The Top 5 Women Athletes in the U.S.

The United States female athletic tradtion has been enhanced by numerous elite names over the years as talented women have competed both domestically and internationally. Some have excelled in sports such as tennis, while others left their marks at the Olympics. Using their intellectual, business and creative gifts, they have also done more than just dominate their respective sports.

  1. Kristi Yamaguchi

    • Kristi Yamaguchi is an American figure skater who gained fame in the early 1990s. She was born in California in 1971. She won her first gold medal in 1992 at the Winter Olympics and then won the world championship. American Skating World magazine named her Skater of the Year in 1996, and she was inducted into the United States Figure Skaing Hall of Fame in 1998. Kristi later put her expertise on paper and authored the book "Figure Skating for Dummies." She has also has been busy in the charity field and started the "Always Dream" foundation, which raises money for the benefit of families and communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.

    Jackie Joyner-Kersee

    • This multitalented althete laid her claim to fame by conquering the heptathlon in which her best event was the long jump. Jackie hails from St. Louis and was born in 1961. The heptathlon consists of seven outdoor events including the javelin throw, the long jump and the 800 meter run. She won Olympic gold medals in this event and the long jump in 1988 and repeated the feat for the heptathlon in 1992. While competing in the 1988 games, her skill at the heptathlon far surpassed all the available competition and her coach had to invent a make-believe competitor with a set score for her to beat. She beat " Wilhelmina" by 76 points and set a new world record.

    Lindsay Davenport

    • Lindsay Davenport, a native of California, was born in 1976. She has been a pro tennis player in singles events since the age of 16. Since then, she has won three Grand Slam titles and was ranked the number one player in the world in 1998. Lindsay holds a record for winning three Grand Slams without losing a single set to an opponent. Aside from her athletic ability, Lindsay's sportmanship has also made her famous as she receieved the Prix Award, which celebrates virtues such as fairness, kindness and friendliness. She was appointed to the Women's Tennis Association Player Council in 2002. She has been named the number one tennis player in the world four times, which is a feat share by only four others.

    Wilma Rudolph

    • Wilma's professional athletic career started early as she participated in the 1956 Olympics at the age of 16, where she earned a bronze medal. The next time around, in the 1960 Olympics, Rudolph went on to take home three gold medals in the 4x100m relay race, the 100m and the 200m respectively, becoming the first woman in American history to do so. Wilma carried her momentum into the next year and helped set the world record for the 4x100 while competing in Russia at Lenin Stadium. She also received the the James E. Sullivan award for being the highest ranked amateur athlete in the United States. Her success also paved the way for future fellow African-American athletes to compete and make names for themselves.

    Venus Williams

    • Venus Williams is the newest on the scene when compared to others on the list and still stands to add to her accomplishments. This California native was born in 1980. Her athletic ability was evident at a young age as she turned pro at the age of 14 and managed to beat the #50 ranked player in the world. She won the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001. Since then she has won 41 WTA titles with seven of those titles being Grand Slams. In 2008 she won Wimbledon for the 5th time, which has only been matched by Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf. Venus has also been busy off the court as she has launched an athletic clothing line and sits on the WTA Player Council.