano in 1998, competing in the same 3 events. His first event that year was the 20 km individual, and he had the fastest skiing time in the event, but he missed 4 shots, which were each assigned a 1-minute penalty, which dropped him to 7th place overall.

Next was the sprint event, which had to be postponed by a day after heavy fog made the shooting impossible. With better conditions the next day, Bjorndalen dominated, with the fastest time at both shooting checkpoints, and no misses, and he ended up winning the race by over a minute, making his first gold medal one of his most dominant.

Norway and Germany were expected to battle for gold in the relay, but Norway got off to a rough start, sitting in 6th place after the first leg. The next two skiers moved them up to 4th, but they were still a minute and 43 seconds behind the Germans when Bjorndalen started his anchor leg. He flew past Russia and Belarus, and made up a lot of ground on Germany, but there just wasn't enough time, and Norway ended up taking the silver medal, 20 seconds behind Germany.

He won several more world championship medals over the next few years, but no individual golds, so what happened in Salt Lake City was a bit of a surprise. He started out by doing a cross-country skiing event, the 30 km. In that event Johann Muhlegg of Spain was far ahead of the field, winning by over 2 minutes, with Bjorndalen leading the rest of the pack heading into the final lap, but he was passed by 4 others before the finish. He originally finished in 6th place, but was moved up to 5th when Muhlegg failed a drug test, meaning that Bjorndalen finished only 13.5 seconds behind the true champion while racing in an event that wasn't even his main sport.

After that, he never skied another Olympic cross-country race, but he was about to make history in the biathlon. He started with the 20 km individual, where he was again the fastest skier in the event. He did miss 2 shots, down from 4 in the previous Olympics, and luckily this time, the two athletes that were within a minute of him on the skiing portion also missed at least 2 shots, so Bjorndalen won gold by 36 seconds over Frank Luck of Germany, who hadn't missed a shot but skied slower.

Next, he attempted to defend his gold medal in the sprint. He was one of the final athletes to start, and Sven Fischer of Germany held the lead for most of the race, but a miss at the final shooting station forced him to ski a penalty loop, and Bjorndalen made it through without a miss, which enabled him to win by 29 seconds, which was almost exactly the time Fischer lost to the penalty loop, giving him his second gold medal of 2002.

The next event was the pursuit, which was being contested for the first time in the Olympics. Skiers started according to their finish in the sprint, so Bjorndalen started with a 29 second lead. He missed two shots during the event, and was only the 6th fastest skier, but his head start was enough that noone was ever able to catch him, and he ended up winning by 43 seconds to become the first biathlete ever to win 3 golds in a single Olympics.

He finished up his Olympics with the relay, where his team was favored. They started out 18 seconds behind Russia after the first leg, but they took the lead early in the second leg, and never gave it up. They led by 21 seconds at the midway point, and by just over a minute when Bjorndalen started the anchor leg, and he was able to race without pushing too hard, bringing home the gold medal by just over 45 seconds. He thus became the only man ever to win ever biathlon event in a single Olympics.

At the 2005 World Championships, he won 4 golds, only missing out in the individual 20 km, which was his first event in Torino in 2006. For the third straight Olympics, he was the fastest skier in the event, but Michael Greis of Germany had missed only one shot, while Bjorndalen missed 2, dropping him behind by 16 seconds and leaving him with the silver medal.

Next was the sprint, which he had won twice in a row, both times without missing a shot, but he was unable to repeat that again. He missed 3 shots this time, and the 3 resulting penalty loops dropped him out of contention, finishing in 11th place, though he was probably fast enough to win if he had shot cleanly.

He started 1:14 behind in the pursuit, but was again the fastest skier in the event, which allowed him to make up a lot of ground, but he was again betrayed by his shooting. He missed 3 shots, and the penalty loops caused him to end up losing by 2.7 seconds, but he still ended up with a silver medal, which was impressive when you consider where he started.

