Fabled Dream Team Headlines 2009 Inductees For U.S. Olympic HOF
Posted: 10:54 am PDT July 1, 2009
Colorado Springs, CO -- (Sports Network) - The legendary 1992 Dream Team that won gold at Barcelona was named Wednesday by the U.S. Olympic Committee as a member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame class for 2009.The Dream Team was composed of quite possibly the greatest collection of basketball talent ever assembled, featuring the likes of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. "Anytime an individual or a team can be recognized by the Hall of Fame, it's a special honor," Bird said. "This is great recognition for a team that was committed and honored to represent our country and winning the gold medal. It was a special team and a special time for all of us. Wearing USA on our uniforms made us all extremely proud." The most decorated Olympic basketball player in the world, male or female, Teresa Edwards, track and field specialist Michael Johnson, Picabo Street, Willye White, Mary T. Meagher, Sarah Will, longtime men's gymnastics coach Abie Grossfeld, skiing veteran Andrea Mead-Lawrence and special contributor Peter Ueberroth round out the rest of inductees who will be honored on August 12 in Chicago.
A five-time Olympian, Edwards captured four gold medals and one bronze. She played on the 1984, '88, '92, '96 and 2000 U.S. Olympic squads. "For me, it's the highest of highs because I've always looked at the Olympics as being the best that you could possibly get for women's basketball," said Edwards. "For me, it's the most important honor ever." Johnson took home four gold medals while competing in three Olympics. At Atlanta in 1996, he became the only man to win both the 200- and 400-meter races, breaking the World Record in the 200. Street earned a silver medal for her performance in the downhill at the 1994 Winter Games and nabbed gold in the super G at Nagano in 1998. The first woman to compete for the U.S. team in five Olympic games, White was a standout in the long jump and 100 meters during her Olympic career (1956-72). She claimed a silver medal in the long jump in 1956 in Melbourne at the tender age of 16, marking the first time an American woman medaled in the event. White, who passed away in February 2007, also won silver in 1964 as a member of the 4x100 meter relay team in Tokyo. A gifted swimmer, Meagher won three gold medals at the 1984 Games, taking both the 100- and 200-meter butterfly and swimming the butterfly leg on the 4x100 medley relay. Will, a Paralympian, won gold in the downhill and super G in 1992 in Albertville, France.
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