Bidz Dela Cruz asked:


 

100, 200 meters | Allyson Felix





A Two-time world champion in the outdoors for the 200 meter-dash.





She had the biggest margin of victory ever in World Championships 200-meter final (2007).





She was the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the 200 meters.





Has run a 10.93second 100m. this season.





 

 

400 meters | Sanya Richards





She is the 2006 IAAF world athlete of the year





A three-time U.S. champion outdoors





A 2004 Olympic gold medalist on the 4×400 relay team.





She competed at University of Texas.





 

 

800 meters | Alysia Johnson





She just completed her college eligibility for California at the NCAA championships





She is the reigning U.S. outdoor champion.





Her winning time of 1:59.29 at the 2007 NCAA meet is the 3rd fastest in college history.





 

 

1,500 meters | Treniere Clement





Has won three successive U.S. outdoor championships in the 1,500





She was the 2006 U.S. indoor 1,500 champion





A sub-2-minute 800 runner.





She competed for Georgetown.





 

 

5,000 meters | Lauren Fleshman





The 2006 U.S. Championship





A three-time NCAA champion for Stanford.





She is trained by Oregon Coach Vin Lananna.





 

 

10,000 meters | Kara Goucher





Became the first U.S. woman to medal at the World Championships in the 10,000 by taking the bronze in 2007.





Was second in the 5,000 at the 2006 nationals





Second Placer in the 10,000 at last year’s U.S. championships.





She is trained by Coach Alberto Salazar





 

 

Steeplechase | Jennifer Barringer





The reigning U.S. champion after winning last season in 9:34.64, then the second-fastest time by a U.S. woman.





2008 NCAA champion for University of Colorado.





 

 

100 hurdles | Lolo Jones





A two-time reigning U.S. indoor 60-meter champion and 2008 world indoor champion.





She placed third in the 2007 U.S. championships outdoors





She placed sixth at last year’s World Championships outdoors.





Was a three-time national champion





Was an 11-time All-American for Louisiana State.





 

 

 

400 hurdles | Tiffany Ross-Williams





The reigning U.S. Champion





Winner of the 2007 Visa Championship Series.





Ranked sixth in the world in 2007 by Track & Field News.





 

 

High jump | Amy Acuff





Won her first U.S. championship in 1995 and still is among the best in the world. A three-time Olympian and the reigning U.S. champion, she finished fourth in the 2004 Athens Games. Competed for UCLA.





 

 

Long jump | Brittney Reese





NCAA champion in 2008





NCAA champion in 2007





Named Southeastern Conference women’s field athlete of the year.





Second at the 2007 U.S. Championships





Ranked eighth at the World Championships.





 

 

Triple jump | Erica McClain





She has won seven Pacific-10 Conference titles in either the long or triple jumps, including both events at the 2008 Pac-10 meet.





She has won the 2005 U.S. triple jump championship as a Stanford freshman.





Third at the U.S. championships outdoors last season.





 

 

Pole vault | Jenn Stuczynski





A U.S. Record-holder





She reset her own record last month at 16- 3/4.





She has won three consecutive U.S. outdoor championships





She has won three of the last four national championships indoors.





 

 

Shot | Kristin Heaston





Three-time U.S. champion outdoors and 2004 Olympian.





She was the first thrower in the qualifying round in the 2004 Games at Ancient Olympia





The first woman to compete there in an Olympiad





 

 

Discus | Suzy Powell-Roos





U.S. Record-holder





She broke a mark that had stood for 21 years by throwing 222-0 last year.





The reigning U.S. Champion





A two-time Olympian.





She finished eighth at last year’s World Championships





 

 

Hammer | Brittany Riley





Reigning U.S. Champion





The 2007 runner-up at the NCAA championships





She was the 2005 U.S. junior champion.





 

 

Javelin | Dana Pounds





Beat U.S. record-holder Kim Kreiner to win the 2007 U.S. Championship





She was a runner-up in 2006





She was a runner-up in 2005





She won back-to-back NCAA titles for the Air Force Academy in 2006





She won back-to-back NCAA titles for the Air Force Academy in 2005





Sixth at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials.





