If you had told me at the beginning of the year that Gail Devers might be this year's Athlete of the Year I probably would have laughed, but she's definitely crafting a season in these non-WR times which could well qualify.
Her world-leading 12.40 at Lausanne last week is No. 4 on the all-time non-Commie performance list. There have been 26 sub-12.40 clockings in history, three of them by Devers in '99 and '00. The other 23 marks were made when the world was far different and the East Bloc nations dominated the women's side of the sport. They all came in the 1980-92 era (18 of them in '80s). Unless Devers bangs a hurdle, she could very likely have an undefeated season the way she's running, and that counts for a lot now. Obviously, Marion is still in the hunt, but she's going to have to have a showdown or two w/ ZPB before the season is out and Dragila and Feofanova are likely to trade a win or two. gh ps---who's the man going to be?
