Usain Bolt is the fastest man on earth, but he's far from the only runner to have brought Olympic track and field fans to their feet. Take a look at 10 Americans who made track and field history at the summer games.

American Jesse Owens surprised many Olympic fans at 1936 Olympic Games by winning four gold medals — and stunning Hitler, who refused to shake the athlete's hand after his wins. Owens' record performance wasn't bested until 1984 when American Carl Lewis won gold medals in the same four events at the Los Angeles games.

He shattered the world long-jump record in 1968 by nearly two feet with a stunning 8.90-meter leap before a Mexico City crowd. The attempt, obviously, was gold-medal worthy.

He took home gold from Montreal in the decathlon, a competition made up of 10 individual events. Today, he's a reality TV star and stepdad to the Kardashians.

Sporting 4-inch long nails, she won gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100-meter relays in 1988 at the Seoul games. Flo-Jo's legacy as one of the world's fastest women has been dogged by allegations of steroid use.

They won the gold and bronze medals, respectively, in Mexico City. When they stepped onto the podium to accept their medals, they raised their fists in the Black Power salute — a political statement about race turmoil in America.

Fosbury changed the high jump forever when he began leaping backwards over the bar, in what is now known as the "Fosbury Flop." The technique worked so well that Fosbury won gold in Mexico City.

She overcame childhood bouts with polio and scarlet fever to become the first American woman to win three gold medals at one Olympics. The year was 1960; the city was Rome.

He snagged gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, beating out teammate Mike Shine by 800-meters — the largest margin of victory ever in the event.

Benoit won gold for running 26.2 miles at the Los Angeles games, the first to include the women's marathon.

She placed first in the women's 100-meter dash both in Rome and in Mexico City, making her the first athlete to win gold in consecutive Olympics for the same race. In 1968, she wore black shorts in a nod to the Black Power salute by Smith and Carlos.

She was favored to win the women's 3,000-meter race at the 1984 Los Angeles games when she infamously collided with South African runner Zola Budd and collapsed. She injured her hip and couldn't finish the race, but the packed stadium cheered her on anyway.