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Gail Devers clinched silver in the 110mH on her return to track after three years battling Graeve's disease at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo and she rates it as her best ever.
In 1991, Gail Devers etched a defining moment in her career, claiming the silver medal in the 100m hurdles at the World Championships.
For Devers, this medal wasn’t merely an addition to her accolades—it marked her triumph over a fierce, years-long battle with Graves' disease that nearly derailed her career and even threatened her life.
With her iconic grit, this silver became the catalyst for an era of domination that would soon see her standing on podiums draped in gold.
Devers’ journey to that medal was anything but conventional. After a promising start, representing the US at the 1988 Olympics at only 22, her Olympic debut was marred by an unforeseen health crisis. Soon after her performance in the 100-meter hurdles, where she managed an eighth-place finish despite severe physical pain, she began to lose her vision and suffer migraines.
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A year later, doctors diagnosed her with Graves' disease, a condition impacting the thyroid that sapped her energy, blurred her vision, and left her in near-constant agony. The treatment was grueling, involving radiation that took a heavy toll on her body. As she prepared for the 1991 World Championships, Devers dealt with intense blisters, foot swelling, and numbness, rendering her legs almost immobile at times.
On the Ready Set Go podcast, Devers revealed how her coach, the legendary Bob Kersee, offered her the grounding motivation she needed. When she confessed she couldn’t feel her legs, Kersee replied, “Can you feel your arms?… then tell your feet to keep up.”
With that simple but empowering advice, Devers pushed through. She described her resolve during those years, telling herself, “You’re still living, you’re still breathing… That’s a very small price to pay to have the quality of life to go out here and do the things you do. If you take that for granted, that’s on you.” Armed with this relentless mindset, she made it to the 1991 Championships.
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The three-time Olympic champion overcame a years-long struggle with an undiagnosed disease, eventually returning to dominate the track with multiple Olympic and World Championship titles.
Earning silver, she recalls, was an unparalleled joy. She wasn’t simply standing on the podium; she was reclaiming her life. “I was the happiest silver medalist ever,” she said. The time she clocked, 12.63, would have been medal-worthy in her past competitions, prompting her to wonder if she might have claimed silver earlier had her diagnosis come sooner. But now, for Devers, the silver medal was more than enough.
This achievement only fueled her drive. Devers began setting audacious goals for herself. She wanted to break the long-standing Eastern European dominance in the hurdles, which had made it rare for American athletes to even reach the finals.
She set her sights on “catching up” to the former Gail Devers, the one who could run 12.61 and make it look effortless. “I had a lot going on and a lot of sticky notes in my hotel room in Japan,” she shared, remembering her intense focus on eliminating any excuses and leaving everything on the track.
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Soon, the “happy silver medalist” would turn into an unstoppable force. In 1992, Devers captured the Olympic gold in the 100-meter dash in Barcelona, setting a new standard for herself and others.
This was followed by back-to-back golds in both the 100-meter dash and 100-meter hurdles at the World Championships, proving that she was not only back but ready to dominate.
The silver medal of 1991 was more than a victory; it was a revelation. Devers learned that she was capable of overcoming unimaginable challenges, from life-threatening illness to a redefined track and field career.
In every race since, she has carried the memory of that medal with her—a reminder that perseverance and mental strength are as critical as physical ability.
Today, Gail Devers stands as one of the most decorated and respected figures in track and field history, inspiring generations. That silver medal might have been a stepping stone, but for Devers, it was the spark that ignited an unstoppable quest for greatness.
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