- Eric Heiden
Eric Arthur Heiden (born June 14 1958 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American former long track speed skater who won all the men's speed skating races, and thus an unprecedented five gold medals, and set 4 Olympic records and 1 world record at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Heiden is an icon in the speedskating community and, in particular, in Europe where the sport is highly regarded. - Florence Griffith-Joyner
Florence Griffith-Joyner (born Delorez Florence Griffith), also known as Flo-Jo (December 21, 1959 - September 21, 1998) was an American track and field athlete. She is best known for her media flamboyance and setting World Records in the 100 m and 200 m, which still stand as of 2007. Her career was dogged by allegations of drug use, which was speculated to have caused her premature death. - Bill Walton
William Theodore Walton III, better known as Bill Walton (born November 5 1952), is a former American basketball player and current television sportscaster. He is the father of current Los Angeles Lakers player Luke Walton. Walton was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on May 10, 1993. - Michael Johnson
Michael Duane Johnson (born September 13, 1967) is a retired American sprinter who holds world records in the 200 m, 400 m and 4 x 400 m relay (2:54.20, as part of the USA team). He also has run the fastest 300 m ever, an event not recognized by the IAAF. He won five Olympic gold medals and was a world champion nine times. He is the only man to win both the 200 m and 400 m races at the same Olympics, accomplishing the feat at the 1996 Summer Olympics, … - John Smith
John W. Smith (born August 9, 1965) was a successful amateur wrestler and is currently the head coach of wrestling at Oklahoma State University. - Michelle Kwan
Michelle Wing Kwan is an American figure skater and media celebrity who has won nine U.S. championships, five world championships, and two Olympic medals. She has remained competitive for over a decade and is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history. Known for her consistency and expressive artistry on ice, she is widely considered to be one of the greatest figure skaters of all time despite having never won an Olympic gold medal. - Janet Evans
Janet Elizabeth Evans (born August 28, 1971) is a record-breaking American competitive swimmer. Born in Placentia, California, Evans started competitive swimming as a child. By the age of 11 she was setting National Age Group records in the longer events. She is remembered as a legend at the high school she attended, El Dorado High School. In 1987, she broke the world records in the 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events. - Rafer Johnson
Rafer Lewis Johnson (born August 18, 1935) is a former American decathlete. Johnson was born in Hillsboro, Texas, but moved to Kingsburg, California at age 9. In high school, he played on the school's football, baseball and basketball teams. As a versatile athlete, he was attracted to the decathlon after seeing double Olympic Champion Bob Mathias compete and told his coach "I could have beaten most of those guys in that meet". He competed in his first meet in 1954, … - Bonnie Blair
Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964 in Cornwall, New York) is a retired American speedskater. One of the top female skaters of her time, and one of the most decorated female athletes in Olympic history, Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, and in her Olympic career won five gold medals and one bronze medal. Blair was raised in Champaign, Illinois. After graduation from Centennial High School in Champaign, … - J. J. Redick
Jonathan Clay "J.J." Redick (born June 24, 1984 in Cookeville, Tennessee) is an American professional basketball player at the shooting guard position. He was selected 11th overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2006 NBA Draft. In his collegiate years, Redick played for Duke University and became the Atlantic Coast Conference's all-time leading scorer. His jersey number, 4, was retired on February 4, 2007. - Dan Jansen
Daniel Erwin "Dan" Jansen (born June 17, 1965 in West Allis, Wisconsin, United States) is a former speed skater, best known for winning a gold medal in his final Olympic race after suffering through years of heartbreak. Inspired by his sister Jane, Dan Jansen took up speedskating while growing up in Wisconsin. He set a junior world record in the 500 meter race at the age of sixteen, … - Paul Hamm
Paul Elbert Hamm (born September 24, 1982 in Waukesha, Wisconsin) is a US gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. - Dick Button
Richard Totten "Dick" Button (born July 18, 1929 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American former figure skater and a well-known long-time skating television analyst. - Kurt Thomas
