FantasticFacts AboutUnited States Sports
Did You Know...
Bruce Jenner was one of the greatest athletes in the 1970s.
He won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
Unlike most world-class decathletes, he did not train with American decathletes.
He told a reporter:"If you train with a decathlon man, you can´t visualize that you can do much better.
But If you throw the discus with Mac Wilkins or throw the shot with Al Feuerbach, then they're wenty feet ahead of me.
You learn much more that away".
He was born on October 28, 1949 in Mount Kisco, New York.
This Olympic countryhas many sports icons: David Juarez (cycling/ California), James ("Jim") Ray Hines (athletics /Arkansas), Kurt Bilteaux Thomas (gymnastics/ Florida), Tiger Woods (golf/ California), Jim Thorpe/Oklahoma), Babe Ruth (baseball/ Maryland), Bob Cousy (basketball/ New York), Jesse Owens (track & field/ Alabama), Ricardo Juarez (boxing/ Texas), Michael Spinks (boxing/ Missouri), Edwin Moses (track & field/ Ohio), Rulon Gardner (wrestling/ Wyoming), Brett Favre (American football/ Mississippi), Lance Armstrong (cycling/ Texas), Duke Kahanamoku (swimming/ Hawaii), Carl Lewis (track & field /Alabama), Wilma Glodean Rudolph (athletics/ Tennessee), Larry Joe Bird (basketball/ Indiana) John Constantine "Johnny" Unitas (American football/ Pennsylvania), Michael Jordan (basketball/ New York), Billie Jean King (tennis/ California), Denton True "Cy" Young (baseball/ Ohio), Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson Zaharias (golf & athletics/ Texas), Richard Douglas ("Dick") Fosbury (athletics/ Oregon), Bob Beamon (track & field/ New York), Mark Andrew Spitz (swimming/ California), Pete Sampras (tennis/ Washington, D.
C) and Tony Azevedo (water polo/ California).
Mebrahtom Keflezighi won the silver medal in the marathon at the 2004 Olympic Games held in Athens (Greece).
Born in Eritrea -an African nation devastated by poverty-, he became an American citizen in 1998.
From 1979 to 1998, Tom Tellez was one of the best coaches in the world.
Acording to Dennis Darling: "He is one of the greatest coaches in the history of track and field.
He's been here a long time, and he sacrificed a lot to coach us.
He loves the sport, and he wanted to go out on a good note and he did that.
" Tom Tellez was head coach for the 1991 American national team that competed in the World Track & Field Championships in Japan.
Frederick Carlton Lewis ("Athlete of the 20th Century "), Frank Rutherford, Leroy Burrell , Joe DeLoach , Dwight Stones,James Butts, Mike Tully and Willy Banks were coached by Tellez.
He retired from the sport in May 1998.
Tellez once said: "I've devoted most of my life, over 40 years, to coaching.
It's been more than a job.
It's been something I loved.
"He was born in Puerto Rico.
The USA has many foreign-born athletes: Rami Zur (canoeing/ Israel), Jasna Reed (table tennis/ Yugoslavia), Dikembe Mutombo(basketball/ Democratic Republic of the Congo), Gao Jun Chang (table tennis/ China), Hakeem Olajuwon (basketball/ Nigeria), Jorge Zamora (chess/ Honduras), Arturo Barrios (track & field/ Mexico), Ruth Nortje (kayak/ South Africa), Freddy Adu (soccer/ Ghana), Jaime Nieto (track & field/ Dominican Republic), Maria Trujillo (athletics/ Mexico), Patrick Ewing (basketball/ Jamaica), Lenny Krayzelburg (swimming/ Ukraine), Sanya Richards (track & field/ Jamaica) and Abdihakem Abdiram (athletics/ Somalia).
This North American country sent 194 sportswomen to the Olympics in 1984.
The U.
S.
delegation had female athletes competing in 15 sports : archery (3), athletics(47), basketball (12), kayak (4), cycling (4), equestrian (8), fencing (5), gymnastics (8), handball (15), field hockey (16), rowing (25), shooting (6), swimming (25), tennis (4) and volleyball (12).
James Gilkes was trained by American coaches.
From 1975 to 1990, he was the most famous sportspeople in the Republic Socialist of Guyana (South America).
This country won 174 medals at the 1984 Olympic Games.
