Chryste Dionne Gaines (born September 14, 1970, in

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, Oklahoma, Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in western Oklahoma, approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton metropolitan ar ...

) is an American Olympic athlete who competed mainly in the sprints.

Education

Gaines is a 1988 graduate of South Oak Cliff High School in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

."My High School: South Oak Cliff,"
''The Dallas Morning News'' sports section online. During her senior year, Gaines was named the Gatorade National High School Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Gaines received a bachelor's degree from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1992 and an MBA from Coles College of Business,

Kennesaw State University Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia with two campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in the Kennesaw area and the other in Marietta on a combined of land. The school was founded ...

in 2007.

Track and Field

While at

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

, Gaines was the 1992 NCAA indoor champion in the 55 meter sprint and the 1992 NCAA outdoor champion at 100 meters. She was the first person to win the conference 100 meter championship three times. Gaines competed for the United States in Atlanta's

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. In the 4 × 100 metres, she won the gold medal with teammates

Gail Devers Yolanda Gail Devers ( ; born November 19, 1966) is an American retired track and field sprinter who competed in the 60 metres, 60 m hurdles, 100 m and 100 m hurdles. One of the greatest and most decorated female sprinters of all time, she was ...

Inger Miller Inger Miller (born June 12, 1972) is a retired American track and field sprinter who competed in the 100 metres and 200 m. She is the daughter of Lennox Miller, an Olympic double 100 m medallist from Jamaica. She attended John Muir High Sch ...

and

Gwen Torrence Gwendolyn Lenna Torrence (born June 12, 1965) is a retired American sprinter and Olympic champion. She was born in Decatur, Georgia. She attended Columbia High School and the University of Georgia. She was offered a scholarship because of her ...

. She returned to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

for the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

as the sole survivor of the 4 × 100 meters team. Teamed with

Marion Jones Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track-and-field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 2000 ...

Torri Edwards Torri Edwards (born January 31, 1977) is an American sprinter. She competes in 100 and 200 meters, winning an Olympic medal in 4 × 100-meter relay in 2000. In 2003, she won six medals in major international competitions, including one World Ch ...

and Nanceen Perry, the Americans earned a bronze medal. Gaines's best time in the 100 meters was 10.86 seconds (run in 2003). Gaines successfully competed until 2008.

Doping allegations

In 2003, Gaines was issued a Public Warning and had her results disqualified for the detection of

Modafinil Modafinil, sold under the brand name Provigil among others, is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant and wakefulness-promoting agent, eugeroic (wakefulness promoter) medication used primarily to treat narcolepsy, a sleep disorder characteri ...

. The same year she was investigated as part of the BALCO scandal and in 2004 she received a two-year doping ban. Because of a teammate's steroid use, the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

tried to force the 4 × 100 relay team to return their bronze medal from the 2000 Olympics. Gaines and her five teammates would successfully appeal.

Honors and awards

Gaines was the 1987–88 Gatorade National Track & Field Athlete of the Year, an award that goes to one high school girl each year from around the country. In 2009, she was named one of 10 "Women Out Front", a leadership award given by

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

, where she was an academic advisor. In 2018, she was named to the 10-person inaugural class of the Dallas Independent School District's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Coaching

Gaines has coached at the high school and college level. As of 2018, Gaines was the track and field and cross country coach at Heritage High School in Frisco, Texas.

References

;Notes ;Sources *

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaines, Chryste 1970 births Living people Sportspeople from Lawton, Oklahoma Track and field athletes from California American female sprinters African-American track and field athletes Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1995 Pan American Games World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists American sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in athletics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Track and field athletes from Oklahoma Goodwill Games medalists in athletics FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1993 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Olympic female sprinters 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen Stanford Cardinal women's track and field athletes NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners