Top 5 Best Female Athletes Ever

Let me be clear, I love this topic. I thought picking 5 great female athletes to highlight would be easy, and it was. The only problem is that there are many more than just 5 that have been superb athletes in their sport. I am sticking with the guidelines though, and finally narrowed it to the 5 that have been some of my favorite female athletes.

#5- Lisa Fernandez (Softball Pitcher). This was a painful choice for me because Lisa Fernandez pitched for UCLA, which are rivals in softball to my alma mater Fresno State. However, I have to give her the proper due and respect for what she has accomplished. I have seen her pitch in person many times, and she is in my opinion, the greatest pitcher/hitter to ever play the game.

*Pitched for UCLA from 1990-93, 4 time First Team All-American, 2 time National Champion.

*Her UCLA pitching record was 93-7 with 784 strikeouts, 74 shutouts and an ERA of 0.22.

*Three-time Olympic gold medalist, 1996, 2000, 2004. She was an alternate in the 2008 Olympics. In 2004 she was Team USA's top pitcher and hitter, with a batting average of .545, an Olympic record.

#4- Shannon Miller (Gymnast). Many people remember Mary Lou Retton, but forget about Shannon Miller. However, Miller was an Olympic star in her own right and was a pleasure to watch and root for.

*1992 Olympics she took the Silver medal in the All-Around competition, losing the Gold by only a 0.012 score.

*In 1993 and 1994 she was the All-Around World Champion in female gymnastics.

*In 1996, she won Gold in the balance beam competition.

*She is the most decorated American Gymnast, male or female, in history! She earned 7 Olympic medals and 9 World Championship medals.

#3- Cheryl Miller (Basketball).She played college ball when I was playing high school basketball. She was my female basketball hero and I aspired to be like her on the court. However, she was a 6'3" Forward/Guard and I was a 5' 7" Point Guard, so our similarities were few!

*Led her high school basketball team to a 132-4 record. In one game she scored an unbelievable 105 points in one half. During that game, she dunked the ball, a first for any female basketball player during an organized game.

*1983-1986 she played for USC and was a 4-time All American and 3-time player of the year. She led USC to 112-20 record and 2 National Championships.

*She scored 3,018 points in college and became the first USC player, male or female, to ever have the school retire her jersey number.

*Miller led Team USA to a Gold medal in the 1984 Olympics, and a World Championship in 1986. She was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

#2- Mia Hamm (Soccer). Her name is synonymous with women's soccer in America and all over the world. She made people want to watch her sport and root for her teams. I feel like she was personally responsible for breathing life back into women's soccer in the U.S.

*An 18 year career, playing soccer from 1987-2004.

*At 15 she was the youngest player ever on the National Team.

*She led her team at the University of North Carolina to 4 National Championships and had her jersey number retired.

*She won 2 World Cups and 2 Olympic Gold medals, scoring 138 goals in her professional career.

#1- Martina Navratilova (Tennis). In 2006, Billie Jean King said this about Navratilova, "She's the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player that has ever lived." I agree 100 percent with that statement. I grew up watching Navratilova and her great tennis battles with Chris Evert, year after year. I played 7^th grade tennis, just to try to be a great player like Martina. It didn't work.

*She reached the Wimbledon singles finals 12 times and won it 9 out of those 12 times.

*Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam titles in singles and 31 Grand Slam titles in doubles.

*At one point in her career, she won 74 consecutive tennis matches.

These are all some of the finest athletes, male or female, that have ever lived. Each one has been a superstar in her sport, and each one has inspired me in different ways. I hope you enjoyed my picks, feel free to let me know who you would have picked.

Source: http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/w-softbl/mtt/fernandez_lisa00.html
http://shannonmiller.com/shannon-miller.php
http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=Cheryl_Miller
http://www.soccertimes.com/usteams/roster/women/hamm.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martina_Navratilova