Black track and field athletes competing at the Olympic Games

Track & Field

Greatest Black Track & Field Athletes

From Jesse Owens in Berlin to Usain Bolt in Beijing — the definitive rankings of the greatest African American and Black athletes in track and field history

These 150 athletes did more than win races. DeHart Hubbard, Alice Coachman, and Abebe Bikila broke barriers that opened doors for generations. Tommie Smith and John Carlos turned a medal stand into a stage for justice. Today, champions like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Faith Kipyegon, and Letsile Tebogo carry that legacy forward.

Top 100 African American Athletes

Rankings weigh Olympic and World Championship titles, world records, longevity, and impact on the sport and on history

Showing 100 of 100 players

Sprints / Long Jump

2 players

Carl Lewis

USA · Track & Field

9 Olympic golds; long jump at four straight Olympics

Jesse Owens

USA · Track & Field

4 golds at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Heptathlon / Long Jump

1 players

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

USA · Track & Field

3 Olympic golds; heptathlon world record still stands

200m / 400m / Relays

1 players

Allyson Felix

USA · Track & Field

Most decorated American in track: 11 Olympic medals, 7 gold

200m / 400m

2 players

Michael Johnson

USA · Track & Field

Only man to win 200m and 400m at same Olympics (1996)

#25

Valerie Brisco-Hooks

USA · Track & Field

3 golds in 1984, including 200m and 400m

400m Hurdles

10 players

Edwin Moses

USA · Track & Field

Two-time Olympic champion; 122 straight race wins

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

USA · Track & Field

Two Olympic golds; broke the world record multiple times

#17

Kevin Young

USA · Track & Field

1992 world record lasted nearly 30 years

#35

Glenn Davis

USA · Track & Field

Olympic champion in 1956 and 1960

#44

Dalilah Muhammad

USA · Track & Field

2016 Olympic champion; 2019 world record

#52

Angelo Taylor

USA · Track & Field

Olympic champion in 2000 and 2008

#53

Kerron Clement

USA · Track & Field

2016 Olympic champion; two world titles

#54

Rai Benjamin

USA · Track & Field

2024 Olympic champion

#55

Andre Phillips

USA · Track & Field

Beat Edwin Moses for 1988 Olympic gold

#90

Kim Batten

USA · Track & Field

1995 world record

100m / 200m

6 players

Florence Griffith Joyner

USA · Track & Field

1988 world records in 100m and 200m still stand

#19

Noah Lyles

USA · Track & Field

2024 Olympic 100m champion; four world 200m titles

#29

Tyson Gay

USA · Track & Field

3 world titles in 2007; American 100m record of 9.69

#40

Gwen Torrence

USA · Track & Field

1992 Olympic 200m champion; 3 Olympic golds

#46

Eddie Tolan

USA · Track & Field

Won both at the 1932 Olympics

#50

Calvin Smith

USA · Track & Field

100m world record; two world 200m titles

Sprints

2 players

Wilma Rudolph

USA · Track & Field

Overcame polio to win 3 golds at the 1960 Olympics

#47

Ralph Metcalfe

USA · Track & Field

1936 relay gold; later a U.S. Congressman

Long Jump

8 players

#10

Bob Beamon

USA · Track & Field

1968 world record lasted 23 years

#11

Mike Powell

USA · Track & Field

1991 world record still stands

#37

Ralph Boston

USA · Track & Field

1960 Olympic champion; broke Owens' world record

#38

Dwight Phillips

USA · Track & Field

2004 Olympic champion; four world titles

#39

Brittney Reese

USA · Track & Field

2012 Olympic champion; four world titles

#48

DeHart Hubbard

USA · Track & Field

First Black athlete to win an individual Olympic gold (1924)