 

 

Heptathlon | Jacquelyn Johnson





She won her fourth consecutive Pac-10 heptathlon championship last month for Arizona State, scoring meet-record 6,307 points.





She was fifth at the 2007 U.S. championships while a college junior.





 

 

Grant Eckert asked:


Although Carly Rae Patterson was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on February 4, 1988, she is now living in Allen, Texas with her mother and sister. Carly is an incredibly accomplished athlete for her age. She is a former Olympic all-around Champion for the United States 2004 Olympic Team in Athens, Greece.

Due to injuries in her lower back, Carly is unfortunately not scheduled to make an appearance competing in women’s gymnastics with the U.S. 2008 Olympic Team. However, while Carly is one of the world’s most talented gymnasts, she was not always on the path to greatness.

It was at a young cousin’s birthday party in 1994 that Carly’s true gymnastic talent was noticed by a coach at a gymnastic club. Carly’s cousin belonged to a gymnastic club which hosted the birthday party. At that time, the coach saw the then six year old Carly tumbling around and immediately noticed her natural talent. Just six years later, Carly competed in Belgium’s Top Gym Tournament winning the silver medal in the all-around and the bronze for balance beam, which is undoubtedly Carly’s favorite event.

One year later, Carly competed in the Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia. It was not her best performance, although she did rank second in the all-around competition before the final rotation. She was sick during the event and ended up finishing in seventh place. Despite an overall disappointing performance, her balance beam routine was almost flawless and featured what would become know as her signature move, “the Patterson”. This signature move is a double Arabian dismount from the balance beam.

By 2002, Carly Patterson became the U.S. Junior National All-Around champion and was considered to be one of the most important young female gymnasts of the time thus making her a viable candidate for the 2004 Olympic All-Around title. After her accomplishment in 2002, she went on to win almost every competition she entered. Unfortunately, due to a broken elbow in 2003, Carly had to sit out of the U.S. National Championships, but still went on to win the all-around silver medal at the World Gymnastics Championships in Anaheim, California making her the first American woman to achieve this accomplishment since 1994. This helped solidify her place on the 2004 U.S. Gymnastics Team.

During the 2004 Olympic trials, Carly did not perform to her best standards and had two falls during her balance beam routine, which dropped her to third place. It was because of this that she was not automatically placed on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, however there was no doubt that she would end up competing in Athens that year.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Carly Patterson proved just how good she was, despite that already being clear to the world. She and her teammates won the silver medal for the team competition. During these events, Carly also won a silver medal for the balance beam, which is only fitting since she takes so much pride into each balance beam routine. In addition to winning two silver medals during these games, Carly also set a record. She became the first American woman to win a gold medal in the all-around during a fully attended Olympic Games. Her performances at the 2004 Olympics have placed Carly in the history books and paved the way for a very exciting life.

Shortly after her great achievements in the 2004 Summer Olympics, doctors found several bulging disks in Carly’s lower back. Due to this health issue, she was forced to reduce the amount of time dedicated to gymnastic training; however it has not stopped her on any other level. Carly continues to make appearances on talk shows, game shows, and television shows as well as participating in many autograph sessions and interviews each year. Partly due to her grueling schedule, Carly retired from gymnastics in 2006 and will not be competing in the 2008 Summer Olympics, much to the disappointment of many gymnastic enthusiasts. She will, however, be honored at the 2008 games by being inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Now that Carly has officially retired from the world of gymnastics, she continues to pursue many challenges. She recently served as the American Dental Association’s (ADA) Youth Ambassador for Give Kids a Smile (GKAS) as well as the ambassador for National Children’s Dental Access Day. She is one of many well known athletes to use her status in a positive way.

One of her current passions is her music career. In 2005, she discussed her wishes to pursue a career in music and announced that she would be working on a demo. That demo has apparently paid off as she has recently signed with Music Mind Records and will be releasing her first single, “Temporary Life (Ordinary Girl)” at the end of March 2008. Carly has also taken some time to write an autobiography discussing her life as a young gymnast through her Olympic competitions.