Mia Hamm is regarded by many as perhaps one of — or the most important — athlete in the last 15 years for her achievements in soccer. Ironically, she was born with a club foot and had to wear corrective shoes as a toddler. Her father was her first soccer coach, and she would excel on the boys’ soccer team in school.
She grew up to become a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a ground-breaking athlete. She became an icon of the sport and the face of WUSA (Women’s United Soccer Association). She is an author, a co-owner of Los Angeles FC, and a world ambassador for FC Barcelona.
Jean-Claude Killy
Jean-Claude Killy’s family was forced to relocate to the Alps during the Second World War. They kept a simple life up in the ranges, where his father opened a ski shop. Jean-Claude dropped out of school to help his father and started to learn how to ski rather easily and quickly, with all the time in the world as a teen.
He became a dominant alpine ski racer, winning three golds at the 1968 Winter Olympics. He followed that up with two world championships, making him a force in the sport in the 1960s. Retired, he is famous for his close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rulon Gardner
Rulon Gardner is an American retired Greco-Roman wrestler who has won a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics. He competed again in 2004 and won the bronze medal, but outside competition, he has had to endure more difficult trials, including falling into a freezing river with his snowmobile. This was in 2002, and he lost the middle toe in his right foot due to severe frostbite, but he bounced back as an athlete.
He suffered from a learning disability as a kid, and he shares his stories with people as a motivational speaker. He survived a plane crash in 2007 unharmed. He joined the reality TV show Biggest Loser in 2011, after which he lost over 170 lbs, but quit the contest for personal reasons.
Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt is a nine-time Olympic gold medalist from Jamaica. He specializes in the 100 m, 200 m, and 4x100 m relay events where he has dominated in three consecutive Olympic games. As if his popularity needed a jolt, he became more famous after setting two world records in double sprint events (100 m, 200 m) in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Usain Bolt is regarded to be the greatest sprinter of all time. Nicknamed the “Lightning Bolt,” he retired after the 2017 World Championships, and now plays football for the Central Coast Mariners in Australia.
Kerri Strug
Kerri Strug held the key to the United States’ winning its first gold medal in the women’s gymnastics team competition during the Olympics. Her sacrifices epitomized what it means to be an ideal Olympian; sacrificing her personal goals for her team’s glory in Atlanta in 1996.
To finally achieve their common dream, Strug gave up the golden opportunity to compete in the Individual All-Around category. She had to be assisted by the “Magnificent Seven” coach, Béla Károlyi from the podium after she landed from the vault routine with an ankle injury. It was an extremely thrilling performance right down to the final rounds where she gracefully braved the pressure. After her sports career, she has since worked as a teacher, a staff assistant in the White House, and a presidential appointee in the office of the Department of Justice.