U.S. sprinters get beat at the 
Olympics, but they don't get beat 
very often.  Dating back to the first 
Modern Games, when Thomas 
Burke crossed the finish line in the 
100 meters in 12 seconds, 
American men have dominated the 
event, winning it 15 times.  At the 
1984 LA Games, the Americans 
finished 1,2,3, led by track
phenom Carl Lewis, who came
back to win again 4 years later. 
But in 1992, Briton Linford Christie took home the gold.  The
U.S. men have been equally as
strong in the 200 meter dash,
which has been an event at the
Olympics since 1900, and have 
won gold in the past 3 Olympics.

Women have been running the 100 
meters since 1928, when women's 
track and field events were added
to the Summer Games.  The 200 
meters came later, in 1948.  

In 1928, the 100 meters was won 
by American Elizabeth Robinson.
Three years after her win, she was
in a  devastating plane crash which
left her unable to walk normally for two years, but she was
determined to run anyway.  In 1936, she won a second gold
medal as a membe of the 4X100 relay team.

One of the most spectacular 
women runners of all time was 
Wilma Rudolph, who overcame 
polio to win a bronze medal on the 
4X100 relay team in 1956, and 
triple gold, in the 100, 200 and 4X
100 events, in Rome in 1960.  
Florence Griffith Joyner, Flo Jo, 
duplicated Rudolph's feat in 1988, 
taking gold in the 100, 200 and 4X
100 relay.