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Akers, Michelle
- 1996 Olympic gold medalist
- Two-time World Cup champion (1991, 1999); bronze medalist (1995)
- All-time leading scorer in the history of women’s World Cup with 12 goals at the 1999 World Cup and won the Bronze Ball as the third most valuable player
- Awarded the FIFA Order of Merit, FIFA’s highest honor, for her contributions to the game of soccer
- Started all five matches in the Olympics, scoring a crucial tying goal on a penalty kick in the USA's 2-1 semifinal victory over Norway
- Dominated the women’s 1991 World Cup in China scoring five goals in one game, both goals in the World Cup Final and a total of 10 goals earning the Golden Boot given to the tournament’s top goal scorer; earned the Silver Ball, which is given to the second
- Changed positions from center-forward to midfielder just before the 1996 Olympics to better use her ability to make plays, establish a rhythm for the match, to shoot from a distance and to dominate the air on defense
- Member of the famed Triple-Edge Sword, which included fellow strikers Carin Jennings and April Heinrichs
- Played for the first U.S. Women's National team on Aug. 18, 1985, against Italy and scored the first goal in the history of the program three days later against Denmark, in a 2-2 tie
- Retired in 2000, prior to the Olympics, as one of four women with 100 or more career goals
- Named the U.S. Soccer's Chevrolet Female Athlete of the Year three times (1990, 1991, 1999); named to the FIFA 100 list of the 125 greatest living soccer players in 2004 becoming, along with Mia Hamm, the only Americans and females on the list
- Scored 105 international goals, 37 assists for 247 points in 153 international games winning 120 games making her USA’s second all-time leading scorer
- Inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004
- Is first female American soccer player to sign a shoe endorsement deal (1991)
- Wrote “Standing Fast,” which deals with her fight with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and overcoming obstacles to win an Olympic gold medal, and “The Game and the Glory”
- Owns two horses, an Arabian horse named Vinnie and a thoroughbred/quarter mix named Stormy
After staggering off the field in the final game of the 1999 World Cup, team doctors attached Akers to two IV’s, an oxygen mask and an EKG machine. Akers suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. A take charge player on the field, scoring 39 goals in 26 games in 1991, few people would believe that Akers endures the symptoms of CFS. “It sucks, especially for me because I like to be in the game for the long haul, for 90 minutes,” said Akers to FIFA Magazine in 1996. “To relinquish my role at times because I'm sick is very frustrating. Some days it is all I can do just to get through the day, let alone be an elite athlete. The medical community isn't sure what causes the disease. General symptoms are bone-weary fatigue to the point where it affects your daily living. You get migraine headaches. It causes chemical imbalance. The illness demands attention in every detail of my life and if I don't pay attention, it punishes me mercilessly.”
On winning the first women’s soccer Olympic gold medal: “It is difficult to put into words,” said Akers to FIFA Magazine. “It's a feeling of immense joy and incredible satisfaction.”
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Height: 5’ 10”
Born: 2/1/1966
Hometown: Santa Clara, Calif.
Sport: Soccer
Event: Midfielder
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