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The greatest Olympic athlete from every U.S. state

By Adam Strangis

16th October 1964: Alfred A Oerter, American winner of the Gold Medal in the Tokyo Olympics 1964 for Discus throwing. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
16th October 1964: Alfred A Oerter, American winner of the Gold Medal in the Tokyo Olympics 1964 for Discus throwing. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images) /
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Kansas: Maurice Greene

Sport: Track and Field

Olympics: Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004

One of the easiest connections for fans to make with the Olympics is a picture of Usain Bolt, who is generally regarded as the fastest man on the planet. However, before Bolt was the fastest man, Maurice Greene held that title for a few years. The height of his career started roughly around 1997 and lasted until 2004. During that span, Greene set world records (later broken), won Olympic medals, and won three straight 100-meter world titles as well. Only three men have more sub-10 second runs in the 100-meter dash than Greene has had.

Greene’s Olympic career started off with bitter disappointment as he didn’t qualify for the 1996 Games in Atlanta. He was forced to watch from the stands as other sprinters won medals and this drove Greene to leave Kansas to seek training in California under the tutelage of famous coach John Smith. That proved to be a very smart decision for Greene as his career reached new heights shortly after joining. In 1997, he won the first of his three consecutive World Titles in the 100-meter sprint. Greene was also a pioneer of a new strategy called “drive phase,” which meant he kept his head down through the first part of the race to try and build speed. It worked out nicely for Greene who still is the current record holder for the indoor 60-meter event, with a time of 6.39 seconds.

Heading into the 200 Olympics in Sydney, Greene was quoted with what best represents the spirit of all successful athletes. He was already a decorated sprinter at this point but it didn’t matter to him:

"“After succeeding in something, I always told myself, ‘now that’s over and done with; let’s move onto the next challenge’,” said Greene. “I’ve never rested on my laurels. I’ve always wanted to do better.”"

He took home two gold medals and then followed that up with a bronze and a silver in the 2004 Games in Athens. Greene remains one of the most successful sprinters the United States has ever seen and he turned into a TV personality in his post-sports career, appearing on multiple shows.

Honorable Mention: Jim Ryun, track and field in Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968, and Munich 1972

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