#63

Tianna Bartoletta

USA · Track & Field

2016 Olympic champion; two world titles

#64

Tara Davis-Woodhall

USA · Track & Field

2024 Olympic champion

100m / 100m Hurdles

1 players

#12

Gail Devers

USA · Track & Field

Two Olympic 100m titles; three world hurdles titles

100m

10 players

#13

Evelyn Ashford

USA · Track & Field

1984 Olympic 100m champion; 4 Olympic golds

#14

Wyomia Tyus

USA · Track & Field

First to win back-to-back Olympic 100m titles

#21

Maurice Greene

USA · Track & Field

2000 Olympic champion; set a 9.79 world record

#26

Bob Hayes

USA · Track & Field

1964 Olympic champion; Pro Football Hall of Famer

#45

Jim Hines

USA · Track & Field

1968 Olympic champion; first under 10 seconds (electronic timing)

#59

Christian Coleman

USA · Track & Field

2019 world champion; 60m world record

#60

Sha'Carri Richardson

USA · Track & Field

2023 world champion

#65

Carmelita Jeter

USA · Track & Field

2011 world champion

#66

Tori Bowie

USA · Track & Field

2017 world champion; Olympic relay gold

#67

Leroy Burrell

USA · Track & Field

1994 world record

100m / 110m Hurdles

1 players

#15

Harrison Dillard

USA · Track & Field

Olympic champion in 100m (1948) and 110m hurdles (1952)

Decathlon

4 players

#16

Rafer Johnson

USA · Track & Field

1960 Olympic champion

#18

Ashton Eaton

USA · Track & Field

Two-time Olympic champion

#49

Milt Campbell

USA · Track & Field

1956 Olympic champion

#75

Bryan Clay

USA · Track & Field

2008 Olympic champion

400m

10 players

#20

Sanya Richards-Ross

USA · Track & Field

2012 Olympic champion; 4 Olympic golds

#22

Lee Evans

USA · Track & Field

1968 Olympic champion; world record stood ~20 years

#27

Jeremy Wariner

USA · Track & Field

2004 Olympic champion; two world titles

#28

LaShawn Merritt

USA · Track & Field

2008 Olympic champion; two world titles

#32

Butch Reynolds

USA · Track & Field

1988 world record that stood 11 years

#56

Quincy Watts

USA · Track & Field

1992 Olympic champion

#57

Steve Lewis

USA · Track & Field

1988 Olympic champion

#58

Michael Norman

USA · Track & Field

2022 world champion

#71

Archie Williams

USA · Track & Field

1936 Olympic champion

#97

Vince Matthews

USA · Track & Field

1972 Olympic champion

200m

8 players

#23

Tommie Smith

USA · Track & Field

1968 Olympic gold in world-record time; raised-fist protest

#61

Gabby Thomas

USA · Track & Field

2024 Olympic champion; 3 golds in Paris

#68

Joe DeLoach

USA · Track & Field

Beat Carl Lewis for 1988 Olympic gold

#69

Shawn Crawford

USA · Track & Field

2004 Olympic champion

#70

Henry Carr

USA · Track & Field

1964 Olympic champion

#84

Edith McGuire

USA · Track & Field

1964 Olympic champion

#98

Andrew Stanfield

USA · Track & Field

1952 Olympic champion

#99

John Carlos

USA · Track & Field

1968 Olympic bronze; civil rights icon

High Jump

5 players

#24

Alice Coachman

USA · Track & Field

First Black woman to win Olympic gold (1948)

