Al Unser Jr. has a tremendous record of success as a race car driver. In both 1992 and 1994, he won the Indianapolis 500, the most famous automobile race in the world. Twice, in 1990 and 1994, Unser finished as the Championship Auto Racing...

Alpine Skiing is a dangerous sport. A split-second decision can mean the difference between winning a race and disaster. Alberto Tomba has achieved what no other skier has by risking everything, including his life. He is the only Alpine sk...

At one point in his career Alexi Lalas considered giving up soccer. He had been unable to earn a position on a professional team in Europe and did not know what he was going to do with the rest of his life. Just when things seemed their wo...

Life as a center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) is tough. One of the toughest in the game is Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat. During his three NBA seasons Mourning has developed into one of the game's dominant big men, as h...

When Amy Van Dyken was in high school, her swimming teammates teased her. They said she swam so slowly that they did not want her on their team anymore. Other students made fun of Van Dyken because she was so tall and acted like a "nerd." ...

Golfer Annika Sorenstam has one the most beautiful swings in golf. From the moment she joined the Ladies' Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, that swing has helped her become one of the best female golfers in the world. Twice Sorens...

World champion athlete, social activist, teacher, and charity worker, Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (1943-1993) was the first African American player to break the color barrier in the international sport of tennis at the highest level of the game...

Barry Sanders arrived in the National Football League (NFL) with high expectations. After a college football season in which he broke 13 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) records and won the Heisman Trophy (as the best player...

Betsy King always liked sports. From the time she was a child she played whatever game she could, with basketball being her favorite. A knee injury, however, forced King to make a career out of one of her least-favorite sports--golf. The r...

Quarterback Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers has worked hard to earn respect. After high school, he attended the University of Southern Mississippi because national college football powerhouses did not think he was good enough to play ...

Brian Boitano has always set high goals for himself. First, he decided to become a figure skater and practiced on roller skates until his parents agreed to ice skating lessons. Then he decided to win the biggest championship in the sport, ...

In 1954 major league commissioner Ford Frick issued an order that banned women from playing in organized professional baseball. The decision crushed the dreams of many young girls. Forty years later, the dreams of another generation have n...

Many people believe that athletes today are spoiled and will not play with injuries. In some cases that may be true. Boston Bruins forward Cam Neely, however, is not one of those players. In 1991 he suffered a severe knee injury that almos...

In the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Carl Lewis (born 1961) became the first athlete, since Jesse Owens in 1936, to win four gold medals in Olympic competition. In 1996 he competed in the long jump event at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, ...

Cecil Fielder hits home runs further and more often than any other player in baseball today. In 1990 he became only the eleventh hitter in major league history to hit 50 or more home runs in a single season. From 1990 to 1992, Fielder beca...

Chanda Rubin was practically born with a tennis racket in her hand. She came from a tennis-playing family and grew up on the court her father built in the backyard. Rubin has now gone from her backyard to the most important arenas in the s...

Chris Webber has been a star basketball player since the eighth grade. That was when college recruiters began to take notice of his exceptional skills. His basketball career has taken him many different places. He was the main man of the "...

Portland Trail Blazer guard Clyde "The Glide" Drexler is a different kind of superstar--a superstar who never seeks to call attention to himself. Often compared to Michael Jordan, Drexler has become one of the top players in the National B...

Imagine being a professional baseball player and not being able to hear the crowd cheer, the crack of the bat, or even the umpire calling balls and strikes right behind you. If you can imagine that, you will begin to understand what life i...

Dale Earnhardt (1951-2001) was a race car driver who drove on the NASCAR circuit for 22 seasons, won 7 Winston Cups, had 76 career wins, and made more money driving than any other driver in NASCAR history. His life was ended with an automo...

Dan Marino, blessed with a strong arm and the ability to throw the ball accurately in a split-second, has shattered numerous National Football League (NFL) records. Marino has passed for more yards (5,084) and touchdowns (48) in a single s...

When Dave Winfield left the University of Minnesota, he was drafted by professional baseball, basketball, and football teams. He chose to sign with the San Diego Padres and began one of the greatest careers in major league history. A 12-ti...

"Dawn's a showstopper."--former NBA player Magic Johnson. Dawn Staley knows that it is good to give. It was a lesson she learned playing basketball with the boys in her Philadelphia neighborhood growing up and one she put to use in winning...

Linebacker Derrick Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs loves to sack quarterbacks. During his seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) he has developed into one of professional football's most feared defenders. In 1990 Thomas set a...

Center Dikembe Mutombo of the Atlanta Hawks is the one man in the National Basketball Association (NBA) that shooters least like to see. During his professional career the intimidating defender has led the league in blocked shots four time...