Kurt Bilteaux Thomas (born March 29, 1956 in Miami, Florida) is an American Olympic gymnast. While at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana, Thomas became a member of the US Olympic team at the 1976 Summer Olympics. In 1978, Thomas was the first American male gymnast to win a gold medal in floor exercise in a world championship. - Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jackie Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American athlete, ranked amongst the all-time greatest heptathletes. She won three gold, one silver and two bronze Olympic medals. Named after Jackie Kennedy, she currently lives in East St. Louis, Illinois. Joyner-Kersee was the first woman to score over 7,000 points in a heptathlon event (during the 1986 Goodwill Games). - Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985 in Towson, Maryland) is an American swimmer and World Record Holder in several events. Phelps' achievements include a record of eight medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, six of which were gold, tying the Olympic record for medals at single Olympics, held by Alexander Dityatin since 1980. His international titles, along with his various world records, … - Mark Spitz
Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950, in Modesto, California) is an American swimmer. He holds the record for most gold medals won in a single Olympic Games (seven), which he set at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Between 1965 and 1972, Spitz won 9 Olympic gold medals, 1 silver, and 1 bronze; 5 Pan American golds; 31 National U.S. Amateur Athletic Union titles; and 8 U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. - Bob Mathias
Robert Bruce Mathias (November 17 1930 - September 2 2006) was an American decathlete, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and United States Congressman. - Edwin Moses
Edwin Corley Moses (born in Dayton, Ohio August 31, 1955) is an American track and field athlete who won gold medals in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Between 1977 and 1987, Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races). He set the world record in his event four times. In addition to his running, Moses was also an innovative reformer in the areas of Olympic eligibility and drug testing. - Chamique Holdsclaw
Chamique Shaunta Holdsclaw (born August 9, 1977 in Astoria, Queens, New York) is a former professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She announced her retirement from the Los Angeles Sparks on June 11, 2007. - Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton ("Carl") Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is a retired American track and field athlete who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 golds, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were golds, in a career that spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and subsequently retired. He currently lives in Los Angeles and is pursuing an acting career. - Frank Shorter
Frank Shorter (born October 31, 1947) is an American distance runner and winner of the marathon race at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Born in Munich, Germany, where his father, physician Samuel Shorter, served in the army, Frank Shorter grew up in Middletown, New York and attended and graduated from Mount Hermon School and Yale University. - Sammy Lee
Dr. Sammy Lee (born August 1, 1920 in Fresno, California) is the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States and the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in Olympic platform diving. Lee also won a bronze medal in springboard diving in the 1948 games. He went on to coach Olympic divers including Pat McCormick, Bob Webster, and Greg Louganis. He is a member of the US Olympic Hall of Fame. - Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise. He is the son of former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning and Olivia Manning. He is the older brother of current New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and the younger brother of former Ole Miss receiver Cooper Manning, whose college career was cut short by spinal stenosis. - Harrison Dillard
William Harrison Dillard (born July 8, 1923) is an American athlete, the only male so far to win Olympic titles in both sprinting and hurdling events. Harrison Dillard, born in Cleveland, Ohio, after serving in the army duty during World War II, returned to college, joined Pi Lambda Phi International Fraternity, and resumed athletics, to which he had been inspired by Jesse Owens, who was also from Cleveland and attended East Technical High School as well. - Joan Benoit
Joan Benoit Samuelson (born May 16, 1957) is an American former marathon runner who won gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the year that the women's marathon was introduced. As a result she was the first ever women's Olympic marathon champion. - John Naber
John Phillips Naber (born January 20, 1956 in Evanston, Illinois) is a swimmer from the United States. He won four gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, each in world-record time. He won the James E. Sullivan Award, given to America's top amateur athlete, in 1977. - Rulon Gardner
Rulon Gardner (born August 16, 1971 in Afton, Wyoming) is an amateur wrestler in the Greco-Roman discipline from the United States. His strength is often attributed to the physical labor on the dairy farm he grew up on. He graduated from Ricks College (BYU-Idaho) with an Associates Degree and the University of Nebraska. He has his teaching credentials in Physical Education, yet he has never taught in the classroom. - John B. Kelly Jr.