He was again the anchor on the relay team, but his teammates all struggled with their shooting, and Norway was in 10th place by the time he got on the course. He skied the fastest leg of anyone by over 30 seconds, but was only able to move his team up to 5th place by the finish.

After that was an event new to the Olympics, the mass start 15 km race. Bjorndalen led the entire race until the final shooting station, where he missed twice, and the ensuing penalty loops caused him to lose his lead, and he was unable to catch back up before the finish, and he ended up with a bronze medal, 12 seconds behind the winner.

He again won 4 gold medals at the 2009 World Championships, giving him good momentum heading to Vancouver in 2010. The first event that year was the sprint, and the weather got worse throughout the event, and Bjorndalen started near the middle of the event. After 3 missed at the first shooting station, he was basically out of the running, and he finished in 16th place.

This meant that he started the pursuit 1:41 behind the leader, and despite a good race time and only 2 misses, he was only able to move up to 7th by the end of the event. In the 20 km individual, he was the fastest skier in the event for the 4th Olympics in a row, but Emil Hegle Svendsen, also of Norway, missed 1 less shot, and Bjorndalen ended up with a silver medal.

He also competed in the mass start, but with 7 missed shots out of 20, the worst in the competition, he only managed to finish in 26th place. He was assigned to the anchor leg in the relay again, and this time, despite a slow start, Norway was able to take a small lead after 2 legs, which was a virtual tie with Austria when Bjorndalen started. He had a really good ski time, and missed only 2 shots, while his rival missed 4, allowing him to have a comfortable victory by 38 seconds to finish with his only gold of the games.

He returned for another Olympic run in 2014, when he was 40 years old. He started out with the sprint event, where he was in 5th place for most of the race, but thanks to missing only a single shot, he was in position to sprint to the finish with a chance at a medal, and he ended up pulling it off, winning the gold medal by 1.3 seconds, which was his 12 total Olympic medal, which tied him for the most ever for a Winter Olympian at the time.

He took that tiny lead into the pursuit, but he missed 3 total shots over the course of the event, and ended up finishing 4th, just 1.7 seconds away from earning a record-breaking medal. In the individual 20 km, he missed 4 shots, one at each station, and the 4 penalty minutes dropped him from 6th to 33rd place.

He struggled again in the mass start, missing 6 shots, the most in the event, and he finished 21st out of 26 who finished the event. Next was a new event, the mixed relay, with 2 women doing a 6 km leg, followed by 2 men skiing 7.5 km each. Norway was only a second behind when Bjorndalen took off on the third leg, and he gave them a huge lead of 43 seconds, and it was more than enough for the anchor to bring home for another gold, making him the most decorated Winter Olympian ever.

His final event was the relay, where he again took the third leg. The Bo brothers took the first two legs, and had Norway in the lead for the entire first half, and they gave Bjorndalen a 20 second lead. He didn't miss a shot, but his skiing was slower than usual, and by the time he finished, the lead was down to 2 seconds. On the final leg, his teammate missed 4 times, and the Norwegians ended up in 4th place. That would change in 2020, when it was discovered that the Russians had been doping, and Norway was moved up to the bronze medal position, giving Bjorndalen his 14 medal overall.

He tried to make the team again in 2018, but was chosen for the team, so his Olympic career ended after 6 trips to the Olympics. He retired later that year, but by then he was no longer the most decorated Winter Olympian, as Marit Bjorgen had surpassed him by winning her 15th Olympic medal that year. He is known as the King of Biathlon, and it is well-deserved, as he is the greatest Olympic biathlete in history, and one of the greatest Olympians ever.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #55 - Frank Foss

Frank Foss

USA

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#18 among American Olympians

#14 among Track & Field Athletes

#13 among Male American Olympians

#10 among American Track & Field Athletes

#10 among Male Track & Field Athletes

#8 among Male American Track & Field Athletes

Olympic Results

1920

Pole Vault - Gold

Total

Events - 1

Gold - 1

Frank Kent Foss was born on May 9, 1895 in Chicago, Illinois. He won the I4CA Championship in 1915 and 1916 while attending Cornell University, and then won the AAU championships in both 1919 and 1920. He had vaulted 4.05 meters in 1919, which was higher than the world record, but it was never officially verified to count as a world record.

