Female+Us+Team+Standouts+3

Lindsey Veazie, Suzannah Tarkington, and Madison Lathi http://www.rockymountainnews.com/ Top female us athlete for Olympics 2008
 * Jessica Rodriquez**- swimmer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and she is now a candidate for the 2008 olympic team. She received the number one national ranking at age 10 and 12. Set a national age-group record at age 12, win the high-point award at junior nationals at age 13. And a pot in the Us junior team at age 14.

Pang Panpan is the female athlete for the 2008 beijing [|http://en.beijing2008.cn] from the beam to the bars, Pang Panpan masters it all! If you click [|here] you will see a video of Pang Panpan performing in previous Olympic Contests which will got her to have a spot in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fPbQyTv2sU  Jennie Finch was born September 3, 1980 in Omaha, Nebraska. She began playing softball when she was five years old and began pitching when she was eight. Her father Doug was her first pitching coach. Jennie lettered four times in softball at La Mirada High School, but she was an all-around athlete who also lettered twice each in both basketball and volleyball, and as a senior she was captain of all three sports!

In college, Jennie played softball for the University of Arizona and was a three-time All-American pitcher and first-baseman for the Wildcats. She struck out a total of 1,028 batters and, as a junior, recorded 32 wins and no losses to set an NCAA record. Her jersey was retired by the University of Arizona on May 9, 2003.

Jennie’s national popularity took a giant leap forward when she appeared on various talk shows promoting the US Softball Team prior to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She then helped guide Team USA to the gold medal, striking out 13 batters in eight innings while giving up only one hit for a 2-0 record.

Jennie married Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Casey Daigle on January 15, 2005. She was signed by the Chicago Bandits National Pro Fastpitch team for the 2005 season, and has played three seasons with the club. Her son Ace was born prior to the start of the second season on May 4, 2006, in Tucson, Arizona.

Jennie was named NPF Co-Pitcher of the Year in 2005, and helped guide the Bandits to two Regular Season Championships in 2005 and 2006. She is currently practicing with the US National Team in the hope of competing with the US Olympic Team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Click [|here] to get Jenny info, pictures, and videos.

In 2006, Emily R. Cross ’08 was named Crimson Female Athlete of the Year—now she’s taking time off to train for the 2008 Olympics. Making this type of jump can really be unnerving, but Emily seems to have transitioned rather smoothly. FM sits down with Emily to try and find out how.  http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=517024

http://universalsports.nbcsports.com/articles/show/37272

http://universalsports.nbcsports.com/articles/show/37723

http://universalsports.nbcsports.com/articles/show/37521

http://www.eworldvu.com/international/2007/10/25/beijing-2008-may-produce-olympic-gold-for-china.html


 * Meseret Defar:** The 23-year-old Ethiopian was the dominant figure in women’s track and field during 2007, completing undefeated seasons at both 3,000m and 5,000m. But what truly distinguished Defar’s year were the indoor world record of 8:23.72 in the 3,000m she set in Stuttgart in February, the 5K world record of 14 minutes, 16.63 seconds she set at the Oslo Grand Prix in June, while also becoming the first woman ever to run under nine minutes at the rarely-contested two-mile distance with her world record time of 8:58.58 at the Brussels Grand Prix **[|(view photos)].**


 * Allyson Felix:** Heading into the Olympic year, Felix positioned herself nicely during 2007. The 21-year-old never lost a race at 200m during the year, and her 21.81-second season best time from the World Championships **([|view photos] and [|watch video])** in Osaka, Japan, was the fastest time in the world the last eight years. Felix also won four of the five 400m races she entered, running a personal best 49.70 at the Stockholm Grand Prix, and also set a personal record of 11.01 in the 100m at the New York Grand Prix.


 * Yelena Isinbayeva:** The world’s pole vault queen continued to reign supreme during 2007, when she won all 18 of her competitions and finished unbeaten for the first time in her career. The 25-year-old Russian set an indoor World Record of 16 feet, 2 inches and cleared 16 feet twice outdoors. American Jenn Stuczynski was the only other vaulter in the world to clear at least 16 feet. Isinbayeva, who has won 22 meets in the last two years, repeated as World Champion [|**(watch video)**] in Osaka, Japan **[|(view photos)]** and finished ranked No. 1 in the world for a record fourth straight year.


