Thanks to one of Gabrielle Douglas’s older sisters, her mother was convinced to enroll her in gymnastics lessons when she was only six years old. She took formal lessons and even lived away from her family to pursue her training. She is the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the individual all-around event, and also the first American gymnast to win the gold in the individual all-around and the team competitions as well in the same Olympic Games.
Douglas attributes all her success to God. She says He is the secret to her success. She won the gold medal during the 2012 London Olympics and repeated her performance in the Rio Olympics in 2016. She has written a book, sharing her experiences, and what it takes to be an Olympic gold medalist.
Charles Barkley
You would think the original basketball “Dream Team” sent to compete in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics were a bunch of nice guys up until Charles Barkley showed up. He is as tough as they get; a rough defender, loudmouth, and top rebounder. The US won the gold medal in 1992, and again in the 1996 Olympics, of which Barkley was part.
He was the NBA MVP in 1993. In spite of only being 6 ft 6 in tall, he led the league in rebounds for 3 straight seasons. He retired back in 2000 and works as a game analyst for the NBA TV program.
Ole Einar Bjørndalen
Ole Einar Bjørndalen left home at the age of 16 to pursue his career in biathlon, and cross-country skiing, but later on focused on the former. He was the most successful competitor during the 1994 Winter Olympic Games where he went home with an astounding eight gold medals along with four silvers and a bronze.
He has become known as the “King of the Biathlon.” Now at the age of 45 years old, Ole Einar Bjørndalen still continues to compete. In the grand picture of things, no other biathlete in history has won as much as half of his 44 total medals. Has he said his final word?
Bart Conner
Bart Conner became the youngest member of the US Olympic team in the 1976 Summer Olympics at the age of 14. He had been competing since high school, and he probably would have won a medal after he qualified for the 1980 Olympics. But his dreams were aborted due to the boycott.
He finally won two gold medals during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles following his unique performance on the parallel bars. He found his true love, too, in competition; marrying Nadia Comăneci, a Romanian gymnast he’d met in 1976 at the Montreal Games. Both are active in the Special Olympics.
Michelle Kwan
For more than a decade, Michelle Kwan has won numerous medals in international events that would make her not just the most popular figure skater in America, but also the most decorated, and one of the most prominent female athletes regardless of sport.
Her consistency and expressive artistry helped her garner two Olympic medals in 1998 and 2002, as well as become a five-time world champion. She is often regarded as one of the best figure skaters of all time, and one of the highest-paid Winter Olympic athletes in terms of endorsements. She last worked as an outreach coordinator during Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016.