#79

Charles Dumas

USA · Track & Field

First to clear 7 feet; 1956 Olympic champion

#80

Charles Austin

USA · Track & Field

1996 Olympic champion

#81

John Thomas

USA · Track & Field

World records; two Olympic medals

#85

Mildred McDaniel

USA · Track & Field

1956 Olympic gold in world-record height

Triple Jump

4 players

#30

Christian Taylor

USA · Track & Field

Two Olympic and four world titles

#76

Al Joyner

USA · Track & Field

1984 Olympic champion

#77

Kenny Harrison

USA · Track & Field

1996 Olympic champion

#78

Willie Banks

USA · Track & Field

1985 world record

110m Hurdles

9 players

#31

Grant Holloway

USA · Track & Field

2024 Olympic champion; three world titles

#33

Roger Kingdom

USA · Track & Field

Olympic champion in 1984 and 1988

#34

Lee Calhoun

USA · Track & Field

Olympic champion in 1956 and 1960

#41

Allen Johnson

USA · Track & Field

1996 Olympic champion; four world titles

#42

Greg Foster

USA · Track & Field

Three world titles

#43

Renaldo Nehemiah

USA · Track & Field

First man under 13 seconds

#51

Aries Merritt

USA · Track & Field

2012 Olympic champion; 12.80 world record

#73

Willie Davenport

USA · Track & Field

1968 Olympic champion; also a Winter Olympian in bobsled

#74

Rod Milburn

USA · Track & Field

1972 Olympic champion

800m

4 players

#36

Mal Whitfield

USA · Track & Field

Olympic champion in 1948 and 1952

#62

Athing Mu

USA · Track & Field

Olympic champion at the Tokyo Games

#72

John Woodruff

USA · Track & Field

1936 Olympic champion

#83

Madeline Manning

USA · Track & Field

1968 Olympic champion

Shot Put

1 players

#82

Michelle Carter

USA · Track & Field

2016 Olympic champion, first American woman to win it

Long Jump / Relays

1 players

#86

Willye White

USA · Track & Field

Five-time Olympian; two Olympic medals

Relays

1 players

#87

Barbara Jones

USA · Track & Field

Olympic relay gold at age 15 (1952)

400m / Relays

1 players

#88

Chandra Cheeseborough

USA · Track & Field

2 relay golds and a 400m silver in 1984

400m / 800m

1 players

#89

Jearl Miles Clark

USA · Track & Field

1993 world 400m champion; five-time Olympian

100m Hurdles

6 players

#91

Dawn Harper-Nickerson

USA · Track & Field

2008 Olympic champion

#92

Brianna McNeal

USA · Track & Field

2016 Olympic champion

#93

Kendra Harrison

USA · Track & Field

2016 world record

#94

Masai Russell

USA · Track & Field

2024 Olympic champion

#95

Joanna Hayes

USA · Track & Field

2004 Olympic champion

#96

Benita Fitzgerald-Brown

USA · Track & Field

1984 Olympic champion

Long Jump / Triple Jump

1 players

#100

Will Claye

USA · Track & Field

3 Olympic medals

Top 50 Black Athletes From Around the World

Usain Bolt leads the world list, followed by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and the East African distance legends

Showing 50 of 50 players

100m / 200m

5 players

Usain Bolt

Jamaica · Track & Field

8 Olympic golds; world records 9.58 and 19.19

Elaine Thompson-Herah

Jamaica · Track & Field

Won sprint double at two straight Olympics; 5 Olympic golds

#10

Merlene Ottey

Jamaica · Track & Field

9 Olympic medals; 14 World Championship medals

#47

Frankie Fredericks

Namibia · Track & Field

4 Olympic silvers; 1993 world 200m champion

#48

Yohan Blake

Jamaica · Track & Field

2011 world 100m champion; 19.26 in the 200m

100m

6 players

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

Jamaica · Track & Field

Two Olympic 100m titles; five world 100m titles

#30

Asafa Powell

Jamaica · Track & Field

Set the 100m world record twice; nearly 100 sub-10 races

#33

Donovan Bailey

Canada · Track & Field

1996 Olympic gold in a 9.84 world record

#34

Linford Christie

Great Britain · Track & Field

1992 Olympic champion

#39

Hasely Crawford

Trinidad and Tobago · Track & Field

1976 Olympic champion, his nation's first gold

#42

Julien Alfred

Saint Lucia · Track & Field

2024 Olympic champion, her nation's first medal

Marathon

2 players

Eliud Kipchoge

Kenya · Track & Field

Two Olympic titles; first to run marathon under two hours (exhibition)

