Lewis Denise

British athlete, winner of a Gold Medal for the heptathlon on 9/24/2000. Although Denise Lewis was quite badly injured after the fifth event, she gritted her teeth and pulled through to achieve an excellent throw in the javelin, and finished the 800m with enough points to win her the gold. Although she had already won double gold at the European and Commonwealth games in 1998, and silver at the World Championships in Seville in 1999, her Olympic win really shot her to fame. With a winning combination of talent, intelligence and looks, Lewis has made amazing strides. Growing up in Wolverhampton in a one-parent family, Denise learned that one works for what one gets. At age 14 she would take a three-hour round trip to Birmingham to be trained by coach Darrell Bunn. "I questioned myself sometimes when I was tired and it rained. I thought "I dont want to do this today," but you rise above it." She is an excellent role model and feels that it is important to show that women can be successful in whatever they try to do. Her autobiography, published in 2001, is an inspiration for those who have the dream – and the determination to follow through. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less