About the Athletes

Tony Azevedo

Hometown: Long Beach, CA

Sport: Water Polo

Known as “The Savior,” Tony Azevedo has been recognized as one of the best American water polo players. Coached by his father, Tony captured the spotlight at the 2004 Olympic Games, scoring a career-best 15 goals, out-shining opponents from all over the world.

Howard Bach

Hometown: San Francisco, CA

Sport: Badminton

Howard learned of badminton from his father and honed his skills at his local YMCA. Howard’s dreams came true in 2004 when he earned the chance to represent the USA in Athens. He went on to win the 2005 World Championship and a silver medal at the 2007 Pan Pacific Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Shannon Boxx

Hometown: Redondo Beach, CA

Sport: Soccer

Shannon became the first U.S. player to have scored a goal in each of her first three international games. She rejoins the U.S. National team this year with a medal in mind to match her sister Gillian’s gold medal in softball during the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Jennie Finch

Hometown: Phoenix, AZ

Sport:Softball

Jennie Finch dominates the softball landscape with several NCAA titles and a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She’s the starting pitcher for the Chicago Bandits, a correspondent on MLB’s “This Week in Baseball,” and spends her off-season teaching softball techniques at youth clinics across the country.

Brett Heyl

Hometown: Charlotte, NC

Sport: Kayak

Brett Heyl has always been devoted to white-water kayaking. Brett blew away the competition at age 13 with a U.S. Junior National Championship. He finished 8th at the 2004 Athens Games and is currently training at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC, setting his sights on a medal performance in Beijing.

Sada Jacobson

Hometown: Dunwoody, GA

Sport: Fencing

All eyes are on Sada Jacobson during the Beijing Olympic Games to add gold to her bronze medal performance in Athens. Sada, is the first U.S. woman and second U.S. fencer to ever rank No. 1 in the world. She comes from a family of fencers; she and younger sister Emily have been compared to tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams.

Cullen Jones

Hometown: New Brunswick, NJ

Sport: Swimming

Cullen Jones has set the standard for next year’s Olympic Games as the first African-American swimmer to break a long-course world record. Cullen uses his athletic talent to promote diversity in the sport of swimming, and supports the Ronald Jones Foundation, named in honor of his late father who died from lung cancer when Cullen was 16.

Tara Kirk

Hometown: Bremerton, WA

Sport: Swimming

Collegiate scholar, superior athlete, world record holder and 4x100m medley relay silver medalist during the 2004 Olympic Games are just a few of Tara Kirk’s accomplishments. Tara is very active with international children’s charities and hopes to start a careerwith the World Health Organization.

Ogonna Nnamani

Hometown: Normal, IL

Sport: Volleyball

Ogonna, one of the team’s youngest players, had a breakout performance at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, showing her teammates and the international volleyball world that she is the new powerhouse for Team USA. She met President Bush and was honored with “Ogonna Nnamani Day,” a state-wide celebration to recognize her achievements.

Aaron Peirsol

Hometown: Irvine, CA

Sport: Swimming

Aaron Peirsol gained international fame in 2004 by winning three Olympic gold medals and sweeping the backstroke races as only the fifth male in history to do so at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Aaron is an energetic ambassador and spokesperson for several environmental conservation organizations.

Lauryn Williams

Hometown: Irvine, CA

Sport: Track & Field

Pittsburgh native Lauryn Williams, considered one of the fastest women in the world of Track & Field, graduated from University of Miami in only 3 years and captured a silver medal during the 2004 Athens Games. She helped raise over $20,000 to send her ailing father to Athens to watch her compete.