 * Carolina Kluft:** At just 24 years of age, Kluft [|**(view photos)**] finished the year ranked No. 1 in the world in the heptathlon an astounding sixth time, tying her with Jackie Joyner-Kersee for the second most No. 1 finishes ever, and just one behind all-time leader Irina Press’s 7. The Swede won the World Championship **[|(view photos)]** in Osaka, Japan with a score 7,032 points [|**(watch video)**], the second highest mark in history. Kluft also finished ranked No. 6 in the world in the long jump, where she posted a season-best mark of 22 feet, 5 ¾ inches at the World Championships.

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 * Libby Lenton:** The Australian continued her pool dominance in 2007. At the 2007 FINA World Championships in Melbourne on March 25, Lenton won a total of five gold medals in the 50m freestyle, the 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay. At the biannual Duel in the Pool meet between Australia and the USA swimming teams, she swam a 100m freestyle in 52.99 seconds, well under the existing World Record of 53.30 by Germany's Britta Steffen, and making her the first woman under 53 seconds in a long-course (50 m) pool. The time, while a valid swim, was not accepted by FINA as the world record, because the meet is not a recognized event.
 * Marta:** Considered the best women’s soccer player on the planet, Marta more than proved her greatness during 2007. In July, she led Brazil to victory over the U.S. under-20 national team in the gold medal match of the Pan American Games, in front of 68,000 fans in Rio de Janeiro. Marta was hailed as “Pele in skirts” and the imprint of her boots was recorded in cement at the stadium after the tournament, making her the first woman to be so honored. At the FIFA Women’s World Cup in September **[|(view photos)]**, the U.S. senior national team proved no match for Marta, who struck for two goals, including one of the most spectacular in history [|**(watch video)**], in a 4-0 semifinal rout. Although Brazil was beaten by Germany, 2-0, in the final Marta finished as the World Cup’s top scorer and was named best player of the tournament.


 * Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh**: The world’s best beach volleyball team continued to dominate in 2007 **[|(view photos)]**. May-Treanor and Walsh appeared in 14 AVP finals and were victorious in 13, including the season-ending Best of the Beach. The two continued to steamroll their way toward Olympic qualification by winning seven of the eight FIVB international events in which they were entered. This season, May-Treanor became the all-time winningest women’s beach volleyball player in history with 96 career victories and was named the AVP’s Best Offensive Player, Best Defensive Player, Most Valuable Player and shared Best Team of the Year with Walsh.

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 * U.S. women's water polo team:** The U.S. women’s water polo team trumped Australia during 2007 to establish itself as a medal favorite heading into the Olympic year. At the World Championships in Melbourne, the U.S. came out on top of Australia, this time posting a 6-5 victory in the final. The team also beat Spain, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, and the Netherlands in its unbeaten run. The U.S. picked up its third FINA World League championship in July with an 8-4 victory over Australia in the final. The Americans went unbeaten in the tournament, beating Spain, Australia (twice), China and Greece. The U.S. picked up gold at the Pan American Games as well, beating host Brazil, 9-2, in the final.


 * Cate Campbell**: A 15-year-old Brisbane schoolgirl born in Africa, Campbell dominated the Australian swimming scene in 2007, continuing her bid to become her nation’s youngest Olympic gold medalist since Shane Gould in Munich 35 years ago. The sprinter posted 50m freestyle times fast enough to qualify for every women’s Olympic final in history, and her fastest time of the year -- 24.48 seconds -- was just a third of a second off Inge de Bruijin’s world record [|**(view photos)**]. Campbell posted that time, an Australian national record, while beating world champion Libby Lenton in August.


 * Charlotte Craig**: The soft-spoken 15-year-old from California packed a wallop in 2007, emerging as one of the country’s premier taekwondo athletes. Craig, who trains regularly with Olympic gold medalist Steven Lopez and his siblings, finished first at the Pan Am Games Trials and U.S. Olympic Trials, took second at the Senior National Team Trials and won bronze at the U.S. Open, the World Championships and the Pan Am Olympic Qualifier.