John Brenden Kelly, Jr. (born May 24, 1927 in Philadelphia - died May 2, 1985 in Philadelphia), also known as Kell Kelly or Jack Kelly, was an accomplished oarsman, a four-time Olympian, and an Olympic medal winner. He was also the son of triple Olympic gold medal winner John B. Kelly, Sr. In 1947, Kelly was awarded the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. - Wilma Rudolph
Wilma Glodean Rudolph (June 23 1940 - November 12 1994) was an American athlete, and in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympic Games, despite running on a sprained ankle. The powerful sprinter emerged from the 1960 Rome Olympics as "The Tennessee Tornado," the fastest woman on earth. - Jim Abbott
James Anthony Abbott (born September 19, 1967), is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the California Angels, the New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox, and the Milwaukee Brewers, from 1989 to 1998. Abbott is best known for playing despite having no right hand. He graduated from Flint Central High School and grew up in the East Village area of Flint, MI. While with the University of Michigan, … - Sarah Hughes
Sarah Elizabeth Hughes (born May 2, 1985 in Great Neck, New York) is an American figure skater. She is the 2002 Olympic gold medalist. - Mike Powell
Michael ("Mike") Anthony Powell is an American Track and Field athlete, and the holder of the long jump world record. Mike Powell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 1991 World Championships in Athletics (Tokyo), he broke Bob Beamon's 23-year-old long jump world record by 5 cm (2 inches), leaping 8.95 m (29 ft 4½ in). The world record still stands. - Don Budge
John Donald ("Don") Budge (June 13 1915 - January 26 2000) was an American tennis champion who was a World No. 1 player for 5 years, first as an amateur and then as a professional. He is most famous as the first man to win in a single year the four tournaments that compose the Grand Slam of tennis. Budge was considered to have the best backhand in the history of tennis, at least until the emergence of Ken Rosewall in the 1950s and '60s. - Don Lash
Donald Ray Lash (August 15, 1912 - September 19, 1994) was an American long-distance runner who won 12 national titles from 1934 to 1940, including seven consecutive men's national cross-country championships, and who set a world's record for the two-mile run in 1936. Born in Bluffton, Indiana, Lash grew up in Auburn, Indiana, where he graduated from high school in 1933 after setting a new Indiana state record of 4:30.5 for the indoor mile. - Coco Miller
Colleen Mary “Coco” Miller is a professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is the identical twin sister of fellow WNBA player Kelly Miller. - Charlie Ward
Charlie Ward (born October 12, 1970 in Thomasville, Georgia) is an American football, basketball, and baseball player. Ward won the 1993 Heisman Trophy as a quarterback for Florida State University, and subsequently led the Seminoles to their first-ever National Championship when FSU defeated Nebraska 18-16 in the 1994 Orange Bowl. The Seminoles had suffered their only defeat of the season to a second-ranked Notre Dame team, … - Horace Ashenfelter
Horace Ashenfelter, III (born January 23, 1923 in Collegeville, Pennsylvania) was an American athlete. He competed in international athletics from 1947 to 1956 after service in World War II and the completion of his degree at Penn State. Ashenfelter was one of America's finest runners during his career but he was outpaced by many international performers. During his career he won 15 national AAU titles and three collegiate national titles. - Jessica Long
Jessica Long was adopted by an American couple from Baltimore, Maryland at the age of 13 months. Because of lower leg anomalies, her legs were amputated when she was 18 months old. Jessica Long was involved in many sports including gymnastics, basketball, cheerleading, ice skating, biking, trampoline, sking, and swimming. She began swimming in her grandparents’ pool before joining her first competitive team in 2002. - Kelly Miller
Kelly Miller (born September 6, 1978 in Rochester, Minnesota) is a professional basketball player for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is the identical twin sister of fellow WNBA player Coco Miller.
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