He went to Antwerp in 1920 to compete in the Summer Olympics, where he was the favorite going in, and he didn't disappoint. 9 vaulters cleared 3.6 meters in the qualifying round to advance to the final, but two of them were unable to repeat that in the final round. Of the 7 who did clear 3.6, only two made it any farther, with Henry Petersen of Denmark joining Foss in making it over 3.7, but Petersen was unable to clear any further heights. Foss continued to raise the bar, both literally and figuratively, and by the end he had cleared 4.09 meters, setting a new world record, and winning the gold medal by 0.39 meters, or 15.4 inches, which is still the largest margin of victory in Olympic history.

After the Olympics, Foss stopped competing, and started working in the meatpacking industry for the rest of his life. He passed away on April 5, 1989 in Hinsdale, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Even though he only competed in one Olympic event, he set a world record in that event, and had the largest margin of victory ever, making him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #56 - Eizo Kenmotsu

Eizo Kenmotsu

Japan

Artistic Gymnastics

Overall Ranks

#13 among Gymnasts

#7 among Male Gymnasts

#5 among Japanese Olympians

#4 among Japanese Gymnasts

Olympic Results

1968

Team - Gold

Horizontal Bar - Bronze

1972

Individual All-Around - Silver

Team - Gold

Parallel Bars - Bronze

Pommel Horse - Bronze

1976

Team - Gold

Horizontal Bar - Silver

Pommel Horse - Silver

Total

Events - 24

Gold - 3

Silver - 3

Bronze - 3

Eizo Kenmotsu was born on February 13, 1948 in Okayama, Japan, and was a phenom at gymnastics, as he was the youngest Japanese gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal at the time, a mark he held for 48 years. He made his Olympic debut when he was just 20 years old.

He started out with the team event in Mexico City in 1968, where the Japanese had won the past 2 gold medals, and he helped to keep that streak alive, as Japan came out 4.8 points ahead of the USSR, and Kenmotsu was the third-highest scoring member of the team. This was the win that made him the youngest Japanese gold medal gymnast for so many years.

The individual all-around was determined by each gymnast's scores in the team event, and even though he was #3 on the Japanese team, he was #4 overall, missing out on a medal by 0.75 points. He qualified for the event finals in every event except the rings, which was quite a feat at his age.

In the floor exercise, he was 4th after qualifying, but only scored a 9.3 in the final, dropping him to 6th. The vault was exactly the same story, except that his final score was a 9.18. He was the 5th qualifier in the parallel bars, and he held that position after the final as well, and the exact same thing happened in the pommel horse.

He also qualified 5th in the horizontal bar, but a strong final performance earned him a 9.7, which moved him up to the bronze medal, his first individual Olympic gold. While he qualified for five finals, he wasn't in medal position in any of them beforehand, so the fact that he was able to take one anyway was impressive.

In the 1970 World Championships, he won the individual all-around gold, along with three individual event silvers, so he was one of the big stars to watch in Munich in 1972. He was a big part of the Japanese winning their 4th straight team gold, and this time they beat the Soviets by 7.2 points.

For the first time, the individual all-around held a final round, with the top 36 gymnasts from the team event qualifying. Kenmotsu qualified in 2nd place, behind Sawao Kato, his teammate, by 0.35 points. In the final, he finished in the top 7 in every apparatus, and had the high score on the pommel horse, but he only outscored Kato by 0.1 overall, so he remained in 2nd and took the silver medal.

This time, he qualified for all 6 event finals. In the floor exercise, he was part of a 5-way tie for second after qualifying, but a 9.4 in the final left him in 4th place, 0.1 short of a medal. In the vault, he started out in 4th, and held his position after the final, again leaving him short of a medal, this one by 0.25 points.

