Mia Hamm
Soccer player. Born Mariel Margaret Hamm on March 17, 1972 in Selma, Alabama. Largely considered the best female soccer player in history, Hamm played with the United States women's national soccer team for 17 years, building one of the biggest fan bases of any American ahtlete. She was named FIFA World Player of the Year in both 2001 and 2002.
The daughter of an Air Force pilot, Hamm moved often with her family throughout her childhood and credits her brother, Garrett, for encouraging her in sports. At age 15, she was the youngest soccer player ever to play for the national team. Hamm attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she helped take the team to four consecutive NCAA women's championships.
In 1991, at age 19, she was the youngest teammember in history to win the World Cup. Five years later, Hamm and her teammates, including Michelle Akers, Brandi Chastain and Kristine Lilly, secured the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Athens, Georgia. They would return to win gold again in 2004.
Other accolades include being elected Soccer USA's female athlete of the year five years in a row (1994-1998), MVP of the Women's Cup in 1995 and the winner of three ESPY awards, including Soccer Player of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year. In 2004, she and teammate Michelle Akers were put on FIFA’s list of the 125 greatest living soccer players, the only two women and only two Americans to be named.
In 1999, she founded the Mia Hamm Foundation, which is dedicated to bone marrow research after her brother, Garrett, died of the disease shortly after the 1996 Olympics. Hamm was married to her college sweetheart, Christiaan Corry, from 1994 to 2001.She married professional baseball player Nomar Garciaparra in 2003. After helping her team win gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Hamm retired to start a family.
The daughter of an Air Force pilot, Hamm moved often with her family throughout her childhood and credits her brother, Garrett, for encouraging her in sports. At age 15, she was the youngest soccer player ever to play for the national team. Hamm attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she helped take the team to four consecutive NCAA women's championships.
In 1991, at age 19, she was the youngest teammember in history to win the World Cup. Five years later, Hamm and her teammates, including Michelle Akers, Brandi Chastain and Kristine Lilly, secured the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Athens, Georgia. They would return to win gold again in 2004.
Other accolades include being elected Soccer USA's female athlete of the year five years in a row (1994-1998), MVP of the Women's Cup in 1995 and the winner of three ESPY awards, including Soccer Player of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year. In 2004, she and teammate Michelle Akers were put on FIFA’s list of the 125 greatest living soccer players, the only two women and only two Americans to be named.
In 1999, she founded the Mia Hamm Foundation, which is dedicated to bone marrow research after her brother, Garrett, died of the disease shortly after the 1996 Olympics. Hamm was married to her college sweetheart, Christiaan Corry, from 1994 to 2001.She married professional baseball player Nomar Garciaparra in 2003. After helping her team win gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Hamm retired to start a family.
Hope Solo
Born in 1981, Hope Solo started out her soccer career as a forward on her high school team. She became one of the top goalies in her sport during her college years at the University of Washington. An alternate for the 2004 Olympics, Solo helped the U.S. women's soccer team bring home the gold medal four years later, at the Beijing Olympics. She won the Golden Glove Award at the 2011 World Cup, and competed on Dancing with the Stars that same year. At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London,
Solo won her second consecutive gold medal with the U.S. women's team, in a 2-1 victory against Japan. Nearly 80,300—the largest soccer crowd in Olympics history—watched the match.
Early Career Now known as a gold medal-winning goalie, Hope Solo started out as a forward on the Richland High School soccer team. She scored 109 goals in this position, and was twice named an All-American by Parade magazine. At the University of Washington, Solo moved into the goalkeeper spot for the Washington Huskies.
During her college years, Solo dominated the Pacific-10 conference. She earned NSCAA All-American honors in her last three years, and took home a Hermann Award as a senior. Solo remains her university's all-leader in shutouts and saves.
World Famous Goalie Solo was selected as an alternate for the U.S. Olympic Team in 2004, but she never made it on to the field in Athens. Despite this disappointment, she continued to excel in her sport. Solo became the top goalkeeper the following year, playing 1,054 minutes without permitting an opposing goal.
