Hamm, Mia

orig. Mariel Margaret Hamm

born March 17, 1972, Selma, Ala., U.S.

U.S. football (soccer) player.

At the age of 15 Hamm became the youngest person ever to play on the U.S. national soccer team. In 1989 she entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and there helped her team win four collegiate championships. She also helped the U.S. team win the World Cup in 1991 and 1999 and the Olympic gold medal in 1996. She broke the all-time international scoring record for either men or women on May 16, 1999, against Brazil with her 108th career goal.

* * *

▪ 2000

      In an American television commercial in the summer of 1999, four young women soccer players volunteered to endure two fillings in their teeth because a fifth player needed two. Such was the solidarity that helped make the Women's World Cup the surprising focus of sports fans and ticket scalpers and that led the American team to victory in the dramatic shoot-out that followed a scoreless 120-minute game and two overtime periods in the July final against China. Widely acknowledged as the first among equals on that team was Mia Hamm. She held the record for international career goals scored (111); her name and number (9) emblazoned little girls' jerseys all over the country; and she was considered one of the best—and most recognizable—female athletes in the world. A building at Nike Inc.'s headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., was named for Hamm, and in another TV commercial, to the tune of “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better,” she challenged basketball great Michael Jordan to a series of sports confrontations that ended when she flipped him in a judo move. She was also the coauthor of a book published in 1999, Go for the Goal: A Champion's Guide to Winning in Soccer and Life.

      Mariel Margaret Hamm was born on March 17, 1972, in Selma, Ala. The daughter of an air force serviceman, she moved often when she was a child and through sports found a way to make new friends. Having spurned her mother's efforts to get her to take ballet lessons, she turned instead to soccer, encouraged by her brother Garrett, with whom she was especially close. Her goal-scoring talent made her a welcome addition even to otherwise all-boy teams. With determination and dedication she sharpened her skills, and at the age of 15 she became the youngest person ever to be a member of the U.S. team. In 1989 Hamm entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and by the time she graduated in 1994 with a degree in political science, she had helped her team win four National Collegiate Athletic Association championships, had been showered with awards, and had been honoured by having her number at UNC (19) retired. She had also helped the U.S. team reach victory in the first Women's World Cup in 1991. The American women went on to take the bronze medal in the 1995 World Cup, and in 1996 the team took Olympic gold.

      In 1997 Hamm's brother Garrett died of a rare blood disorder, aplastic anemia. In remembrance Hamm wore his initials on her soccer shoes, and in May 1999 she announced the creation of the Mia Hamm Foundation, whose purposes would be to raise funds for research on bone marrow disease and to further women's opportunities for participation in sports.

Barbara Whitney

* * *

▪ American athlete

byname of  Mariel Margaret Hamm 

born March 17, 1972, Selma, Alabama, U.S.

 

 American football (football (soccer)) (soccer) player, who became the first international star of the women's game. Playing forward, she starred on the U.S. national team that won World Cup championships in 1991 and 1999 and Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2004. She was revered for her all-around skill, competitive spirit, and knack for goal scoring. She retired from the national team in 2004 with 158 goals in international competition, the most by any player, male or female. She was twice named Women's World Player of the Year (2001–02) by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

      Hamm's goal-scoring talent as a teenager drew attention from top college programs as well as the national team. At age 15 she became the youngest person ever to become a member of the U.S. team. In 1989 Hamm entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and, by the time she graduated in 1994, she had helped the Tar Heels win four National Collegiate Athletic Association championships.

      Hamm made 276 appearances with the national team. During her career, in addition to winning the four major championships, the U.S. women finished third in the 1995 and 2003 World Cup tournaments and took a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics. With Hamm as the star, they enjoyed media attention unprecedented for a women's sports team, especially during the 1999 World Cup held in the United States. Jerseys with her number 9 became a top seller, and her popularity, which has continued into her retirement, rivaled that of the best-known male athletes.

      Hamm also played professionally for the Washington Freedom of the short-lived Women's United Soccer Association (2001–03).

* * *