Record-setting scorer

High-scoring forward Mia Hamm, generally considered the best all-around women's soccer player in the world, helped the U.S. win gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games, where women's soccer made its Olympic debut. She also has competed at the past three Women's World Cup competitions, at which America triumphed in 1991 and 1999 and finished third in 1995. Described by former national team coach Tony DiCicco as the most exciting player in the world, Hamm became the all-time leading scorer in the history of international women's soccer on May 22, 1999, in a 3-0 victory over Brazil. She broke the record of 107 goals held by Elisabetta Vignotto of Italy.

Key to U.S. attack

Statistically, Hamm has been relatively quiet at big events. In the four major international tournaments of the 1990s -- the three World Cups and the Atlanta Olympics -- she never had a multiple-goal game. At the 1999 World Cup, she scored America’s first goal in the opener against Denmark, added another in the next game versus Nigeria, but then went scoreless in the final four matches, finishing with two goals and two assists. But U.S. coaches say she keys the team's attack, even when not scoring. As an example: Hamm had just one goal in America’s five contests at the 1996 Olympics, but she assisted on both scores in the 2-1 gold-medal victory over China.

Early discovery

While in high school, Hamm was told by Anson Dorrance, a former U.S. national team coach (1985-1994) and the current head coach at the University of North Carolina, that she could be the best soccer player in the world. Dorrance first saw Hamm compete after a high school coach in Texas called and told him about the talented youngster. Dorrance usually doesn’t follow up such calls, but he agreed to make the trip. Before the game, he told his friend he didn’t want to know which player was Hamm; he wanted her to emerge. “On the opening play, I saw a player accelerate like she was shot out of a cannon,” Dorrance recalls. “And I said ‘That’s her.’”

Humble Hero

Hamm receives more fan mail than anyone else on the U.S. team and is its most recognizable face. “Being the standard bearer of women’s soccer is overwhelming,” says the five-time U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year, who has been named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. She also has done numerous television commercials, including a Nike ad with Michael Jordan. Yet Hamm seems to prefer talking about her golf handicap (12), rather than her soccer fame. “Mia’s shy,” says her mother, Stephanie. “All of us Hamms are shy.” Still, Mia has found honor -- and humor -- in being her celebrity. In 1999, the day before a building was to be dedicated in her name at Nike’s headquarters in Portland, Ore., her teammates posted signs around their hotel. They declared: “Mia Hamm Drinking Fountain,” “Mia Hamm Supply Closet,” and “Mia Hamm Thermostat.” During the actual dedication, Hamm shed tears when talking about her teammates, but kept the mood light by matching the wit of co-captain and team jokester Julie Foudy. Said Hamm, “I promised Julie I’d name a bathroom stall after her.”

Versatile

At the 1995 Women’s World Cup, Hamm played forward, midfielder and even goaltender for the third-place Americans. She was pressed into goalie service when Briana Scurry was ejected late in a match against Denmark. Hamm made one save and the U.S. prevailed 2-0. As a 19-year-old, she was the youngest member of the U.S. team that won the 1991 World Cup, starting five of the six games and scoring twice. In 1987, Hamm, at age 15, became the youngest woman ever to play for the U.S. team. She was a member of four NCAA championship squads at the University of North Carolina (1989-1993) and was a three-time All-American. In 1994, Hamm graduated from UNC with a degree in political science and her No. 19 jersey was retired. She holds several Atlantic Coast Conference career records, including goals (103), assists (72) and points (278). Before heading to UNC, Hamm starred at Notre Dame High School in Wichita Falls, Texas, and then at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia.

Brotherly love

Hamm's full name is Mariel Margaret Hamm; she was nicknamed Mia after a ballerina with whom her mother once studied. When Mia was 5, the Hamms adopted an 8-year-old, Thai-American orphan named Garrett. From age 12, Garrett lived with aplastic anemia, a rare blood disorder. In April 1998, he died of a complication resulting from a bone-marrow transplant he'd undergone two months earlier. He was 28. Hamm missed two games following his death, and upon rejoining the U.S. squad she and her teammates took the field in black armbands. Hamm scored just 49 seconds into the match and added another tally as America beat South Korea 7-0. The game was played in a relentless downpour before a sellout crowd that included Garrett’s widow, Cherylynn Campbell Hamm. “Now, no matter where I play, I feel Garrett is there,” Hamm says.