He was #2 in qualifying in the parallel bars, and had a good performance that earned him a 9.6 in the final, but his teammate, Shigeru Kasamatsu, scored 9.75 in the final to pass him, dropping Kenmotsu down to the bronze. In the horizontal bar, he was again unable to move up from 4th place after qualifying, leaving him with his 3rd close call of the games.

In the rings, he had been tied for third after qualifying, but had the worst performance of the final, and finished in 5th. He had been the top qualifier in the pommel horse, but a final score of 9.4 allowed two others to pass him, and he ended up finishing with yet another bronze medal, his second of the games and third overall.

In the 1974 World Championships, he won all-around bronze, along with a gold and 2 bronzes in the individual events. In the 1976 Olympic in Montreal, he helped the Japanese win their 5th straight gold medal, but this time it was close, with the USSR coming up just 0.4 short of overtaking their long-time rivals.

That year, the individual all-around was updated again, this time allowing only 3 competitors from each country, so even though he was 6th in qualifying, he was 4th among the Japanese gymnasts, and didn't get to compete. He did, however, qualify to compete in 4 of the individual event finals.

The individual finals now only allowed 2 gymnasts per nation, which allowed Kenmotsu to compete in the floor exercise, where he was 7th in qualifying, but since 3 Soviets ahead of him were left out, he was #4 going into the final. His final score was lower than the other 5, however, leaving him with a 6th place finish.

In the horizontal bar, he was #2 in qualifying behind Mitsuo Tsukahara, who ended up having a great final score, so Kenmotsu was forced to accept the silver, his first in an individual event final. He was the lowest qualifier in the rings, and only moved up one spot in the final. In the pommel horse, he had qualified #2, and scored a 9.8 in the final, but a 9.9 from Zoltan Magyar of Hungary prevented him from moving up, leaving him to take another silver.

He won 4 more World Championship medals in 1978, but retired in 1979, before the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, which Japan ended up boycotting anyway. He went on to coach gymnastics for many years. Even though he never won an individual gold, he won three silvers and three bronzes, and reached 15 of a possible 18 event finals during his Olympic career, making him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #57 - Vasyl Lomachenko

Vasyl Lomachenko

Ukraine

Boxing

Overall Ranks

#1 among Ukrainian Olympians

#1 among Boxers

Olympic Results

2008

Featherweight - Gold

2012

Lightweight - Gold

Total

Events - 2

Gold - 2

Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko was born on February 17, 1988 in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, USSR, which is now part of Ukraine. His father was a boxing coach, but he didn't allow Vasyl to box until he had trained in dancing and gymnastics. His first major competition was the 2007 World Championships, where he made it all the way to the final before losing, in what would be the only loss of his amateur career.

He made his Olympic debut in 2008 in Beijing, fighting in the featherweight division, and because Olympic boxing does not seed its athletes, Lomachenko had his first bout against Albert Selimov of Russia, the man who had beaten him the year before. It was his closest match of the tournament, ending up with a 14-7 win to avenge his previous loss. His next three matches were all blowouts, with margins of at least 9 in each, and the gold medal match was headed that way, with a score of 9-1, when he scored a TKO to end the match. Along with his gold medal, he was named outstanding boxer of the Olympics.

He won the 2009 World Championship, then, after the featherweight division was discontinued, he moved up to lightweight and won the 2011 World Championship in his new division. He competed at lightweight in the 2012 Olympics, and after a huge win in his first bout, he had a couple of slightly closer matches, winning by 5 and 3, before a 19-9 win in the gold medal match, earning him a second straight gold, and the very rare feat of winning gold in two different weight classes. 

