Evelyn Ashford is a track and field star who dominated the 100m throughout the 80's. Find out more about her and her secret source of power.

Evelyn Ashford is an American Athlete born in 1957 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Raised in a military family, young Evelyn moved a lot until the stars aligned one day and she ended up in Roseville, California. Back in those days (and now), Roseville was primarily known for its long relationship with the railroad. The schools were small and their athletics department had yet to develop a girl's track team. As a result, Evelyn ended up running with the boys.

Well, we all know what happens when a person does something unique, EVERYONE notices her. Whether the fanfare is good or bad, being "noticed" opens up doors. And this is exactly what happened with Evelyn. She won a scholarship to UCLA in 1975 and that led her into the sports profession and a record-breaking run.

It was 1983 and Evelyn wanted only one thing - to beat her rival Marlies Gohr. Marlies Gohr was an East German athlete who had just won the 100 m a few weeks earlier with a time of 10.81 s. It was an astonishing feat and no surprise to anyone since Marlies was a top female runner for years in the 100 m race. Yet, Evelyn knew she could beat her.

As a result, less than a month later, Evelyn crouched at a starting line with one aim in mind - to run the 100 m in less than 10.81 seconds. Either way, as she sprung forward into the race, fire was underneath her feet and she beat Gohr's time. She ran the race in 10.79 s. It was a record breaking run that would go down in history. However, like all people with the name Evelyn, this was not the last time we heard of her.

Evelyn Ashford ran on to more victories in track and field becoming one of the oldest women to ever win an Olympic gold medal. Years later she was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. It was an event that would set her achievements in stone and let everyone across the globe see the power of a such an influential woman athlete.