Mia Hamm - Women's National Team

Women's National Team

In 1991, when the women's national team won the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time, Hamm became the youngest American woman to win a World Cup championship at the age of nineteen.

She was also a member of the American National college team that played in the 1993 Summer Universiade and lost to China, obtaining the silver medal. She was the leading scorer with six goals. She graduated from college with the all-time records for her conference in goals with 103, assists with 72, and total points with 278.

In the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, Hamm scored two goals but the American team could not defend its title, falling to eventual champion Norway 1-0 in the semifinals. The U.S. team captured third place. Hamm even played goalkeeper for a few minutes in a game against Denmark after the expulsion of keeper Briana Scurry.

In 1996, Hamm was a key part of the U.S. team for the first women's soccer tournament in the Olympic Games. Hamm scored one goal in five games as the host Americans won the gold medal. She was injured in the final moments of the gold-medal match, a 2-1 win over China, a game witnessed by a record crowd of over 76,000 fans.

Hamm was named the 1997 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category) by the Women's Sports Foundation.

On May 22, 1999, Hamm broke the all-time international goal record with her 108th goal in a game against Brazil in Orlando, Florida. That same year, Nike named the largest building on their corporate campus after Hamm.

Hamm again played for the U.S. National Team in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, hosted by the United States. She scored two goals, including the first goal of the tournament. Hamm also connected on a penalty kick as the U.S. defeated China in a shootout in the final match. That match surpassed the Atlanta Olympic final as the most-attended women's sports event, with over 90,000 filling the Rose Bowl.

On May 14, 2004, she announced her retirement effective after the 2004 Athens Olympics, expressing an interest in starting a family with her husband, Nomar Garciaparra.

In March 2004, Hamm and former U.S. teammate Michelle Akers were the only two women, and the only two Americans, named to the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living soccer players selected by Pelé and commissioned by FIFA for that organization's 100th anniversary.Other accolades include being elected Soccer USA's female athlete of the year five years in a row (1994-1998), MVP of the Women's Cup in 1995 and the winner of three ESPY awards, including Soccer Player of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year.

In a friendly game against Australia on July 21, 2004, Hamm scored her 151st international goal; she has long held the record in that category for any player, male or female. This match also marked her 259th international appearance; only her teammate Kristine Lilly has played in more internationals.

She helped lead Team USA to a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was also chosen by her fellow U.S. Olympians to carry the American flag at the Athens Closing Ceremonies. After the Olympics, Hamm and her teammates went on a "farewell tour" of the United States, which finished on December 8, 2004 against Mexico at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. In the game, which the U.S. won 5–0, Hamm assisted on two of the goals. Hamm is one of three longtime national team members who announced their retirements from international play at the end of the tour; the others are longtime captain Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett (Fawcett did not play due to back surgery after the Olympics). Hamm retired with 158 international goals at age thirty-two.