As a leading member of the U.S. National Team, Solo was irate when her coach decided to bench her during her team's semifinals match against Brazil during the 2007 World Cup. Her team lost the game, and Solo publicly aired her frustration. "It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that. There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves," she told NBC Sports. After this outburst, Solo was let go from the team for the rest of the competition.
Solo was back in fighting form the next year. In 2008, she helped the U.S. Women's Soccer Team win the gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. There, she refused to let her shoulder surgery keep her out of the game for long. In 2011, she helped the U.S. team make it to second place at the World Cup. She won the event's Golden Glove Award for her efforts.
Just before the 2012 Olympics, Solo ran into trouble. She tested positive for a banned substance—a diuretic—and explained that she had taken the medication as part of a pre-menstrual treatment prescribed by her doctor, adding that she didn't know it contained the banned drug. After working with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Solo was given a warning for what she called "an honest mistake," and was cleared to compete at the Olympics. "As someone who believes in clean sport, I am glad to have worked with the USADA to resolve this matter, and I look forward to representing my country," she told NBC Sports.
With that obstacle behind her, Solo was able to focus on her next goal: Winning gold at the 2012 Olympics. "London 2012 is all about winning a medal. Not just any medal, the gold medal," Solo said, according to a Reuters report.
At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, to the roar of nearly 80,300 soccer fans—the largest soccer crowd in Olympics history—Solo won her second consecutive gold medal with the U.S. women's soccer team, in a revengeful, 2-1 victory against Japan. Solo showed no mercy during the match, stopping 12 of the 13 shots she faced against the Japanese women's team. The victory marked the fourth of five Olympic titles won by the American women's squad since women's soccer was first included in the Olympics (1996).
Solo won her second consecutive gold medal with the U.S. women's team, in a 2-1 victory against Japan. Nearly 80,300—the largest soccer crowd in Olympics history—watched the match.
Early Career Now known as a gold medal-winning goalie, Hope Solo started out as a forward on the Richland High School soccer team. She scored 109 goals in this position, and was twice named an All-American by Parade magazine. At the University of Washington, Solo moved into the goalkeeper spot for the Washington Huskies.
During her college years, Solo dominated the Pacific-10 conference. She earned NSCAA All-American honors in her last three years, and took home a Hermann Award as a senior. Solo remains her university's all-leader in shutouts and saves.
World Famous Goalie Solo was selected as an alternate for the U.S. Olympic Team in 2004, but she never made it on to the field in Athens. Despite this disappointment, she continued to excel in her sport. Solo became the top goalkeeper the following year, playing 1,054 minutes without permitting an opposing goal.
As a leading member of the U.S. National Team, Solo was irate when her coach decided to bench her during her team's semifinals match against Brazil during the 2007 World Cup. Her team lost the game, and Solo publicly aired her frustration. "It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that. There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves," she told NBC Sports. After this outburst, Solo was let go from the team for the rest of the competition.
Solo was back in fighting form the next year. In 2008, she helped the U.S. Women's Soccer Team win the gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. There, she refused to let her shoulder surgery keep her out of the game for long. In 2011, she helped the U.S. team make it to second place at the World Cup. She won the event's Golden Glove Award for her efforts.
Just before the 2012 Olympics, Solo ran into trouble. She tested positive for a banned substance—a diuretic—and explained that she had taken the medication as part of a pre-menstrual treatment prescribed by her doctor, adding that she didn't know it contained the banned drug. After working with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Solo was given a warning for what she called "an honest mistake," and was cleared to compete at the Olympics. "As someone who believes in clean sport, I am glad to have worked with the USADA to resolve this matter, and I look forward to representing my country," she told NBC Sports.
With that obstacle behind her, Solo was able to focus on her next goal: Winning gold at the 2012 Olympics. "London 2012 is all about winning a medal. Not just any medal, the gold medal," Solo said, according to a Reuters report.
At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, to the roar of nearly 80,300 soccer fans—the largest soccer crowd in Olympics history—Solo won her second consecutive gold medal with the U.S. women's soccer team, in a revengeful, 2-1 victory against Japan. Solo showed no mercy during the match, stopping 12 of the 13 shots she faced against the Japanese women's team. The victory marked the fourth of five Olympic titles won by the American women's squad since women's soccer was first included in the Olympics (1996).
