Gail Devers after taking the 2003 World Indoor 60m Hurdles title in Birmingham (© Getty Images)
Olympic champions Gail Devers and Maurice Greene are among the 2011 inductees into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame announced by USA Track & Field.
Devers and Greene, along with Vince Matthews, Clarence Demar, coach Bob Timmons and 2010 Hall selection Craig Virgin will be inducted on 3 December during the Jesse Owens Hall of Fame Banquet, which will be held in conjunction with 2011 USATF Annual Meeting in St. Louis.
Devers, a three-time Olympic gold medallist, Greene, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and former World record holder, and Virgin, a two-time World Cross Country individual champion, all made the Hall of Fame as Modern Athletes, which include those retired less than 25 years. Virgin was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010, but deferred his induction until this year when the Annual Meeting was scheduled to take place in St. Louis, near his current hometown.
“It’s a surprise and an honour," said Devers, the 1992 and 1996 Olympic 100m champion who also collected five gold medals in World Championships outdoors and four indoors.
"When I initially heard I thought that must mean I can’t compete anymore. The fact that you are being recognised when you get that call it means a lot to me. It’s a sense of pride. I just want to thank those who have put me into this position."
Greene, the former World record holder in the 100m, won three individual World 100m titles, Olympic 100m gold in 2000, and the World 200m title in 1999.
Matthews, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, and Demar, a seven-time winner of the Boston Marathon, will be inducted as Veteran Athletes as each has been retired for longer than 25 years.
“It means a lot to me," said Matthews, who captured Olympic gold in the 4x400m Relay in 1968 and the 400m four years later in Munich. "A few of the guys that I ran with have been inducted like Larry James and Lee Evans. I have been looking forward to putting my name alongside theirs."
“Like Vince (Matthews), my career has been over for awhile,” said Virgin, who won back to back World Cross Country titles in 1980 and 1981. “For me, it’s vindication for the body of work that I did. That body of work was quality enough for me to stand with up here with my contemporaries. I watched Vince on TV when I was getting into sport. The 1968 Olympics was the first time I saw any Olympics on TV. It’s a great honour to have my name alongside his and others like him.”
Timmons, who coached seven Olympians, 16 world record holders and mentored Jim Ryun to the first sub-4-minute high school mile, will be inducted representing the Coaches.
The National Track & Field Hall of Fame is located at The Armory Foundation, at 216 Fort Washington Avenue in Washington Heights, N.Y. For more information please visit http://ny.milesplit.com/pages/Hall-of-Fame
USATF for the IAAF