He turned pro in 2013, and didn't compete in the Olympics again, but compiled an 18-3 record as a pro over 11 years, and was the quickest to ever win a world title, which he achieved in his third pro fight. His second Olympic gold was very strong, but his first was legendary, with big margins in every fight, making him the greatest Olympic boxer ever, and one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #58 - Maurice Greene

Maurice Greene

USA

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#19 among American Olympians

#15 among Track & Field Athletes

#14 among Male American Olympians

#11 among American Track & Field Athletes

#11 among Male Track & Field Athletes

#9 among Male American Track & Field Athletes

Olympic Results

2000

100m - Gold

4x100m Relay - Gold

2004

100m - Bronze

4x100m Relay - Silver

Total

Events - 4

Gold - 2

Silver - 1

Bronze - 1

Maurice Greene was born on July 23, 1974 in Kansas City, Kansas, and played football and ran track in high school, but focused exclusively on track after getting a scholarship to the University of Kansas. He competed in his first World Championship in 1995, and won his first one in 1997. In 1999, he won the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay at the world championships, just the third man ever to do that, after Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson.

He also set the world record in the 100m in 1999, dropping it to 9.79 seconds. In the Sydney Olympics, he opened with the 100m, and after winning his first two races easily, he had the fastest time in the semifinals, then went on to win the final in a time of 9.87 seconds, 0.12 seconds ahead of the silver medalist, to earn his first Olympic gold medal.

Greene also ran the anchor leg for the USA in all 3 rounds of the 4x100m relay the next week. They had the fastest time in each of the first two rounds, and weren't challenged in the final, where Greene was handed a comfortable lead and coasted to the finish for another gold medal, this one by 0.29 seconds over Brazil.

Greene repeated as 100m World Champion in 2001, but struggled with injuries over the next couple of years. He watched Tim Montgomery break his world record in 2002, but then he got it back when Montgomery failed a drug test. He recovered in time to make the Olympic team that was headed to Athens in 2004.

He again started with the 100m, and he again won his first two heats, but in the semifinal, he came in 3rd, even though he ran it in 9.97 seconds. In the final, it was an extremely close race, with 4 runners within .04 seconds of each other, but Greene ended up taking the bronze medal in that mass finish, .02 seconds short of another gold.

Greene again ran the anchor leg for the favored Americans in the 4x100m relay, in which they easily made the final. In that race, the first two handoffs for the USA were clunky, and it allowed the British team to gain the lead, but after a good handoff to Greene, he bolted for the finish, but came up just short, losing by .01 second to end up with a silver medal.

His world record was beaten in 2005 by Asafa Powell, who lowered it to 9.76 seconds, and by 2008, Greene had retired from athletics. He has since worked as a track coach and PE teacher. He had a very strong peak, but it only coincided with one Olympic games, which is why he only has 2 gold medals, but he was extremely close to 2 more while coming off nagging injuries, and for all of that, he is one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Football Predictions - 17 Sep thru 21 Sep

Upset picks are in italics.