 * Kimberly Glass**: Ask any player on the U.S. Women’s Volleyball Team for a player to watch in the future, and every one would name Glass. After an All-American collegiate career at Arizona, the Pennsylvania native began making an international impact for the national team this year, helping the U.S. to an eighth-place finish at the FIVB World Grand Prix and to a bronze-medal finish at the FIVB World Cup [|**(view photos)**], the latter earning the U.S. a spot in the Beijing Olympics. The 23-year0old outside hitter tallied World Cup per set averages of 2.45 points, 1.79 kills, 0.34 blocks, 1.21 digs and 0.31 aces.


 * **Wang Xin**: China continued to lead the world in diving during 2007 with Wang emerging as its next bright star. The 15-year-old won gold on the 10m platform at the World Championships. Wang also won the FINA Grand Prix meet in Fort Lauderdale and added runner-up finishes at Grand Prix events in Rostock, Zhuhai and Quebec to finish as the top-ranked women’s platform diver in the world. ||

Jennie Finch (Softball), Pitcher for the 2004 gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic Team for softball

Lauryn Williams (Track & Field), 100m silver medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece Tara Kirk (Swimming), Silver medalist in 4x100 medley relay at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games Sada Jacobson (Fencing), First woman in U.S. history to medal (bronze) in Olympic fencing competition during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games

Ogonna Nnamani (Volleyball), Made her U.S. Olympic Team debut at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games as the youngest member of Team USA for Volleyball

Hayley Peirsol (Swimming), One of only three women in U.S. history to break the 16-minute mark in the 1500m freestyle

Notes – Female US Olympic Standouts for 2008

Madison Lathi

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amberthed/1407705319/ Shawn Johnson In 2007, her first year on the senior level, Johnson won the American Cup all-around title and then added three gold medals, including the all-around, at the Pan American Games before taking the U.S. national title in August. As a junior, she won the 2006 U.S. jr. title, posting the highest score of the meet, seniors included. She dominated the all-around title at the 2007 Worlds, winning by more than a point. World all-around champion Shawn Johnson can. It’s October 17 in her home state of Iowa. Shawn Johnson Day was bestowed upon the gymnast on that date this past year by Iowa governor Chet Culver, suitably marking a campaign that included three gold medals at Worlds, including that all-around title, which made her only the fourth ever American to do so, joining Kim Zmeskal, Shannon Miller and Chellsie Memmel. To call Johnson a breakout performer is a bit of an understatement. 2007 was her first year on the senior level, and she wasted no time establishing a reputation as well, the best in the world [|**(visit Johnson's 2007 rewind)**]. She began the year by merely winning the all-around title at her first ever senior level event, at the American Cup, then added three gold medals, including the all-around, at the Pan American Games in July before taking home the U.S. national title in August. Of course, this was all merely a warm-up for her victory in Stuttgart, Germany in September. In addition to her all-around victory there, Johnson won the floor exercise and was a member of the U.S. team gold medal winners.[|( watch Johnson's beam routine )] The soon to be sixteen-year-old, nicknamed “Kimbo #2” by U.S. National Team coordinator Martha Karolyi for her similarities to Kim Zmeskal, has become very famous very fast. Since her world title, she’s appeared on “The Ellen Show,” she was named spokesperson for women’s cancer initiative “Pink with a Twist,” and she was awarded the Longines Prize for Elegance, for the athlete or team having demonstrated the most remarkable elegance in the course of an international competition at the world level. 2008 will bring Johnson’s considerable vaulting skills and talents on the beam and floor to the Olympic Games, where she will attempt to repeat her accomplishments of 2007. No longer will she be able to take the world by surprise. She will be the woman to beat in Beijing. media type="youtube" key="MxRywYaBQCM&hl=en" height="355" width="425" Monica Abbot is a softball player. She graduated from University of Tennessee in 2007. She is a Pan American Gold medallist.In 2007 and 2006 she received the World Cup. She is six foot three and is a pitcher. Monica is from California. Laura Berg is also a softball player. She is fice foot seven and plays center field. She got the world cup in 2006 and 2007 just like Monica. She is a three time Gold Medalist also. Crystl Bustos is five foot eight and is from California. She graduated in 1998. She is an Olympic gold medalist, a Pan American gold medalist and a world champion.

The tennis players for the 2008 olympics are not going to be announced until June 2008.

Source : query.nytimes.com, Karolyi Pupils are Standouts in Trials, New York Times www.usasoftball.com, Bound 4 Beijing, USA Softball www.itftennis.com, ITF Tennis, Olympic Tennis Event

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