Here is everything you need to know about the greatest sprinters to never win an Olympic gold medal.
The world of sprints has had remarkable achievers after triumphing in national championships, diamond league meetings, World championships and above all, the Olympics.
While some like Usain Bolt have their 100 and 200-meter records achieved at the peak of his powers, some athletes, despite their prowess, have never won Olympic gold medal after several attempts.
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Pulse Sports brings you the details about greatest athletes that have never won an Olympic gold medal according to talkSPORT.
Asafa Powell
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Retired Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell specialised in the 100m. He set the 100m world record twice, between June 2005 and May 2008 with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds.
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Powell, 42, has consistently broken the 10-second barrier in competition, with his personal best of 9.72 s ranking fourth on the all-time list of men's 100-metre athletes. As of September 1, 2016, Powell has broken the 10-second barrier more times than anyone else—97 times.
He currently holds the world record for the 100-yard dash with a time of 9.09 s, set on May 27 2010 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Powell competed in the 100m at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics, finishing fifth in 2004 and 2008 and eighth after injuring his groin during the race in 2012.
Powell held the world record in the 100m and was a dominant figure in the sport before Usain Bolt emerged. He has been praised by fellow sprinters for his impact on sprinting.
Tyson Gay
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The American track and field sprinter competed in the 100 and 200 meters. Tyson Gay's 100m personal best of 9.69 seconds is the American record and makes him tied for the second fastest athlete over 100m ever, along with Yohan Blake of Jamaica.
Gay has won medals in many major international competitions, which includes 3 gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at the 2007 Osaka World Championships.
This made him the second man to win all three events at the same World Championships, after Maurice Greene (Usain Bolt duplicated the feat two years later). Gay is a four-time U.S. champion in the 100 m.
At the 2008 Olympic Trials, he ran a wind-assisted 9.68 seconds in the 100m. Days later, he suffered a severe hamstring injury in the 200m trials and did not win any medals at the Beijing Olympics.
Michelle Kwan
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Michelle Kwan was competitive figure skater and diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Belize from 2022 to 2025.
In figure skating Kwan is a two-time Olympic medalist (silver in 1998, bronze in 2002), a five-time world champion (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003) and a nine-time U.S. champion (1996, 1998–2005).
She is tied with Maribel Vinson for the all-time National Championship record. She competed at the senior level for over a decade and is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history.
Known for her consistency and expressive artistry on ice, she is widely considered one of the greatest figure skaters of all time. For well over a decade, Kwan maintained her status not only as America's most popular figure skater but as one of America's most popular female athletes.
Merlene Ottey
Merlene Joyce Ottey is a Jamaican-Slovenian former track and field sprinter currently 64 years. She began her career representing Jamaica in 1978 and continued to do so for 24 years before representing Slovenia from 2002 to 2012.
Ottey had the longest career as a top-level international sprinter appearing at the 1979 Pan American Games as a 19-year-old fresh from U-20 and Junior competitions, and concluding her career at age 52 when she anchored the Slovene 4x100 m relay team at the 2012 European Championships.
A nine-time Olympic medalist, she holds the record for the most Olympic appearances (seven) of any track and field athlete.
Although gold medal success at the Olympics eluded Ottey, she was able to bring home three silvers and six bronze medals. She won 14 World Championship medals, and still holds the record (as of 2017) for most medals in individual events with 10.
Her career achievements and longevity led to her being called the "Queen of the Track". Her proclivity for earning bronze medals in major championships earned her the title of "Bronze Queen" in track circles.
Frank 'Frankie' Fredericks
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Fredericks is a former track and field athlete from Namibia who participated in 100m and 200m.
He won four silver medals at the Olympic Games (two in 1992 and two in 1996), making him Namibia's only Olympic medalist until Christine Mboma's silver medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
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He also won gold medals at the World Championships, World Indoor Championships, All-Africa Games and Commonwealth Games. He is the world indoor record-holder for 200 metres, with a time of 19.92 seconds set in 1996.