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USA Olympic greats: Where are they now?
Gymnast Mary Lou Retton won gold for the U.S. in 1984 and became a star. USA TODAY Sports

USA Olympic greats: Where are they now?

Before Michael Phelps there was Mark Spitz. Before Usain Bolt and Allyson Felix? Michael Johnson and Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

With the Olympics in full swing, we wanted to take a look at the top 10 Olympic athletes who had their days in the sun and soaked up every moment in the spotlight. But with the kliegs now shining on a new crop, what are the ones who paved the way up to?  

Michael Johnson, track and field

Then: Once the fastest man on the planet, Johnson took gold in both the 200-meter and 400-meter dash at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta. He also broke his 400-meter time at World Championships in 1999.  

Now: Johnson, 48, is married with a son he coaches in the sport in addition to scores of other aspiring track athletes.
 

Lisa Fernandez, softball

Then: Her skills on the softball mound fueled three straight gold medals for the USA Olympic team and put the team on the map. Fernandez still holds the Olympic record for strikeouts, as she sat down 25 in a rout of Australia at the Summer Games in Athens.

Now: Living in Long Beach, Calif., Fernandez is going into her 18th season as the assistant softball coach at UCLA, her alma mater.

Dan Gable, wrestling

Then: Despite suffering a neck injury, a mild concussion and a tweak in his knee, Gable captured the gold medal in 1972 without allowing a single point.

Now: Gable is now an accomplished author who just wrapped up a cross-country signing tour for his book “A Wrestling Life,” which chronicles his Olympic moment in addition to a 20-year run that found him become the greatest wrestling coach in NCAA history at the University of Iowa. 

Jackie Joyner-Kersee, track and field

Then: Google "Heptathlon" and you’ll have an idea of what this great track and field athlete won… twice, her first at the 1988 Summer Games followed by gold again in Barcelona in 1992.

Now: In a timely move ahead of the Summer Games in Rio, Joyner-Kersee joined cable giant Comcast as a spokesperson for its "Internet Essentials" program aimed to increase “digital literacy” and provided Internet at a lower cost to consumers.

Jenny Thompson, swimming

Then: Before Katie Ledecky there was Jenny Thompson, who can lay claim to 11 Olympic medals overall, eight of them gold in multiple events.

Now: Thompson, now Jenny Cumpelik, spends her days at her anesthesiologist practice in Portland and is a mother of two.

Mary Lou Retton, gymnastics

Then: America’s sweetheart and first female cereal box poster child won a gold medal despite fracturing her ankle at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Now: Retton, 48, is a mom who travels as a "fitness ambassador," giving motivational speeches and serving as a spokesperson across the country.

Greg Louganis, diving

Then: Men’s Olympic diving was all Louganis at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Games, as he became the first and only diver to take both the springboard and platform gold in consecutive games. It was his dive at the 1988 Games in which Louganis hit his head on the board, spawning the tale that became the centerpiece around HIV and AIDS after Louganis revealed he tested positive for the disease.

Now: Louganis resurfaced (pun intended) in 2014 with an HBO documentary entitled “Back on Board.” He still has his hands in the USOC game, serving as a mentor for the U.S. diving team in addition to being an activist for HIV awareness and LGBTQ rights.

Florence Griffith-Joyner, track and field

Then: The phenom known as “Flo-Jo” still holds the women’s 100 (10.49) and 200 (21.34) world records. Mind you, this is a mark she set in 1988.

Now: Flo-Jo mysteriously passed away in 1998. She was 38. To this day, coroners have theories, but no one doc can put a firm handle on what accurately took the life of this great champion.

Mark Spitz, swimming

Then: Spitz became the first athlete to win seven gold medals at the same Olympics. He was never able to replicate that feat in subsequent games, but in 1972, Spitz was king of the pool.

Now: A much different-looking Spitz appeared on the "Today Show" in July, telling NBC’s Natalie Morales: “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away. Well, old Olympians just never sort of die, they just sort of fade away."

Marion Jones, track and field

Then: Jones famously won three gold and two bronze medals at the 2000 Summer Games in Australia, only to have them stripped after her infamous Balco scandal where she admitted to doping and the use of steroids.

Now: Jones, 40, has remained relatively quiet since her release from prison in September 2008. The only thing to go on is that the beleaguered track star is looking for resurrection by way of the Marion Jones "Take A Break" initiative, however it appears the website hasn’t been updated since early 2011, so it’s anyone’s guess what Jones is up to these days. 

 

