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Foreign athletes

Merlene Ottey

From her native Jamaica to her naturalized Slovenia, Ottey has left her footprints all over the world. But her legend may loom largest in Lincoln, Neb. The sprinter arrived there to attend college in 1979, and what she did in four years at the University of Nebraska remains unprecedented: 14 times a national champion (seven indoor and seven outdoor titles) and 25 times an All-American. Twenty years after she first set foot on campus, Ottey was named the school's top female athlete of the century by the Daily Nebraskan. Her international accomplishments hardly pale: nine Olympic medals and six world championship golds. And good luck slowing her down. In 2010, Ottey anchored Slovenia's 4x100 relay team ... at age 50.