Status: U.S. sprinter is contender for gold at Beijing Olympics in 100 meters. Won silver medal in the 100 at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Won gold at 2005 World Championship in Helsinki in 100.

Ht: 5-3 1/4 

DOB: September 11, 1983  In: Rochester, PA

Hobbies/Interests:  "Television - Law & Order. Just hangin' out. I enjoy being around kids. I volunteer at Arcola Elementary School. I'm learning sign language and Spanish. Sign language is more of a hobby, Spanish is sort of a need in Miami."

Favorite Movies:  "Law & Order and Top Model."

Musical Tastes:  "Trick Daddy - I know that's probably not what people would expect me to say. But that's my favorite."

Early Track Memory:  "I hated it [laughs]. I tried it when I was nine. Didn't like it at all. Came back to it in middle school and dibble-dabbled a little bit. And got into it really good in high school. (Why did you hate it?) I didn't like being tired. I didn't like the idea of having to go out there and run so many circles. I think it was really too far for me."

Pre-Race Feeling:  "I'm nervous. I'm trying not to think about the race. Usually I do a lot of things on the day before the race, or if we run at night, on the day of the race - to keep my mind off the race. I think people usually spend a lot of time in their room, relaxing. I'd rather be more busy, so I don't have to think about the race. I get very, very nervous."

First Job:  "Wendy's - the day I turned 16 I went and got my job. And I started like the following day at Wendy's. I did cash register and drive-thru mostly."

First Car:  "1989 blue Dodge Spirit."

Favorite Meal:  "Probably lasagna, spaghetti. I love pasta. I probably could eat it every day."

Favorite Breakfast Cereal:  "Oatmeal Raisin Crisp."

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:  "Banana."

Greatest Sports Moment:  "So far, I'd say World Championship...no...NCAA title 2004. (Why?) That's the one I was working hardest for. It just shows, like, I guess, the way God works us out. That's all I was really training for. People were talking about the Olympics, I was like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. It would be nice. But that wasn't my mindset at all. I trained so hard for that one moment, NCAA title. I came across the finish line and not only was I the NCAA champ - I had the second best time in the world. I was going to the Olympic Trials. And I was the favorite. That's where everything just took off. I trained for this one thing in particular. And it gave me so much more."

Most Painful Moment:  "The relay 2004 at the Olympics."

Funny Track Memory:  "Maurice Greene, 2003, relay camp Monte Carlo. I was practicing for the relay and I wasn't doing so hot. The girl kept leaving me when I was trying to hand off the baton to her. He told me, You have to turn on your hips. And he showed me this thing [she presses like a button on her hip], he comes up to me, and I'm just like, Maurice Greene is kinda close to me. He's like, No, I'm just turning on your hips for you. You're getting smoked out there. Whenever you're really tired, you come and you press. I don't know if it's a real thing or if he just made it up [laughs]. But you press right here [on hip]. You wake 'em up and then you go. And I turned on my hips and I was good for the rest of practice [smiles]."

Embarrassing Track Memory:  "At NCAA indoors, getting smoked out of the blocks of first 60 meters. And I ended up like in fifth place. It was one of those moments where you didn't just not react - I don't know if I didn't hear the gun, if I was too focused. It was like, Oh, everyone left. And then I started to run. I still ran in it, it was like a ridiculous time for me. And I was pretty upset about it. You wanted to go and hide somewhere. From that performance [smiles]."

Childhood Dream:  "I wanted to be an anesthesiologist when I was a child [smiles]. And I was stuck on it for a pretty good amount of time. I don't know what changed my mind or when I decided not to go to med school. At some point I decided I like money, I like math and I became a finance major."

Favorite Athletes To Watch:  "Jermane O'Neal in basketball. Ed Reed in football. I got a lot of people in football. I'm a Ravens fan, so Ed Reed and the Ravens. Venus and Serena in tennis. Probably Serena more, I don't know a particular reason. A-Rod of course. Because I know him. I've trained with him at the University of Miami actually. And I've actually given him tips in the weight room [laughs]. So that kind of brought an interest in that. (Tips? Like what?) He was just asking me why I do certain exercises, how he can do them better. He actually wanted to come out and run with me a few days, but our schedules kept not meshing. We would always meet in the weight room but he would have to go somewhere when I was going to run. Or I ran before he got there or something like that. But definitely having him around was pretty cool. (Boxing?) The girl Lucia Rijker, she was in Million Dollar Baby. (Track?) No. That's probably the thing that's different about me. Growing up I didn't have a track and field idol. It wasn't my dream to come to the Olympics, so on and so forth. And actually when we were at events where famous people were - my mom tells the story. That at the Foot Locker in 2001, I was graduating high school. Marion Jones showed up there. And everybody flocked over there and was trying to get her autograph. And my mom was like, Come on, let's go! No, I'll pass. You don't want Marion Jones' autograph? And I was just like, I plan on beating her one day. I'll end up racing her and hopefully one day I'll beat her. Why would I want her autograph? When she's gonna be the same thing I am? I actually like Marion Jones. We've actually become pretty good friends. I just never looked up to anyone like that. I always wanted to exceed, or get to the same point. So I didn't look up to them. I wanted to get to that level for myself."

Favorite Vacation Spot:  "I don't think I have one yet. There's some places that I'd like to go that I haven't been yet. I'll say I liked Lausanne. I've been there for the track meet. And I think that's probably my favorite one."

People Qualities Most Admired:  "Just determination. Don't make excuses. Good decision making is what I always tell the kids. Track and field is a good sport to teach you, not only how to win, but also how to lose. It's anybody's game on any day. At the end of the day when you walk away, if you're a good loser - you carry yourself with tact - and you walk upright and in an honorable manner, people are going to look at you more for that than having crossed the finish line all happy and all smiley and stuff. I think the biggest thing is how you carry yourself in a good fashion, I guess."