Alex Morgan
In 2009, Alex Morgan became the youngest member of the U.S. women's national soccer team, and competed in the 2011 FIFA World Cup. She was the first overall pick in the 2011 Women's Professional Soccer draft, and landed a spot on the U.S. Olympic women's soccer team in 2012. At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, held in London, Morgan won her first Olympic medal, a gold, with the American team. The team beat Japan, 2-1, in a match watched by nearly 80,300—the largest soccer crowd in Olympics history.
Early Life Alex Morgan was a multisport athlete growing up, but she didn't start playing organized soccer until she was 14 years old. She attended Diamond Bar High School, where she was a three-time all-league pick and was named an NSCAA All-American. After high school, Morgan went to the University of California at Berkeley, where she led the Golden Bears to the NCAA Tournament in each of her four years (and to the second round twice). In 2008, she helped the United States get to the championship of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, scoring the winning goal in the final against North Korea—named the Goal of the Tournament and second-best Goal of the Year by FIFA.
At the end of her Berkeley career, in the fall of 2010, she was tied for third on the school’s list of all-time scorers, with 45 goals, and she was third in points (107). (She missed numerous Berkeley games in her senior year to play games for the national team, or she likely would have finished at number one on both lists.) She was named to the All-Pac-10 team four times and was a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention selection.
Olympic Medalist In 2011, Alex Morgan was drafted first overall in the 2011 Women's Professional Soccer draft by the Western New York Flash. That same year, she was on the U.S. women's national team in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. The youngest player on the team, she scored her first World Cup goal in the semifinal match against France, and the team went on to the finals (only to lose to Japan in a shootout).
Once the WPS league suspended play at the end of the 2011 season, Morgan joined the Seattle Sounders Women of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, along with other U.S. national team members like Hope Solo, Sydney Leroux, Stephanie Cox and Megan Rapinoe.
In 2012, Morgan landed a spot on the U.S. Olympic women's soccer team. At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, held in London, Morgan won her first Olympic medal, a gold, with the American team. The team beat Japan, 2-1, in a revengeful match watched by nearly 80,300—the largest soccer crowd in Olympics history. The victory marked the fourth of five Olympic titles won by the American women's squad since women's soccer was first included in the Olympics (1996).
Early Life Alex Morgan was a multisport athlete growing up, but she didn't start playing organized soccer until she was 14 years old. She attended Diamond Bar High School, where she was a three-time all-league pick and was named an NSCAA All-American. After high school, Morgan went to the University of California at Berkeley, where she led the Golden Bears to the NCAA Tournament in each of her four years (and to the second round twice). In 2008, she helped the United States get to the championship of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, scoring the winning goal in the final against North Korea—named the Goal of the Tournament and second-best Goal of the Year by FIFA.
At the end of her Berkeley career, in the fall of 2010, she was tied for third on the school’s list of all-time scorers, with 45 goals, and she was third in points (107). (She missed numerous Berkeley games in her senior year to play games for the national team, or she likely would have finished at number one on both lists.) She was named to the All-Pac-10 team four times and was a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention selection.
Olympic Medalist In 2011, Alex Morgan was drafted first overall in the 2011 Women's Professional Soccer draft by the Western New York Flash. That same year, she was on the U.S. women's national team in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. The youngest player on the team, she scored her first World Cup goal in the semifinal match against France, and the team went on to the finals (only to lose to Japan in a shootout).
Once the WPS league suspended play at the end of the 2011 season, Morgan joined the Seattle Sounders Women of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, along with other U.S. national team members like Hope Solo, Sydney Leroux, Stephanie Cox and Megan Rapinoe.
In 2012, Morgan landed a spot on the U.S. Olympic women's soccer team. At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, held in London, Morgan won her first Olympic medal, a gold, with the American team. The team beat Japan, 2-1, in a revengeful match watched by nearly 80,300—the largest soccer crowd in Olympics history. The victory marked the fourth of five Olympic titles won by the American women's squad since women's soccer was first included in the Olympics (1996).