One of the greatest track sprinters of all time, Yolanda Gail Devers, lives happily with her husband Mike Phillips and two kids.
The couple has been together for a very long time, particularly after Gail had a divorce from her former husband, Ron Roberts, in 1991.
Her current husband, Mike, was her training partner back in the days when she was still active.
Gail Devers was born in Seattle, Washington, on November 19, 1966. She graduated from Sweetwater High School in 1984. Later the track and football field here would be named Gail Devers Stadium.
Gail is the Jump coach at Mountain View High School and a retired athlete who specialized in 60m, 100m, 60m, and 100m hurdles.
While she trained for the 1988 Summer Olympics, her worsening medical conditioning was a hurdle she had a hard time crossing.
The problems started with migraine and vision-related problems and eventually resulted in Greves’ disease.
At a point in her life, her doctor even suggested amputating her legs, but amazingly, she recovered.
She again participated in the 1992 Summer Olympics, where she won her first gold medal. Moreover, in the next Olympics, she was able to retain her gold model.
Apart from the Olympics, she has won the world championship in tracks, a staggering five times (2X1993, 1995, 1997, and 1999).
After winning a few other gold medals in indoor championships and Pan American Games, Gail hung her shoes after running for the last time in 2007.
For her great contribution to the sport, she was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2011 and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame a year later.
Gail Devers Husband Mike Phillips
Gail must have had her fair share of ups and downs in her previous marriage, which led to her divorce from Ron Roberts.
Sometime after the separation, she met her current husband and an understanding life partner, Mike Phillips.
Gail’s husband Mike is a jump coach volunteer and is very supportive of his wife.
As a Jumps coach at Mountain View High School in Georgia, Gail sometimes demonstrates her athletic prowess.
In this, her husband Mike has to say, “Gail is crazy. If you give Gail six weeks, she probably can run 11.50 still in the 100, and she probably would run around 13-flat in the hurdles. She is definitely a freak of nature.” in a comic way.
The couple together has two daughters, viz. Karsen (19) and Legacy (16).
Gail Devers Injury-Ridden Career and Strange Habit
This star athlete’s career could have ended before it started, as she was diagnosed with various diseases back in 1990.
In that very year, she had undergone a radioactive treatment and Thyroid Hormone replacement therapy for Graves’ disease.
Due to that treatment, strange blisters started forming on her legs. Her doctor suggested amputation as well.
But miraculously, after she stopped the radiation treatment, she had an easy path to recovery.
After the recovery, she only took a long break in 2005 due to the birth of her first child but returned quickly in 2006.
Gail is also pretty famous for having very long nails. The nails are so long and decorated that she had to take a different starting stance.
