2025 Cause for Celebration: Gail Devers
Meet 100-meter hurdle master and three-time Olympic champion Gail Devers. On her journey to the pinnacle of stardom, Devers overcame hurdles on and off the track, a true champion and Cause for Celebration of Triumphs of Women in Running this week
Gail emerged from high school as a promising talent and was training for the 1988 Summer Olympics when she began experiencing health issues. Her hair began falling out, her signature long nails started breaking and wouldn’t grow back, and she lost weight. This launched a two-year journey of countless doctor visits before finally discovering these were the symptoms of Graves disease, an autoimmune disorder. Devers, focused on getting to the Olympics, underwent radiation treatment that left her with blisters and swelling in her feet so agonizing she could barely walk.
Dever’s attitude toward her recovery was everything.
“In my race there's ten hurdles, but in life, there is always a hurdle. Sometimes we fall, sometimes we stumble, but we can’t stay down. We can’t allow life to beat us down. Everything happens for a reason, and it builds character in us, and it tells us what we are about and how strong we really are when we didn’t think we could be that strong.”
She turned what started as a setback into a comeback: one that would rival the greatest come-from-behind victories ever seen in sports. She won gold in the 100 Meter just two years later in ‘92 and again in ‘96, when she also won gold in the 4x100m relay.
The incredible perseverance of strong women like Devers is what motivates SC415 Presented by PNC to continue telling these stories, and it inspires all athletes and individuals to overcome their own obstacles.
