Other Sports

Famous Sports Stars

Lance Armstrong Biography - Saw His Future In Grueling Race, Coach Tried To Rein Him In, Chronology, Cocky But Unable To Go The Distance - SELECTED WRITINGS BY ARMSTRONG:

1971- American cyclist Cancer was arguably the best thing that ever happened to Lance Armstrong. The world champion cyclist's career can be divided into two distinct periods: pre- and post-cancer. In the first, he was a brash young rider who won by sheer force and drive, but who did so arrogantly and without respect for his sport. After beating the odds and surviving testicular cancer, Arms…

1 minute read

Peter Blake Biography - Raised On The Seashore, A Life At Sea, World Champion Yacht Racer, Chronology, Wins America's Cup—and Keeps It

1948-2001 New Zealander yachtsman Sir Peter Blake, perhaps more than any other sailor, was responsible for changing the public perception of ocean yacht racing from a daring adventure sport practiced by a few foolhardy souls, into an avidly followed professional sport whose top players are internationally acclaimed. Blake first made headlines in 1993, when he set a world record for the fastest cir…

1 minute read

Susan Butcher Biography - Loved Animals, Hated The City, Began Preparing For The Iditarod, A Dangerous Run-in With A Moose - CONTACT INFORMATION

1954- American dogsledder Sled-dog racer Susan Butcher's aversion to civilization and love of dogs drew her from Boston to Alaska when she was twenty years old. The former city girl embraced the Alaskan wilderness, and tested herself against it, as she learned the art of mushing, or driving a sled led by a team of three to twenty dogs. She became one of only two people to win the Iditarod T…

less than 1 minute read

Anita DeFrantz Biography - Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments, Further Information - CONTACT INFORMATION

1952- American athletic administrator In 1986 Anita DeFrantz became the first American woman and first African American to serve on the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Her inclusion was considered groundbreaking in an institution that has been dominated by white men and non-athletes. DeFrantz was a former rower, who first became involved in organized sports when she was in college. She comp…

5 minute read

Vonetta Flowers Biography - Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments, Further Information

1973- American bobsledder Bobsledder Vonetta Flowers was the first African American to earn a gold medal in the Winter Olympics, and did so in her sport's first women's Olympic event. After a lifetime spent chasing the gold in track and field events, Flowers switched her focus to achieve it on the first-ever women's Olympic bobsled team. Flowers was born October 29, 1973, in B…

4 minute read

Lynn Hill Biography - Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments, Further Information - SELECTED WRITINGS BY HILL:

1961- American rock climber World Cup champion Lynn Hill is the best female rock climber in the world, and in the top five overall. In a sport dominated by men, Hill has accomplished feats in climbing that climbers of both genders marvel at. After winning dozens of competitions—against both women and men—Hill retired from competition to pursue climbs in some of the world's mos…

5 minute read

Bruce Jenner - Chronology, Related Biography: Decathlete Daley Thompson, Awards And Accomplishments, Selected Writings By Jenner: - CONTACT INFORMATION

1949- American decathlete Bruce Jenner won a gold medal in the decathlon in the 1976 Olympic Games. He also set a new world record for the decathlon, with 8,176 points. After the Olympics, he used the fame he had won to develop a new career as an entrepreneur, product spokesperson, and motivational speaker. Jenner was born and grew up in Mt. Kisco, New York, the second of four children of William …

9 minute read

Joan Joyce Biography - An Athletic Family, Softball's Brightest Star For Two Decades, Excelled At Other Sports - SELECTED WRITINGS BY JOYCE:

1940- American softball player In August, 1961, a 21 year-old woman stood on a pitching mound facing recently retired baseball great Ted Williams, who positioned himself at the plate with the same competitiveness and determination as he did during his major league career. An over-capacity crowd at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury, Connecticut, cheered as young softball pitcher Joan Joyce hurled one …

less than 1 minute read

Ekaterina Karsten Biography - Quickly Became A National Champion, First Olympic Hero For Belarus, Close Finish, Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments - CONTACT INFORMATION

1972- Belarussian rower Ekaterina Karsten is a champion rower who has won three World Championship medals and three Olympic medals. A native of Belarus, Karsten started competing professionally for the Soviet Union. However, in 1996 she became the first athlete to win an Olympic medal, particularly a gold medal, for the newly independent state of Belarus. Her success in rowing has made her a natio…

1 minute read

Helene Mayer Biography - Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments, Further Information

1910-1953 German fencer Helene Mayer was Germany's only known Jewish member of its Olympic national team in the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin. The fencer competed in what derisively came to be called "Hitler's Games," for German chancellor Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party commandeered this particular Olympiad and refashioned it into a blatant display of nationalist propaga…

5 minute read

David O'Connor Biography - Eventing's New Star, A Custom Made Victory, O'connor Vs. The Wall

1962- American equestrian With a family tradition in the saddle, a wife who is also his teammate, and a barn full of talented horses, equestrian David O'Connor seemed destined for eventing success. A longtime representative for the United States in international competition, O'Connor reached a new peak in 2000 when he took home an individual gold medal at the Olympic summer games in …

less than 1 minute read

Al Oerter Biography - First Olympic Success, Sets World Records, Chronology, Pain And Triumph, The Later Years

1936- American discus thrower One of the great figures in Olympic track and field history, Al Oerter was the first athlete to win gold medals in four consecutive Olympic competitions. Between 1956 and 1968, Oerter dominated the discus event at the Olympics, and he continued to maintain his high level of competition into the 1980s—as he approached his fiftieth birthday and long after he had …

1 minute read

Juan Antonio Samaranch Biography - Born In Barcelona, Elected President Of Ioc, Chronology, Recruits Corporate Sponsors, Guides Ioc To Financial Success - CONTACT INFORMATION, SELECTED WRITINGS BY SAMARANCH:

1920- Spanish athletic administrator In his two decades at the helm of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Juan Antonio Samaranch worked a miraculous transformation, turning what was a largely amateur enterprise into a billion-dollar showcase for the world's finest professional athletes. Sadly, however, when he stepped down as IOC president in July 2001, he left behind an organizatio…

1 minute read

Karen Smyers Biography - Young Swimmer, From Amateur To Full-time Pro, Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments, Iron Woman - CONTACT INFORMATION

1961- American triathlete Endurance athlete Karen Smyers, who has participated in triathlons since 1984, has a never-give-up attitude. A seven-time U.S.A. Triathlon Elite National Champion and winner of both the Hawaiian Ironman World Championship and the International Triathlon Union (ITU) Triathlon World Championship in 1995, Smyers soon afterward became known for her brave battles against injur…

less than 1 minute read

Erik Weihenmayer Biography - Chronology, Further Information - SELECTED WRITINGS BY WEIHENMAYER:

1969- American mountain climber Ninety percent of climbers who attempt Mount Everest—at 29,035 feet, the world's highest mountain—do not make it to the summit. In 2001, Erik Weihenmayer managed to accomplish the grueling and dangerous trek to the "top of the world," making history in the process. Weihenmayer, who suffers from a retina disease, is completely blind…

5 minute read

Deena Wigger Biography - Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments, Further Information

1967- American rifle shooter Deena Wigger is a one-time world record holder in women's air rifle, and was a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic rifle team. In 1983 she won the gold medal at her very first international competition, the Pan American Games, which she competed in when she was just 16 years old. Wigger has also won medals at the rifle shooting world championships. Born in Montana i…

4 minute read

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