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≡ HALL OF FAME ≡
The Olympic and Paralympic Games produce unforgettable moments, by athletes, teams and those who coach and support them, and on Tuesday (6th), the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced 12 individuals and two teams that will join the immortals in the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame on 12 July in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
From an initial field of 119 nominees, a panel narrowed the finalists down to 42, which 14 were voted in by multiple groups, including U.S. Olympians and Paralympians, members of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic family and an online vote open to fans, with 300,000 votes cast across all platforms.
The 14 inductees were voted in across six groups:
Olympians (5):
● Gabby Douglas (artistic gymnastics)
● Allyson Felix (track and field)
● Bode Miller (alpine skiing)
● Kerri Walsh Jennings (beach volleyball)
● Serena Williams (tennis)
Douglas was a two-time Olympian and won three golds, taking the All-Around in 2012 and Team golds in 2012 and 2026. Felix won seven golds, three silvers and a bronze from 2008 to Tokyo 2020, including the London 2012 women’s 200 m; her 11 Olympic medals are the most by any American track & field athlete in history.
Miller competed in five Winter Games, winning six medals, including a gold in the Vancouver 2010 Super Combined. Walsh Jennings made the Sydney 2000 indoor team that finished fourth, then won 2004-08-12 beach golds with Misty May-Treanor and then a Rio 2016 bronze with April Ross. Williams was very much an Olympian, competing in four Games and winning four Olympic golds: Singles at London 2012 and three in Doubles with older sister Venus in 2000-08-12.
Olympic Team:
● 2010 Four-man Bobsled Team
This was the famous “Night Train” sled driven by Steven Holcomb which won Olympic gold in Vancouver, with brakemen Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curt Tomasevicz. It was the first U.S. gold in the event in 62 years. That followed their 2009 Worlds gold, the first for the U.S. in the event in 50 years.
Paralympians (3):
● Steve Cash (sled hockey)
● Susan Hagel (Para archery-track and field-wheelchair basketball)
● Marla Runyan (Para track and field)
Cash was a three-time gold medalist as the U.S. goalkeeper in four Paralympic, as his teams won bronze in 2006 and then golds in 2010-14-18; he was also a member of five World Championship teams. The amazing Hagel competed in six Paralympic Games from 1976-96 in three different sports, winning three archery golds, a basketball gold and a basketball bronze during her career.
Runyan was the first-ever visually-impaired athlete to compete in the Olympic Games, making the U.S. team in the women’s 1,500 m in 2000 and then again in 2004. She was the 1999 Pan American Games champion at 1,500 m as well. In Paralympic competition, she won five golds in 1992 (4) and 1996 (1) and a 1996 silver, all in track & field.
Paralympic Team:
● 2004 Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team
This was the first U.S. women’s wheelchair team to win in 16 years, and a six-player core continued to dominate, coming back to win gold again in 2008.
Legends (2):
● Anita DeFrantz (rowing)
● Flo Hyman (volleyball)
DeFrantz won an Olympic bronze in the women’s Eights in 1976, then made the team for Moscow 1980, but could not compete due to the U.S. boycott, against which she filed an unsuccessful lawsuit. She became a key member of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the pivotal 1984 Games, then was elected to the International Olympic Committee in 1986 and has served with great distinction, especially in the promotion of athlete rights.
Hyman was a brilliant, charismatic 6-5 outside hitter and made the 1980 U.S. team that was thwarted by the American boycott. She was one of the stars of the 1984 U.S. silver-medal team, playing an important role in the development of women’s volleyball in the U.S.
Coach:
● Mike Krzyzewski (coach: basketball)
When USA Basketball needed a coach who could turn a squad of ultra-talented NBA players into a cohesive Olympic team after a disappointing bronze finish in 2004, Krzyzewski proved to be the perfect selection. The already-legendary coach at Duke, he led the 2008, 2012 and 2016 American teams to a 24-0 combined record, outscoring their opponents by a combined 660 points!
Special Contributor:
● Phil Knight (Nike founder)
Much more than simply a corporate sponsor of major events, Knight’s insistence on supporting athletes made Nike one of the most important companies in the world in terms of apparel, shoes, promotion and payments to individual athletes in more than a dozen sports in countries around the world. Knight himself competed in track & field and he and his company have been key in bringing American track & field back to prominence after difficult times at the turn of the 21st Century.
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame was established in 1979, with the first class inducted in 1983. The 2025 inductees will be the 18th such class, with the last in 2023.
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