These Olympics were the most successful in the history of the United States.
The United States has more Olympic stadiums than any other city in the world.
The Bolivian women`s basketball team was coached by Paul Gonzalez, who was born in the United States.
For the first time, Bolivia won the gold medal in the basketball in the Bolivarian Games in 1977.
The USA has famous sportswomen: Evelyn Ashford (athletics/ Olympic gold medalist, 1984), Gail Devers (track & field/ Olympic gold medalist, 1992 and 1996), Teresa Edwards (basketball/ Olympic gold medalist, 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000), Janet Evans (swimming/ Olympic gold medalist, 1988 and 1992), Mia Hamm (soccer/ Olympic gold medalist, 1996 and 2004), Mary Lou Retton (gymnastics/ Olympic gold medalist, 1984), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (track & field/ Olympic gold medalist, 1988 and 1992), Nancy Johnson ( shooting/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000), Tara Nott (weightlifting/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000), Kim Rhode (shooting/ Olympic gold medalist, 1996 and 2004), Tara Lipinski (skating/ Olympic gold medalist, 1998) and Kerry Walsh (beach volleyball/ Olympic gold medalist, 2004) and Mariel Zagunis (fencing/ Olympic gold medalist, 2004).
Tony Azevedo has Brazilian origin.
This sportsman was born on November 21, 1981 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
He resides in Long Beach, California.
Considered by many swimming experts to be the most versatile American water polo player, Azevedo won a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Under his brilliant leadership, the United States defeated the host country 9-3 in the final.
He was member of American Olympic teams in Sydney'2000 and Athens'2004.
This North American country has hosted several Olympics: -The III Summer Olympics in St.
Louis, Missouri -The III Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York -The X Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California -The VIII Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California -The XIII Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York -The XXIII Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California -The XXVI Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia -The XIX Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah Mary Lou Retton was trained by Bela Karolyi, who discovered Nadia Comaneci, one of the best gymnast in the history David "Tinker" Juarez (cyclist) and Ricardo Juarez (boxer) have Mexican ancestry.
David won a gold medal at the 1995 Pan American Games in Argentina.
The American team won 13 gold medals at the 1982 FINA World Championship in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
The world champions were: Tracy Ruiz, Megan Neyer, Greg Louganis, Steve Lundquist, Matt Gribbe, Andrew Gaines, Rick Carey, Mary Meagher and Kimberley Linehan.
In the 1980s, the Women`s Sports Fundation established the Flora Hyman Trophy to the sportswoman who has exemplified Hyman's "dignity, spirit and commitment to excellence.
"Who was Flora "Flo" Hyman? She was one of the greatest volleyball players in the history of the game.
Flora Jean Hyman loved her sport with a great passion.
She once said: "You're only young once, and you can only do this once" In 1973, Flora played for the United States for the firs time.
After that she played for her country many times and in 1978 she was one of the best blockers at the World Championship in the USSR.
According to sportswriter Nancy Foley ,"Hyman was known for her awe-inspiring spiking abilities, her equally strong defensive skills, and her personal integrity and charisma".
Certainly, she had many fans at the World Championships in Lima, Peru.
Her teammate Rita Crockett said, "There has been nobody even to compare to her.
Even to this day I've never seen anyone better.
"She was the perfect role model.
She was an ideal person, not just in sports, but in everything.
" Furthermore, Arie Selinger -one of the best coaches in the world- called her "The Goddess of Volleyball.
" Date birth: July 31, 1954 Date died: January 24, 1986 Place birth: Inglewood, California Education: University of Texas Olympic teammates: Rose Magers, Rita Crockett, Carolyn Becker and Paula Weishoff Coaches: Park Moo (1973-1975) and Arie Selinger (1975-1984) Performance: 1973:Summer Universiade 1974:World Championship-12th place 1975: NORCECA Tournament-2nd place; Pan American Games-6th place 1976: Pre-Olympic Tournament 1977: NORCECA Tournament-2nd place; World Cup-7th place; Summer Universiade 1978: World Championship-5th place 1979: NORCECA Tournament-2nd place; Pan American Games-4th place 1980: USA qualified for the Olympic Games (it did not participate) 1981: World Cup-4th place; NORCECA Tournament-1st place 1982: World Championship-3rd place 1983: NORCECA Tournament-1st place; Pan American Games-2nd place 1984: Olympic Games-2nd place
Bruce Jenner was one of the greatest athletes in the 1970s.
