 To the chants and screams of thousands across the nation, Mia Hamm and her U.S. team played and won the 1999 Women's World Cup.
Featured in Women's Soccer World Magazine and Sports Illustrated, named the Women's Sports Foundation Athlete of the Year (1997), and one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" in People Magazine (1997), she now dominates the growing world of women's sport.
Born Mariel Margret Hamm, and known by the nickname of "Mia," she grew up a "military brat" to parents Colonel Bill and Mrs. Stephanie Hamm. She and her five siblings spent their childhoods on different Air Force bases throughout the world in such places as California , Texas , Virginia , and Italy .
Under the guidance of Coach Anson Dorrance, she joined the American National team at age 15, becoming its youngest member. Mia followed Dorrance to Chapel Hill , North Carolina , where she led the Tar Heels in four national championships, while earning All-America honors three years and finishing as the ACC's all-time leading scorer. She graduated from UNC in 1994 with a degree in political science.
The pair went to China in 1991, where the U.S. won the inaugural Women's World Cup. As the youngest member on this team, Mia started five of six games and scored an impressive pair of goals. This first-ever three-time U.S. Soccer athlete of the year (1994-1996), then became a member of the Gold Medalwinning U.S. Women's National Team at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.
Her dedication, skill, and love of the sport of soccer is apparent every time she steps onto the field.
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