Born to gymnast parents, Nastia Liukin didn’t have any problem growing into the sport her family loves. The Russian-American was born in Moscow but moved to America with her family when she was two years old. The following year she would start her first lessons since she was always in the gym with her parents anyway, and she first competed at the junior level in 2002.
She eventually tied with Shannon Miller for third place with the most world championship medals among US gymnasts. She was the all-around champion in the 2008 Olympics, where she also garnered three silver medals and a bronze. She attempted to make a comeback in 2010 but failed to make the cut after several falls.
Apolo Ohno
The US discovered its youngest champion in short-track speed skating when Apolo Ohno clinched the US National Championship at the age of 14. He held the title from 2001 to 2009 and became an eight-time medalist in the Winter Olympics. In his prime, he became the face of the US short track, the most decorated American Olympian, too, at the Winter Olympic Games.
After he retired in 2013, Apolo Ohno became a motivational speaker, and he started his own nutritional supplement business. He joined the 'Dancing with the Stars', competition in 2007 and won.
Cathy Freeman
At the age of 16, Cathy Freeman became the first Australian Indigenous person to receive a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games. She was trained by her stepfather when she was only five years old, competing in various events like the 100 m, 200 m, and the long jump. But her main forte was in the 400-meter event.
She won a gold medal in the 2000 Olympic Games and a silver in Atlanta in 1996. Her 400 m record of 48.63 makes her one of the fastest women in the world. She decided to retire in 2003 to spend quality time with her family and founded the Cathy Freeman Foundation in 2007.
Jan Zelezny
Jan Zelezny is a retired Czech track and field athlete, widely considered the best javelin thrower of modern times. As an Olympian, he won gold medals in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Olympics, and he held the world record for throwing 98.48 meters for several years.
It is remarkable how he has kept himself above the competition by also being credited for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best performances. Now retired, he coaches in Prague and works for the IOC.
Dorothy Hamill
Dorothy Hamill’s father was very supportive of her ambition as a figure skater. She started taking weekly lessons at the age of eight, and would gradually increase her interest in the sport, so much so that her father would spend about $20,000 annually for its concomitant expenses.
Dorothy Hamill became an Olympic gold medal champion in the 1976 Olympics. That same year she also became a world champion, both in the ladies' singles category. Surprisingly, Hamill would retire the same year she had been performing really well. In 2008 she announced that she was being treated for a severe medical condition.