He won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
Unlike most world-class decathletes, he did not train with American decathletes.
He told a reporter:"If you train with a decathlon man, you can´t visualize that you can do much better.
But If you throw the discus with Mac Wilkins or throw the shot with Al Feuerbach, then they're wenty feet ahead of me.
You learn much more that away".
He was born on October 28, 1949 in Mount Kisco, New York.
This Olympic countryhas many sports icons: David Juarez (cycling/ California), James ("Jim") Ray Hines (athletics /Arkansas), Kurt Bilteaux Thomas (gymnastics/ Florida), Tiger Woods (golf/ California), Jim Thorpe/Oklahoma), Babe Ruth (baseball/ Maryland), Bob Cousy (basketball/ New York), Jesse Owens (track & field/ Alabama), Ricardo Juarez (boxing/ Texas), Michael Spinks (boxing/ Missouri), Edwin Moses (track & field/ Ohio), Rulon Gardner (wrestling/ Wyoming), Brett Favre (American football/ Mississippi), Lance Armstrong (cycling/ Texas), Duke Kahanamoku (swimming/ Hawaii), Carl Lewis (track & field /Alabama), Wilma Glodean Rudolph (athletics/ Tennessee), Larry Joe Bird (basketball/ Indiana) John Constantine "Johnny" Unitas (American football/ Pennsylvania), Michael Jordan (basketball/ New York), Billie Jean King (tennis/ California), Denton True "Cy" Young (baseball/ Ohio), Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson Zaharias (golf & athletics/ Texas), Richard Douglas ("Dick") Fosbury (athletics/ Oregon), Bob Beamon (track & field/ New York), Mark Andrew Spitz (swimming/ California), Pete Sampras (tennis/ Washington, D.
C) and Tony Azevedo (water polo/ California).
Mebrahtom Keflezighi won the silver medal in the marathon at the 2004 Olympic Games held in Athens (Greece).
Born in Eritrea -an African nation devastated by poverty-, he became an American citizen in 1998.
From 1979 to 1998, Tom Tellez was one of the best coaches in the world.
Acording to Dennis Darling: "He is one of the greatest coaches in the history of track and field.
He's been here a long time, and he sacrificed a lot to coach us.
He loves the sport, and he wanted to go out on a good note and he did that.
" Tom Tellez was head coach for the 1991 American national team that competed in the World Track & Field Championships in Japan.
Frederick Carlton Lewis ("Athlete of the 20th Century "), Frank Rutherford, Leroy Burrell , Joe DeLoach , Dwight Stones,James Butts, Mike Tully and Willy Banks were coached by Tellez.
He retired from the sport in May 1998.
Tellez once said: "I've devoted most of my life, over 40 years, to coaching.
It's been more than a job.
It's been something I loved.
"He was born in Puerto Rico.
The USA has many foreign-born athletes: Rami Zur (canoeing/ Israel), Jasna Reed (table tennis/ Yugoslavia), Dikembe Mutombo(basketball/ Democratic Republic of the Congo), Gao Jun Chang (table tennis/ China), Hakeem Olajuwon (basketball/ Nigeria), Jorge Zamora (chess/ Honduras), Arturo Barrios (track & field/ Mexico), Ruth Nortje (kayak/ South Africa), Freddy Adu (soccer/ Ghana), Jaime Nieto (track & field/ Dominican Republic), Maria Trujillo (athletics/ Mexico), Patrick Ewing (basketball/ Jamaica), Lenny Krayzelburg (swimming/ Ukraine), Sanya Richards (track & field/ Jamaica) and Abdihakem Abdiram (athletics/ Somalia).
This North American country sent 194 sportswomen to the Olympics in 1984.
The U.
S.
delegation had female athletes competing in 15 sports : archery (3), athletics(47), basketball (12), kayak (4), cycling (4), equestrian (8), fencing (5), gymnastics (8), handball (15), field hockey (16), rowing (25), shooting (6), swimming (25), tennis (4) and volleyball (12).
James Gilkes was trained by American coaches.
From 1975 to 1990, he was the most famous sportspeople in the Republic Socialist of Guyana (South America).
This country won 174 medals at the 1984 Olympic Games.
These Olympics were the most successful in the history of the United States.
