Willie Gault

It's a�Monday morning at the West Los Angeles College track, and a sprinting pantheon is on display. Hot on the heels of Maurice Greene, the 2000 Olympic 100-meter champion, and Leonard Scott, the '06 world 60-meter champ, zips 46-year-old Willie Gault, a former Tennessee hurdler and member of the 4�100 relay team that set the world record at the '83 world championships. But Gault's best-known moment didn't come on an oval. As a Bears receiver in Super Bowl�XX, he burned the Patriots for 129 yards on four catches in Chicago's 46-10 victory.

Gault has lost a step since his Super Bowl Shuffle days, but not a big one. Last summer at a meet in Indianapolis he ran the 100 in 10.72 seconds, setting a world record in the 45-to-49 age group. Track has always been Gault's first love. "In football you need a quarterback, linemen and plays," says Gault, who spent 11 seasons with the Bears and the Raiders. "In track the gun goes off, and you run. It's a pure individual sport."

When not burning rubber, Gault is running his investment company, IBS Capital, or appearing on the tube. He had recurring roles in The West Wing and The Pretender and is shopping a screenplay--"a cross between Midnight Run and Escape from Alcatraz." About the only thing that has broken his stride has been the death of close friends, including Hall of Famer Reggie White and former Bears safety Todd Bell. "Reggie was my college roommate," says Gault. "Todd died shortly after Reggie. I was blown away." Gault is a spokesman for Signalife, which makes heart monitors that gather data on athletes. "I don't think our bodies are meant to do what we do," Gault says. "We need to learn more about the effect that activity has." His own health remains a high priority. Says Gault, "I don't want to ever need a stunt double."