Catch up with stars of the 1992 Olympics
Find out what some of the stars of the 1992 Olympics are up to today.
Today it’s Michael Phelps and Gabby Douglas wowing the globe, but 20 years ago, a different crop of fantastic athletes was captivating the world in Barcelona. Find out what some of the stars of the 1992 Olympics are up to today.
Today it’s Michael Phelps and Gabby Douglas wowing the globe, but 20 years ago, a different crop of fantastic athletes was captivating the world in Barcelona. Find out what some of the stars of the 1992 Olympics are up to today.
1992: U.S. runner Gail Devers won the women’s 100-meter dash in an unbelievably close finish -- six women finished within .06 seconds of each other. Here, she competes at the 1993 World Athletics Championship.
Today: Devers won three Olympic gold medals and 13 World Indoor and Outdoor medals by the time she retired in 2007. She was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2011 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2012. She now spends the bulk of her time giving motivational speeches, raising her three kids and volunteering at a local elementary school.
1992: After going pro at the age of 13 and becoming the youngest semifinalist in French Open history at 14, U.S. tennis player Jennifer Capriati won gold in the women's singles event in Barcelona. Here, she competes at Wimbledon in 1992.
Today: Capriati had ups and downs for the rest of her career -- she stopped playing for a while due to personal problems, including an arrest for marijuana possession stint in drug rehab in the mid-90s -- but came back to win the Australian Open in 2001. She retired in 2004 due to injuries and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012.
1992 Dream Team: The U.S. Olympic team opened up men’s basketball to professionals for the first time in 1992, allowing NBA stars including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Charles Barkley to compete as teammates on the U.S. men’s basketball team. They averaged 117 points in eight games.
Today: Jordan has been a an executive with the Charlotte Bobcats since 2006, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and is involved with running several restaurants and other businesses. After the 1992-1993 season, Jordan retired from basketball to play for a minor league baseball team for a year. He then returned to the Chicago Bulls for a few seasons, retired again, then became part owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards. He played a few seasons for the Wizards before retiring for good in 2003.
Today: Johnson is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. Most of his work in these arenas is dedicated to addressing needs of diverse urban communities; he formed Magic Johnson Enterprises in 1987 and the Magic Johnson Foundation in 1991 with that goal in mind. After retiring from basketball in 1991, he briefly returned to the NBA in the mid-90s, then invested in the Lakers and other sports teams. He has also served as a sports analyst and motivational speaker.
Today: Bird still works with the NBA, having served as the Indiana Pacers’ president of basketball operations since 2003. He was the Pacers’ head coach from 1997 to 2000 and worked as a front office special assistant for the Boston Celtics from 1993 to 1997.
Today: Barkley now serves as a TV sports analyst, primarily for “TNT’s Inside the NBA.” He has written four books and supports a variety of charities.
Today: Pippen retired in 2004, and the Chicago Bulls retired his number in 2005. He occasionally returns to the basketball court for exhibition games -- for instance, in 2012 he played on a team of retired NBA stars facing off against retired Philippine Basketball Association players. He became an ambassador for the Bulls in 2010 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame the same year.
1992: U.S. gymnast Shannon Miller won silver in the all-around, tied for silver on the balance beam, won bronze for the uneven bars, was in a three-way tie for bronze in the floor exercises and contributed to a team bronze. Here, she competes on the balance beam in an unidentified competition.
Today: Miller is happy to be healthy after battling ovarian cancer; she underwent surgery and chemotherapy in 2011 after doctors discovered a cyst. She told People Magazine the six members of her 1996 "Magnificent Seven" gymnastics team were by her side when she started chemo, and staying fit helped her a lot. These days, her many activities include maintaining a women’s health and fitness website called Shannon Miller Lifestyle.
1992: At 32, Linford Christie of Great Britain became the oldest man to win the men's 100-meter dash. Here, he competes at the 1993 World Athletic Championships.
Today: Christie runs the sports management company Nuff Respect, has coached several athletes, helped launch an initiative to help kids explore their athletic potential called Street Athletics and appeared on a few reality and gardening shows. Christie retired in 1997 after winning numerous major races, although he continued to compete in some events until he failed a drug test in 1999 (he has denied any wrongdoing).
1992: Belarus’ Vitaly Scherbo won six gold medals in gymnastics. Four of those were won on the same day. Here, he competes in the 1995 World Gymnastics Championships.
Today: Scherbo opened a gymnastics school that bears his name in northwest Las Vegas in 1998; he still owns the school. He was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2009.
1992: Ethiopia's Derartu Tulu won the 10,000-meter women's run, and in doing so became the first black African woman to win a gold medal at the Olympics. She ran a victory lap hand in hand with second-place winner Elana Meyer, a white runner from South Africa, to symbolize hope for Africa's future. Here, Tulu runs in 2000.
Today: Tulu has continued running, winning gold in the 10,000-meter race in the 2000 Olympics and bronze in the same race in 2004. She also won the 2001 London marathon and became the first Ethiopian woman to win the New York City Marathon in 2009.
Today: Meyer retired from running in 2005 at the age of 38. She is the CEO of the JAG Foundation, which helps South Africans in poor communities get involved with sports. The foundation’s website says sports can help keep impoverished kids away from drugs and gangs by showing them a healthier lifestyle and a chance to rise above their surroundings.
1992: Skeet shooter Zhang Shan of China became the first woman to win gold in a mixed-sex shooting event. Shooting events were separated into men’s and women’s events after the 1992 Olympics.
Today: Zhang is still shooting and is now a coach for the Chinese national team. Chinese wire service Xinhua said she won the individual world cup in her sport in 2010 and a team trophy with the Chinese squad at the same event. However, she hasn’t qualified for the Olympics since 2000.