Thursday

Syracuse at Pittsburgh - Panthers by 18.5

Detroit at Buffalo - Bills by 12

Friday

(5) Miami at Wake Forest - Hurricanes by 8.5

(22) Houston at (13) Texas Tech - Red Raiders by 10.5

Portland State at (21) Oregon - Ducks by 23

Saturday

Coastal Carolina at Delaware - Blue Hens by 5

(2) Georgia at Arkansas - Bulldogs by 7.5

Kent State at (6) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 32.5

Buffalo at (14) Penn State - Nittany Lions by 31.5

Arizona State at Kansas - Sun Devils by 5.5

Tulane at Kansas State - Wildcats by 12

Bowling Green at Iowa State - Cyclones by 31.5

Mercer at Georgia Tech - Yellowjackets by 7.5

North Carolina at Clemson - Tigers by 1

Akron at Minnesota - Zips by 0.5

North Texas at Texas State - Mean Green by 14

Eastern Michigan at Wisconsin - Badgers by 16.5

NC State at Vanderbilt - Commodores by 0.5

Wyoming at Central Michigan - Chippewas by 4

Maine at Boston College - Eagles by 8.5

Southern Illinois at Illinois - Illini by 17.5

Temple at Toledo - Rockets by 15

Kentucky at (9) Texas A&M - Aggies by 26

Florida State at (10) Alabama - Crimson Tide by 25.5

(12) USC at Rutgers - Trojans by 20

(16) SMU at (23) Louisville - Mustangs by 0.5

Utah State at (17) Utah - Utes by 24.5

UTEP at (19) Michigan - Wolverines by 11

Miami (OH) at Cincinnati - Bearcats by 11

Wagner at California - Bears by 11.5

Duquesne at Washington State - Cougars by 17.5

Stonehill at UMass - Minutemen by 20.5

Western Kentucky at (4) Indiana - Hoosiers by 37

Northern Iowa at (18) Iowa - Hawkeyes by 20.5

Stanford at Duke - Blue Devils by 26

Ball State at Liberty - Cardinals by 1.5

Louisiana Tech at Baylor - Bears by 7

Mississippi State at South Carolina - Bulldogs by 7

SE Louisiana at UL Monroe - Warhawks by 10.5

East Carolina at Old Dominion - Monarchs by 1.5

FIU at FAU - Golden Panthers by 2

Charlotte at App State - Mountaineers by 26.5

Marshall at Missouri State - Bears by 10.5

Troy at (20) Missouri - Tigers by 30

Florida at Auburn - Tigers by 4.5

Georgia State at UCF - Knights by 5

Murray State at Oklahoma State - Cowboys by 16

UConn at Southern Miss - Golden Eagles by 10

UT Martin at Memphis - Tigers by 26.5

Western Michigan at Rice - Broncos by 4.5

Delaware State at South Florida - Bulls by 24.5

Nevada at Middle Tennessee - Blue Raiders by 16

Ohio at South Alabama - Jaguars by 15

Georgia Southern at Jacksonville State - Gamecocks by 2

Nicholls at Sam Houston - Bearkats by 4.5

North Dakota at Nebraska - Cornhuskers by 21.5

Eastern Washington at Washington - Huskies by 16.5

Michigan State at (3) Notre Dame - Irish by 22

(7) LSU at (8) Ole Miss - Tigers by 5.5

(11) BYU at Colorado State - Cougars by 6

New Mexico at (24) Oklahoma - Sooners by 11

West Virginia vs. (25) Virginia - Cavaliers by 11.5

Colorado at Northwestern - Buffaloes by 6

Virginia Tech at Maryland - Terrapins by 10.5

Kennesaw State at (15) Tennessee - Volunteers by 31.5

UTSA at (1) Texas - Longhorns by 11

Arkansas State at TCU - Horned Frogs by 5

East Texas A&M at Tulsa - Golden Hurricane by 17

UAB at Louisiana - Ragin Cajuns by 14.5

South Dakota at Boise State - Broncos by 30

James Madison at San Diego State - Aztecs by 7

Northern Illinois at Arizona - Wildcats by 27.5

North Dakota State at Sacramento State - Bison by 9

Purdue at UCLA - Bruins by 23.5

Montana at Oregon State - Beavers by 12.5

Fresno State at San Jose State - Spartans by 0.5

Sunday

Carolina at Atlanta - Falcons by 11.5

Minnesota at Chicago - Bears by 4

Philadelphia at Tennessee - Eagles by 20

Pittsburgh at New England - Patriots by 12

Green Bay at NY Jets - Jets by 1

Cleveland at Tampa Bay - Buccaneers by 13.5

New Orleans at Baltimore - Ravens by 13

Cincinnati at Houston - Texans by 6

Jacksonville at Denver - Jaguars by 8.5

Las Vegas at LA Chargers - Chargers by 0.5

Seattle at Arizona - Seahawks by 5.5

Washington at Dallas - Commanders by 1.5

Miami at San Francisco - 49ers by 44.5

Indianapolis at Kansas City - Chiefs by 21.5

Monday

NY Giants at LA Rams - Rams by 3.5

Results

NCAA Football: 70-16 (.814) 157-28 overall (.849)

Upsets: 3-8 (.273) 5-12 overall (.294)

NFL: 9-7 (.563) 

Upsets: 0-3 (.000)