Sports Illustrated magazine ranked Jacqueline Kersee “The Greatest Female Athlete of All-Time” following her achievements in track and field. She specializes in the heptathlon, where her world record still stands, and in the long jump.
Despite her severe asthma, she has persevered as an elite athlete. In four Olympic Games (Seoul, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Atlanta) she has earned three golds, one silver, and two bronze medals. She is now an active philanthropist and the founder of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation.
Nadia Comăneci
Retired Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci overcame many hardships but eventually became the first-ever gymnast to be awarded a perfect score in the Olympics. She was credited for making gymnastics a more popular sport in the international scene, and she went on to become a five-time Olympic gold medalist and a four-time world champion.
Nadia has lived in the US since 1989 and is married to Bart Conner, who was also an Olympic gold medalist gymnast. They own the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy, several sports shops, and a production company.
Aly Raisman
It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that Aly Raisman is a legacy of the Magnificent Seven, for having inspired her to seriously take on gymnastics, although she had started learning the sport when she was only two years old. Her mother used to be a gymnast, too, in high school, but Aly Raisman would become the captain of both the “Fierce Five” and the “Final Five” US gymnastics team in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics respectively.
She won two gold medals and a bronze in London, making her the most decorated athlete at the time. Aly Raisman appeared in a music video featuring Maroon 5, and she finished fourth in the Season 16 of 'Dancing with the Stars', with her partner Mark Ballas.
Shannon Lee Miller
Shannon Miller began her gymnastics lessons when she was five years old. During those times she would travel to Moscow to expand her learnings and experience. She was unofficially the leader of the Magnificent Seven that brought home the first-ever gold medal to the US. With a total of seven gold medals, she is the most decorated gymnast to ever come from the US.
Before Simone Biles broke her record, she was the most decorated gymnast in US history with a total of 16 medals from the Olympics and World Championships; five of them, from the 1992 Olympics alone. She was diagnosed with a severe medical condition in 2011 but was cleared by her doctors after seven months of treatment.
Dara Torres
While other Olympians would make single, short appearances in the Olympic Games, Dara Torres would be the first competitive swimmer to represent the US in five Olympics (1984, 1988, 1992, 2000, and 2008). Throughout her career, she’s become a 12-time Olympic medalist and the oldest member of the US Olympic team.
Dara Torres was forced to retire after she suffered knee problems. She would’ve wanted to be part of the Olympic team in 2012, but announced her retirement after the trials. She started a career in modeling and has worked for various networks as a reporter.