List of famous female track and field athletes, listed by their level of prominence with photos when available. This greatest female track and field athletes list contains the most prominent and top females known for being track and field athletes. There are thousand of females working as track and field athletes in the world, but this list highlights only the most notable ones. Historic track and field athletes have worked hard to become the best that they can be, so if you're a female aspiring to be a track and field athlete then the people below should give you inspiration.
Kellie Wells and Doreen Amata are only the beginning of the people on this list.
While this isn't a list of all female track and field athletes, it does answer the questions "Who are the most famous female track and field athletes?" and "Who are the best female track and field athletes?"
Leryn Dahiana Franco Steneri (born 1 March 1982 in Asunción) is a Paraguayan model, actress and former athlete who currently works for the athletics department of Club Sol de América. Franco participated at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics competing in the javelin throw.
On 8 June 2012, Franco achieved a personal best throw of 57.77 m in Barquisimeto, Venezuela at the 2012 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics. Her achievement also became the new national record, having surpassed the previous record of 55.66 m, which Franco threw at the 2011 South American Championships in Athletics.
In 2013, she was cast in Irish film Eliza Lynch: Queen of Paraguay, portraying the role of the younger ...more
Lori Susan "Lolo" Jones (born August 5, 1982) is an American hurdler and bobsledder who specializes in the 60-meter and 100-meter hurdles. She won three NCAA titles and garnered 11 All-American honors while at Louisiana State University. She won indoor national titles in 2007, 2008, and 2009 in the 60-meter hurdles, with gold medals at the World Indoor Championship in 2008 and 2010.
She was favored to win the 100-meter hurdles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but tripped on the penultimate hurdle, finishing in seventh place. She went on to win gold at the 2008 World Athletics Final, beating the newly-crowned Olympic champion Dawn Harper with a time of 12.56. Jones is the American record holder ...more
Amy Lyn Acuff (born July 14, 1975) is a track and field athlete from the United States. A high jump specialist, she competed in the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games as a member of USA Track and Field. Her best Olympic performance came at the 2004 Games, where her jump of 1.99 m earned her fourth place in the final.
Age: 47
Birthplace: Port Arthur, Texas, United States of America
Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill (born 28 January 1986) is a retired British track and field athlete from England, specialising in multi-eventing disciplines and 100 metres hurdles. As a competitor in heptathlon, she is the 2012 Olympic champion, a three-time world champion (2009, 2011, 2015), and the 2010 European champion. She is also the 2010 world indoor pentathlon champion. A member of the City of Sheffield & Dearne athletic club, she is the current British national record holder for the heptathlon. She is a former British record holder in the 100 metres hurdles, the high jump and the indoor pentathlon.
Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva (Russian: Елена Гаджиевна Исинбаева, IPA: [jɪˈlʲɛnə gɐˈdʐɨjɪvnə ɪsʲɪnˈbajɪvə]; born 3 June 1982) is a Russian former pole vaulter. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist (2004 and 2008), a three-time World Champion (2005, 2007 and 2013), the current world record holder in the event, and is widely considered the greatest female pole-vaulter of all time.
Isinbayeva was banned from 2016 Rio Olympics after the appearance of an independent report about an extensive state-sponsored doping program in Russia, thus dashing her hopes of a grand retirement winning the Olympic gold medal. She retired from athletics in August 2016 after being elected to serve an 8-year ...more
Sanya Richards-Ross (born February 26, 1985) is a Jamaican-American former track and field athlete who competed internationally for the United States. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won gold in the 400 metres after finishing third at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Richards-Ross has also won Olympic gold in the 4×400 meters relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the best 400m runner in the world for a decade, ranking No. 1 in the world from 2005-2009 and again in 2012.
In addition to her Olympic accolades, she is also a seven-time medalist at the World Championships in Athletics (five of which are gold). In 2009, she was the World ...more