Can you name the winners of at least 7 career medals at the Summer Olympics?
SCORE:
0/103
TIME:
20:00
28/USA 2004-16/Swim
Michael Phelps
18/SOV 1956-64/Gym
Larisa Latynina
15/SOV 1972-80/Gym
Nikolai Andrianov
13/SOV 1965-64/Gym
Boris Shakhlin
13/ITA 1936-60/Fenc
Edoardo Mangiarotti
13/JAP 1952-64/Gym
Takashi Ono
12/FIN 1920-28/T&F
Paavo Nurmi
12/GER 1980-04/Cano
Birgit Fischer
12/JAP 1968-76/Gym
Sawao Kato
12/USA 1992-04/Swim
Jenny Thompson
12/USA 2004-16/Swim
Ryan Lochte
12/USA 1984-08/Swim
Dara Torres
12/RUS 1996-00/Gym
Alexei Nemov
12/USA 2004-12/Swim
Natalie Coughlin
11/USA 1968-72/Swim
Mark Spitz
11/USA 1984-92/Swim
Matt Biondi
11/CZE 1960-68/Gym
Vera Caslavska
11/SOV 1952-56/Gym
Viktor Chukarin
11/USA 1912-24/Shot
Carl Osburn
10/USA 1984-96/T&F
Carl Lewis
10/HUN 1932-60/Fenc
Aladar Gerevich
10/JAP 1968-72/Gym
Akinori Nakayama
10/BEL 1992-96/Gym
Vitaly Scherbo
10/HUN 1952-56/Gym
Agnes Keleti
10/USA 1996-04/Swim
Gary Hall, Jr.
10/SOV 1965-64/Gym
Polina Astakhova
10/SOV 1976-80/Gym
Alexander Dityatin
10/GER 1992-04/Swim
Franziska van Almsick
9/JAM 2008-16/T&F
Usain Bolt
9/BEL 1900-20/Arch
Hubert Van Innis
9/GER 1992-16/Eque
Isabell Werth
9/USA 2004-16/T&F
Allyson Felix
9/ITA 1996-12/Fenc
Valentina Vezzali
9/ROM 1976-80/Gym
Nadia Comaneci
9/AUS 2000-04/Swim
Ian Thorpe
9/JAP 1968-76/Gym
Mitsuo Tsukahara
9/RUS 1992-00/Swim
Alexander Popov
9/SOV 1968-76/Gym
Ludmilla Tourischeva
9/NET 1992-12/Eque
Anky van Grunsven
9/AUS 2000-12/Swim
Leisel Jones
9/ITA 1928-36/Fenc
Giulio Gaudini
9/SWE 1908-24/Shot
Alfred Swahn
9/SOV 1968-72/Gym
Mikhail Voronin
9/FIN 1928-52/Gym
Heikki Savolainen
9/SOV 1956-64/Gym
Yuri Titov
9/JAM 1980-00/T&F
Merlene Ottey
8/USA 1900-08/T&F
Ray Ewry
8/SWE 1948-60/Cano
Gert Fredriksson
8/GER 1964-88/Eque
Reiner Klimke
8/FIN 1924-28/T&F
Ville Ritola
8/ROM 1984-00/Row
Elisabeta Lipa
8/GB 2000-16/Cyc
Bradley Wiggins
8/USA 2008-16/Swim
Nathan Adrian
8/SWE 1908-24/Shot
Vilhelm Carlberg
8/AUS 1956-64/Swim
Dawn Fraser
8/EGE 1972-76/Swim
Kornelia Ender
8/NOR 1920-24/Shot
Otto Olsen
8/SWI 1924-36/Gym
Georges Miez
8/EGE 1968-76/Swim
Roland Matthes
8/USA 2008-16/Swim
Allison Schmitt
8/NET 2000-04/Swim
Inge de Bruijn
8/USA 2000-12/Swim
Jason Lezak
8/ITA 1992-08/Fenc
Giovanna Trillini
8/HUN 2000-12/Cano
Katalin Kovacs
8/FRA 1920-28/Fenc
Roger Ducret
8/FRA 1920-36/Fenc
Philippe Cattiau
8/AUS 1996-04/Swim
Petria Thomas
8/JAM 2000-16/T&F
Veronica Campbell-Brown
8/USA 1972-76/Swim
Shirley Babashoff
8/AUS 1992-00/Swim
Susie O'Neill
8/HUN 1952-56/Gym
Margit Korondi
8/SOV 1956-60/Gym
Sofia Muratova
8/RUS 1992-08/Div
Dmitri Sautin
7/GB 2000-12/Cyc
Chris Hoy
7/GB 2008-16/Cyc
Jason Kenny
7/HUN 1936-60/Fenc
Pal Kovacs
7/JAP 1960-68/Gym
Yukio Endo
7/USA 2000-08/Swim
Aaron Peirsol
7/USA 1920/Shoot
Willis Augustus Lee
7/GER 1956-76/Eque
Hans Günter Winkler
7/USA 1984-92/Swim
Tom Jager
7/HUN 1988-96/Swim
Krisztina Egerszegi
7/FRA 1920-28/Fenc
Lucien Gaudin
7/ROM 1968-84/Cano
Ivan Patzaichin
7/NOR 1908-24/Shot
Einar Liberg
7/USA 1904-08/Swim
Charles Daniels
7/USA 1920/Shoot
Lloyd Spooner
7/JAP 2004-12/Swim
Kosuke Kitajima
7/AUS 2004-12/Swim
Libby Trickett
7/POL 1964-76/T&F
Irena Szewinska
7/SWE 1984-96/Cano
Agneta Andersson
7/NET 2000-04/Swim
Pieter van den Hoogenband
7/AUS 1948-56/T&F
Shirley Strickland
7/ROM 1996-00/Gym
Simona Amanar
7/ITA 1928-36/Fenc
Gustavo Marzi
7/SOV 1952/Gym
Maria Gorokhovskaya
7/USA 1996-04/Swim
Amanda Beard
7/RUS 1996-04/Gym
Svetlana Khorkina
7/ZIM 2004-08/Swim
Kirsty Coventry
7/HUN 1960-76/Fenc
Ildiko Ujlaky-Rejto
7/EGE 1968-72/Gym
Karin Janz
7/USA 1992-96/Gym
Shannon Miller
7/RUS 2012-16/Gym
Aliya Mustafina

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