Editing Gail Devers (section)

==Life and career==
Devers was born in [[Seattle, Washington]], and grew up near [[National City, California]], graduating from [[Sweetwater High School (National City, California)|Sweetwater High School]] in 1984.<ref name=usatf.org/> Sweetwater's football and track stadium would later be named Gail Devers Stadium. A young talent in the [[100 metres|100 m]] and [[100 metres hurdles|100 m hurdles]], Devers was in training for the [[1988 Summer Olympics]], started experiencing health problems, suffering from among others [[migraine]] and vision loss. She qualified for the Olympics 100 m hurdles, in which she was eliminated in the semi-finals, but her health continued to deteriorate.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

Devers started in [[800 metres|800 m]] in high school and ran a personal best of 2:08.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/fJD6fbFucIQ Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20201205183732/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJD6fbFucIQ&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJD6fbFucIQ |title=Athletics LLC EP35: Gail Devers |website=[[YouTube]] |date=December 4, 2020 |access-date=December 4, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In 1990, she was diagnosed with [[Graves-Basedow disease|Graves' disease]] and underwent [[Iodine-131|radioactive iodine treatment]] followed by [[levothyroxine|thyroid hormone replacement therapy]].{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} During her radiation treatment, Devers began to develop blistering and swelling of her feet. Eventually, she could barely walk. Devers recovered after the radiation treatment was discontinued, and she resumed training. At the 1991 World Championships, she won a [[silver medal]] in the 100 m hurdles.

At the [[1992 Summer Olympics]], Devers starred. She qualified for the final of the 100 m, which ended in an exciting finish, with five women finishing close (within 0.06 seconds). The [[photo finish]] showed Devers had narrowly beaten [[Jamaica]]n [[Juliet Cuthbert]]. In the final of the 100 m hurdles, Devers' lead event, she seemed to be running towards a second [[gold medal]], when she hit the final hurdle and stumbled over the finish line in fifth place, leaving [[Voula Patoulidou]] from Greece as the upset winner.

In 1993, Devers won the [[1993 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres#Final|1993 World Championships in Athletics 100 m title]] after – again – a photo finish win over [[Merlene Ottey]] in an apparent dead heat, and the 100 m hurdles title. She retained her hurdles title in 1995.

The 100 m final at the [[1996 Summer Olympics]] was an almost exact repeat of the World Championships final three years before. Ottey and Devers again finished in the same time and did not know who had won the race. Again, both were awarded the same time of 10.94 seconds, but Devers was judged to have finished first and became the first woman to retain the Olympic 100 m title since [[Wyomia Tyus]]. [[Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce]] duplicated the feat in 2012, and [[Elaine Thompson-Herah]] in 2021. In the final of her favorite event, Devers again failed, as she finished fourth and outside of the medals. With the [[4 × 100 metres relay|4 × 100 m relay]] team, Devers won her third Olympic gold medal.

After these Olympics, Devers concentrated on the hurdles event, winning the World Championship again in 1999, but she had to forfeit for the semi-finals at the [[2000 Summer Olympics]].

Devers competed in the 100 m and 100 m hurdles at the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] in Athens, her fifth Olympic Games.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.iaaf.org/athletes/united-states/gail-devers-60432 |title=Gail DEVERS &#124; Profile}}</ref>

Devers left competition in 2005 to give birth to a child with her husband and returned in 2006.

On February 2, 2007, at the age of 40, Devers edged 2004 Olympic champion [[Joanna Hayes]] to win the [[60 metres hurdles|60 m hurdles]] event at the [[Millrose Games]] in 7.86 seconds – the best time in the world that season and just 0.12 off the record she set in 2003. Furthermore, the time bettered the listed World Record for a 40-year-old by almost 7 tenths of a second.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://world-masters-athletics.org/records/indoor-women |title=Records Indoor Women |access-date=2010-02-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091205215046/http://www.world-masters-athletics.org/records/indoor-women |archive-date=2009-12-05}} WMA World Indoor Record</ref>

During her career, Devers was notable for having exceptionally long, heavily decorated fingernails. One of the fastest starters in the world, Devers even had to alter her starting position to accommodate her long nails.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://longnailz.blogspot.com/2009/03/gail-deverss-long-nails-1.html |title=Long Nails: Gail Devers's long nails – 1 |access-date=2020-03-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228101655/http://longnailz.blogspot.com/2009/03/gail-deverss-long-nails-1.html |archive-date=2010-12-28}}</ref> Her long nails came as the result of a contest her father devised to get her to stop biting her nails as a child.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n5_v52/ai_19201548 |title=Athlete: Gail Devers – the Many-Splendored Faces of Today's Black Woman Ebony – Find Articles |website=findarticles.com |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071110052414/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n5_v52/ai_19201548 |archive-date=10 November 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>