Abebe Bikila

Ethiopia · Track & Field

Won 1960 (barefoot) and 1964; first Black African Olympic champion

5,000m / 10,000m

7 players

Kenenisa Bekele

Ethiopia · Track & Field

3 Olympic golds; held both world records ~15 years

Tirunesh Dibaba

Ethiopia · Track & Field

3 Olympic golds, including the 2008 double

#14

Joshua Cheptegei

Uganda · Track & Field

Olympic gold in both events; holds both world records

#21

Mo Farah

Great Britain · Track & Field

Won the distance double at two straight Olympics

#25

Miruts Yifter

Ethiopia · Track & Field

Won the 1980 Olympic distance double

#26

Beatrice Chebet

Kenya · Track & Field

Won the 2024 Olympic distance double; world records

#28

Vivian Cheruiyot

Kenya · Track & Field

2016 Olympic 5,000m champion; four world titles

10,000m / Marathon

1 players

Haile Gebrselassie

Ethiopia · Track & Field

Two Olympic 10,000m titles; four world titles

1,500m

2 players

Faith Kipyegon

Kenya · Track & Field

Three Olympic titles; world records at 1,500m and the mile

#29

Genzebe Dibaba

Ethiopia · Track & Field

2015 world champion; set the 1,500m world record

800m

2 players

#11

David Rudisha

Kenya · Track & Field

Two Olympic titles; 1:40.91 world record in the 2012 final

#50

Ana Fidelia Quirot

Cuba · Track & Field

Two world titles after surviving severe burns

1,500m / Steeplechase

1 players

#12

Kipchoge Keino

Kenya · Track & Field

Olympic gold in 1968 and 1972; father of Kenyan running

10,000m

2 players

#13

Derartu Tulu

Ethiopia · Track & Field

Two Olympic titles; first Black African woman Olympic champion (1992)

#27

Almaz Ayana

Ethiopia · Track & Field

Won 2016 Olympic gold in world-record time

200m / 400m

1 players

#15

Marie-José Pérec

France · Track & Field

3 Olympic golds, including the 1996 double

400m / 800m

1 players

#16

Alberto Juantorena

Cuba · Track & Field

Only man to win 400m and 800m at one Olympics (1976)

High Jump

1 players

#17

Javier Sotomayor

Cuba · Track & Field

1992 Olympic champion; 2.45m world record since 1993

Triple Jump

1 players

#18

Yulimar Rojas

Venezuela · Track & Field

Olympic champion; world record; four world titles

400m

6 players

#19

Wayde van Niekerk

South Africa · Track & Field

2016 Olympic gold in a 43.03 world record

#22

Shaunae Miller-Uibo

Bahamas · Track & Field

Olympic champion in 2016 and 2021

#32

Kirani James

Grenada · Track & Field

2012 Olympic champion, Grenada's first Olympic medal

#38

Arthur Wint

Jamaica · Track & Field

1948 Olympic champion, Jamaica's first Olympic gold

#44

Steven Gardiner

Bahamas · Track & Field

Olympic champion at the Tokyo Games; 2019 world champion

#46

Christine Ohuruogu

Great Britain · Track & Field

2008 Olympic champion; two world titles

Decathlon

1 players

#20

Daley Thompson

Great Britain · Track & Field

Olympic champion in 1980 and 1984

200m

5 players

#23

Veronica Campbell-Brown

Jamaica · Track & Field

Olympic champion in 2004 and 2008

#31

Shericka Jackson

Jamaica · Track & Field

Two world titles; second-fastest woman ever at 200m

#37

Donald Quarrie

Jamaica · Track & Field

1976 Olympic champion

#40

Andre De Grasse

Canada · Track & Field

Olympic champion at the Tokyo Games

#43

Letsile Tebogo

Botswana · Track & Field

2024 Olympic champion, Botswana's first gold

5,000m

1 players

#24

Meseret Defar

Ethiopia · Track & Field

Olympic champion in 2004 and 2012

Heptathlon

2 players

#35

Jessica Ennis-Hill

Great Britain · Track & Field

2012 Olympic champion; three world titles

#45

Denise Lewis

Great Britain · Track & Field

2000 Olympic champion

800m / 1,500m

1 players

#36

Kelly Holmes

Great Britain · Track & Field

Won the 2004 Olympic middle-distance double

Steeplechase

1 players

#41

Ezekiel Kemboi

Kenya · Track & Field

Olympic champion in 2004 and 2012; four world titles

400m Hurdles

1 players

#49

Deon Hemmings

Jamaica · Track & Field

1996 Olympic champion, first Jamaican woman to win gold