Mia Hamm

Mia Hamm is widely recognized as the world's best all-around women's soccer player. At the 1996 Olympic Games, she proved it by leading her team to the gold medal in front of 80,000 screaming fans in Athens, Georgia. Never in history had so many spectators come out to watch a women's sporting event. The Games highlighted female athletes like no other event in modern history, and Hamm inspired people of all ages to go for their dreams. In 1999, the United States took home the women's World Cup championship, with 40 million television viewers in the U.S. alone. Over 650,000 tickets were sold to the tournament, including sellouts at Giants Stadium and the Rose Bowl. There was no stopping Hamm's enormous impact, both on and off the field.

Hamm, who led her University of North Carolina team to four consecutive NCAA championships, is known and admired not only for her athletic ability on the field, but also for her sportsmanship, determination and commitment off it. Her awards and accomplishments only tell part of the story of this remarkable athlete. Hamm gives much of her free time to charitable causes and strives to promote women's athletics, the sport of soccer, and a feeling of confidence and sense of purpose in young people (male or female).

At 15 years old, Hamm was the youngest player ever to play for the U.S. National Team, and she has been a member ever since. The team won the World Championships in 1991, Hamm's second year on the team, as well as another Olympic gold medal in 2004. Her records in appearances and goals, MVP awards and overall performance put her at the top of the sport. She was U.S. Soccer's Female Athlete of the Year for five consecutive years. Hamm is a pioneer in her sport and a role model for athletes and fans alike who believe in equal opportunity, Title IX legislation and the love of the game.

Mia Hamm does not directly or indirectly endorse Mannington Mills, Inc. or its products or services.

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