Gwendolyn Lenna Torrence (born June 12, 1965) is a retired American sprinter and Olympic gold medalist. She was born in

Decatur, Georgia Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes ...

. She attended Columbia High School and the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. She was offered a scholarship because of her athletic abilities, but she said she wasn't interested because she initially wanted to become a beautician. From the persuasion from her coaches and family, she chose to enroll to the

. In the early 1990s, Gwen Torrence was one of the best sprinters in the world, winning five Olympic medals, and three gold. Torrence won medals at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

, Outdoor & Indoor World Championships,

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other W ...

, and

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

. In 1988, Torrence achieved a tie with Evelyn Ashford in the 55 m race at the U.S. national indoor championships. She also had many battles both on the track and in the press with Florence Griffith Joyner. In the 200 m at the 1995 World Championships, she was disqualified for stepping out of her lane after finishing first. This left her idol, Merlene Ottey, to be promoted to first place. In 2000 she was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

International competitions

National titles

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olym ...

**100 m: 1995 **200 m: 1988, 1993, 1995 * USA Indoor Track and Field Championships **55 m: 1989 **60 m: 1994, 1995, 1996 **200 m: 1994, 1996

Personal bests

;Outdoor *

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

– 10.82 (1994) * 200-meter dash – 21.72 (1992) * 400-meter dash – 49.64 (1992) ;Indoor *

50-meter dash 50 metres, or 50-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a relatively uncommon non-championship event for indoor track and field, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor athletics competitions it is u ...

– 6.07 (1996) *

55-meter dash 55 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a relatively uncommon non-championship event for indoor track and field. The history of the event lies in the 60-yard dash, which is about 5 inches shorter than 55 metres. Since the 1960s almos ...

– 6.56 (1987) * 60-meter dash – 7.02 (1996)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torrence, Gwen 1965 births Living people People from Decatur, Georgia Track and field athletes from Atlanta American female sprinters African-American female track and field athletes Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Georgia Lady Bulldogs track and field athletes Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Universiade gold medalists for the United States IAAF World Athlete of the Year USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 1985 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1987 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Olympic female sprinters 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women