The United States has more Olympic stadiums than any other city in the world.
The Bolivian women`s basketball team was coached by Paul Gonzalez, who was born in the United States.
For the first time, Bolivia won the gold medal in the basketball in the Bolivarian Games in 1977.
The USA has famous sportswomen: Evelyn Ashford (athletics/ Olympic gold medalist, 1984), Gail Devers (track & field/ Olympic gold medalist, 1992 and 1996), Teresa Edwards (basketball/ Olympic gold medalist, 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000), Janet Evans (swimming/ Olympic gold medalist, 1988 and 1992), Mia Hamm (soccer/ Olympic gold medalist, 1996 and 2004), Mary Lou Retton (gymnastics/ Olympic gold medalist, 1984), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (track & field/ Olympic gold medalist, 1988 and 1992), Nancy Johnson ( shooting/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000), Tara Nott (weightlifting/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000), Kim Rhode (shooting/ Olympic gold medalist, 1996 and 2004), Tara Lipinski (skating/ Olympic gold medalist, 1998) and Kerry Walsh (beach volleyball/ Olympic gold medalist, 2004) and Mariel Zagunis (fencing/ Olympic gold medalist, 2004).
Tony Azevedo has Brazilian origin.
This sportsman was born on November 21, 1981 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
He resides in Long Beach, California.
Considered by many swimming experts to be the most versatile American water polo player, Azevedo won a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Under his brilliant leadership, the United States defeated the host country 9-3 in the final.
He was member of American Olympic teams in Sydney'2000 and Athens'2004.
This North American country has hosted several Olympics: -The III Summer Olympics in St.
Louis, Missouri -The III Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York -The X Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California -The VIII Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California -The XIII Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York -The XXIII Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California -The XXVI Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia -The XIX Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah Mary Lou Retton was trained by Bela Karolyi, who discovered Nadia Comaneci, one of the best gymnast in the history David "Tinker" Juarez (cyclist) and Ricardo Juarez (boxer) have Mexican ancestry.
David won a gold medal at the 1995 Pan American Games in Argentina.
The American team won 13 gold medals at the 1982 FINA World Championship in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
The world champions were: Tracy Ruiz, Megan Neyer, Greg Louganis, Steve Lundquist, Matt Gribbe, Andrew Gaines, Rick Carey, Mary Meagher and Kimberley Linehan.
In the 1980s, the Women`s Sports Fundation established the Flora Hyman Trophy to the sportswoman who has exemplified Hyman's "dignity, spirit and commitment to excellence.
"Who was Flora "Flo" Hyman? She was one of the greatest volleyball players in the history of the game.
Flora Jean Hyman loved her sport with a great passion.
She once said: "You're only young once, and you can only do this once" In 1973, Flora played for the United States for the firs time.
After that she played for her country many times and in 1978 she was one of the best blockers at the World Championship in the USSR.
According to sportswriter Nancy Foley ,"Hyman was known for her awe-inspiring spiking abilities, her equally strong defensive skills, and her personal integrity and charisma".
Certainly, she had many fans at the World Championships in Lima, Peru.
Her teammate Rita Crockett said, "There has been nobody even to compare to her.
Even to this day I've never seen anyone better.
"She was the perfect role model.
She was an ideal person, not just in sports, but in everything.
" Furthermore, Arie Selinger -one of the best coaches in the world- called her "The Goddess of Volleyball.
" Date birth: July 31, 1954 Date died: January 24, 1986 Place birth: Inglewood, California Education: University of Texas Olympic teammates: Rose Magers, Rita Crockett, Carolyn Becker and Paula Weishoff Coaches: Park Moo (1973-1975) and Arie Selinger (1975-1984) Performance: 1973:Summer Universiade 1974:World Championship-12th place 1975: NORCECA Tournament-2nd place; Pan American Games-6th place 1976: Pre-Olympic Tournament 1977: NORCECA Tournament-2nd place; World Cup-7th place; Summer Universiade 1978: World Championship-5th place 1979: NORCECA Tournament-2nd place; Pan American Games-4th place 1980: USA qualified for the Olympic Games (it did not participate) 1981: World Cup-4th place; NORCECA Tournament-1st place 1982: World Championship-3rd place 1983: NORCECA Tournament-1st place; Pan American Games-2nd place 1984: Olympic Games-2nd place
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