Discover the Women of the Hall

The first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating.  Named one of the “100 Greatest Female Athletes.”  A successful surgeon and leader in blood plasma research, she works in international efforts to eradicate polio.

In 1960, at the age of 13, de Varona became the youngest member of a U.S. Olympic swim team. Just four years later, she won gold medals in the 400 IM and 400 Freestyle Relay at the Tokyo Olympics. She went on to set 18 world records in her career, and was the first President of the Women’s Sports Foundation.

In 1926, Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel, setting a new time record that would stand for the next 35 years. Ederle’s accomplishment was a milestone as it expanded opportunity for other women in athletics.

In 1957 Althea Gibson became the first African American tennis player to win at Wimbledon and Forest Hills. Her influence as a role model for aspiring athletes has been profound.

The first Black woman to have ever traveled to both the North and South Pole- both after the age of 75. Inspired by her expeditions, Hillary took interest in the effects of climate change on the polar caps and became a fierce advocate for combating climate change.

Dominated the world of tennis for more than 20 years, winning 20 Wimbledon titles, 13 U.S. Open titles and more. King was the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association and helped create the Women’s Sports Foundation.

With more than 3,700 career wins, Julie Krone is the leading female Thoroughbred horse racing jockey of all time. Krone made history in 1993 when she became the first woman to win a Triple Crown event at the Belmont Stakes. In 2003, she went on to become the first woman to win a Breeders’ Cup event at the Juvenile Fillies and the first woman to win a million dollar event at the Pacific Classic. Krone initially retired from horse racing in 1999 and became a commentator and analyst for the TVG racing network, but returned to the sport in 2002, retiring for a second time in 2004. Krone was named ESPN’s 1993 Professional Female Athlete of the Year, and in 2000, she became the first woman inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame.

She is a world record holding athlete, ground-breaking high fashion model, beacon for design tech, dedicated advocate, and avant-garde actor. She conceived of, and was the first to wear and compete in, prostheses modeled after the hind legs of a cheetah – now the international standard for amputee runners.

First American woman ever to win three gold medals in the Olympics. A track and field champion, Rudolph elevated women’s track to a major presence in the United States. She created the Wilma Rudolph Foundation to help train young athletes.

Athlete who set a world record and won two track and field gold medals at the 1936 Olympics. As an amateur, Stephens set Olympic, American and Canadian records in running, broad jump and discus. The small-town Missouri girl went on to become the first woman owner/manager of a women’s semiprofessional ball team and a lifetime sports advocate.

As the first woman to officially enter the Boston Marathon (1967), Kathrine Switzer broke the gender barrier and paved the way for women in running. Still recognized as a leader in the running world, Switzer has completed over thirty-seven marathons and has dedicated her career to creating opportunities and equal sport status for women. In 1977, she founded the Avon International Running Circuit, and in 1984, she was a leader in making the women’s marathon an official event in the Olympic Games. Switzer is an Emmy Award-winning television commentator who has broadcasted for ABC, CBS, NBC and ESPN.

Serena Williams is a highly regarded tennis champion, entrepreneur, investor, fashion designer, and executive producer. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) for 319 weeks, including a joint-record 186 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times.

One of the century’s premier athletes. Zaharias won track and field gold medals at the 1932 Olympics. She later became a golf champion and founded the Ladies Professional Golf Association. Zaharias inspired generations of women to develop athletic skills.