Fansided

30 Olympic athletes who dominated their events

By Patrick Morgan

Jul 9, 2015; Montreal, CAN; A general view as fireworks illuminate the olympic rings on top the Canada Olympic House during the Excellence Day. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 9, 2015; Montreal, CAN; A general view as fireworks illuminate the olympic rings on top the Canada Olympic House during the Excellence Day. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
20 of 31
Next
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 09: Hope Solo and Abby Wambach of USA celebrate at the end of the Olympic womens final match between USA and Japan on day 13 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Wembley Stadium on August 9, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart Franklin – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 09: Hope Solo and Abby Wambach of USA celebrate at the end of the Olympic womens final match between USA and Japan on day 13 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Wembley Stadium on August 9, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart Franklin – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images) /

12. Abby Wambach

The U.S. women’s national soccer team has dominated international competition practically since its inception in the late 80s. Since 2003, Team USA has never had a FIFA world ranking below No. 2, and has spent much of the last decade ranked as the best team in the world.

With three World Cup championships and seven CONCACAF Gold Cup wins, it’s fair to say this team would be pretty damn good even without success at the Olympics. Of course, Team USA has been just as dominant there as they have been everywhere else: they’ve made it to the gold medal game in all five Olympics since the women’s sport was added, and emerged victorious in four of those five matches. Their only final loss came in extra time during the 2000 Sydney Games, where the team lost to Norway 3-2.

Abby Wambach is the perfect representative of U.S. women’s soccer, having been with the team from 2003 until her retirement following the team’s 2015 World Cup championship. Over those 12 years, she established herself not only as a team captain but also as one of the greatest soccer players the world has ever seen. Wambach currently holds the record for most international goals scored among both male and female players.

Next: 11. Mark Spitz

Home/Olympics