Further Reading
ICON Health Publications.Depo-Provera: A Medical
Dictionar y, Bibliography, and Annotated Research
Guide to Internet References.San Diego, Calif.: Au-
thor, 2004.
Vecchio, Thomas J.Birth Control by Injection: The Stor y
of Depo-Provera.New York: Vantage Press, 1993.
Car yn E. Neumann
See also Abortion; Drug advertising; Health care;
Medicine; Pharmaceutical industry; Women’s rights.
Devers, Gail
Identification Olympic sprinter and hurdler
Born November 19, 1966; Seattle, Washington
When Devers won her second gold medal for the women’s
100-meter dash at the 1996 Summer Olympics, she became
the first runner since Wyomia Tyus to defend her 100-meter
title at the Olympic Games. Devers overcame a serious ill-
ness in the early 1990’s to become a competitive runner
throughout the decade.
After being diagnosed with Graves’ disease—a thy-
roid disorder—after the 1988 Olympics, Gail Devers
began radiation treatment in 1990. In 1991, compli-
cations arose, including having her feet swell to the
point that doctors considered amputating them.
During this time, Devers was so weak that she could
not walk, let alone run. Through physical therapy,
she made it back on the Olympic team and in 1992
won the gold medal in the 100-meter dash. In 1993,
the U.S. Olympic Committee named her Athlete of
the Year.
Injuries sidelined Devers in 1994, but she re-
turned to the Olympics in 1996 and won two golds
(100-meter dash and 4-by-100-meter relay). In 1999,
she set the then-world record in 100-meter hurdles.
While the 100-meter hurdles was considered to be
her best event, she never won an Olympic medal for
the race, tripping over a hurdle near the end of her
1992 race and placing fourth in 1996. That same
year, a Showtime television movie about her life,Run
for the Dream, premiered. Devers continued to race
throughout the decade.
Impact Devers’s ability to fight back from injuries
that could have been catastrophic to her career
made her an inspiration not only to athletes but also
to the general public. Her story would have been re-
markable in itself, but her spectacular showing in
both the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics made the
story even more inspiring.Further Reading
LaFontaine, Pat.Companions in Courage: Triumphant
Tales of Heroic Athletes. New York: Warner Books,
2001.
Lessa, Christina.Women Who Win: Stories of Triumph in
Sport and in Life. New York: Universe, 1998.
Plowden, Martha Ward.Olympic Black Women. Gretna,
La.: Pelican, 1996.
Julie ElliottSee also African Americans; Olympic Games of
1992; Olympic Games of 1996; Sports.254 Devers, Gail The Nineties in America
Gail Devers, in lane two, crosses the finish line for a gold medal
during the women’s 100-meter finals on August 1, 1992, in the
Summer Olympics.(AP/Wide World Photos)