U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Announces 2022 Hall of Fame Class
Twelve individuals and two teams to be inducted June 24 at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum
Posted On: June 6, 2022 By :The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee has announced the 2022 Hall of Fame Class that will be inducted in a ceremony June 24 at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with eight individuals, two teams, two legends, one coach and one special contributor being recognized.
The inductees include Natalie Coughlin (swimming), Muffy Davis (Para alpine skiing and Para-cycling), Mia Hamm (soccer), David Kiley (Para alpine skiing, Para track and field, and wheelchair basketball), Michelle Kwan (figure skating), Michael Phelps (swimming), Lindsey Vonn (alpine skiing), Trischa Zorn-Hudson (Para swimming), the 1976 Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay Swimming Team, the 2002 Paralympic Sled Hockey Team, Gretchen Fraser (legend: alpine skiing), Roger Kingdom (legend: track and field), Pat Summitt (coach: basketball) and Billie Jean King (special contributor).
“It’s a distinct honor to welcome the class of 2022 into the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame and to celebrate their remarkable individual and team achievements as representatives of Team USA,” said USOPC Chief Executive Officer Sarah Hirshland. “Induction into the Hall of Fame adds to the tremendous legacies of these great athletes and teams, and also memorializes the contributions of those members of the “team behind the team” who dedicated themselves to helping Team USA achieve success on and off the field of play.”
The class of 2022 represented the United States as athletes at a combined 27 Olympic and Paralympic Games, tallying 129 medals, including 86 golds. There are also two new sports or sport disciplines added to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame with Muffy Davis as a Para-cyclist and the 2002 sled hockey team. Pat Summitt and Billie Jean King become the first female inductees in the coach and special contributor categories, respectively.
‘This will be the 17th class inducted into the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame, bringing the total to 168 inductees (individuals and teams). The first class was inducted in 1983 and the most recent class was inducted in 2019. The class of 2022 includes:
- Natalie Coughlin (swimming – 2004, 2008, 2012): In three Olympic Games, Coughlin competed in 12 events and won 12 medals, and became the first U.S. female athlete to win six medals at a single Games. She is tied for the most Olympic medals for a U.S. female athlete.
- Muffy Davis (Para alpine skiing and Para-cycling – 1998, 2002, 2012): Davis has been a part of the Paralympic Movement for 20 years as an athlete, ambassador, volunteer, and active member of several committees. She currently serves on the USOPC Governing Board and USOPC Paralympic Advisory Council.
- Mia Hamm (soccer – 1996, 2000, 2004): Hamm had 275 national team appearances and 158 national team goals. She is a three-time Olympic medalist, two-time world cup champion, two-time world cup bronze medalist, and was the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002.
- David Kiley (Para alpine skiing, Para track and field, and wheelchair basketball – 1976, 1980, 1988, 1992 (summer and winter), 2000): Kiley became the only player to play wheelchair basketball in four different decades. Kiley went on to coach in three additional Paralympic Games as a part of the wheelchair basketball team and has served as NWBA Commissioner and President.
- Michelle Kwan (figure skating – 1994 (alternate), 1998, 2002): As the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history, Kwan is a two-time Olympic medalist, five-time world champion and nine-time world championship medalist. She was the U.S. women’s champion nine times.
- Michael Phelps (swimming – 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016): Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time (28 medals) and the winningest Olympian of all time (23 gold medals). The only male U.S. swimmer to compete on five Olympic teams, his eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games is an Olympic record.
- Lindsey Vonn (alpine skiing – 2002, 2006, 2010, 2018): The most successful female ski racer in history and with three Olympic medals to her name, Vonn is the only American woman to ever capture downhill gold at the Olympic Winter Games and the only American woman with four World Cup overall titles.
- Trischa Zorn-Hudson (Para swimming – 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004): The most decorated Paralympic athlete of all time, she is credited with winning 55 Paralympic medals, including 41 gold. Over a 12-year span from 1980 to 1992, Zorn-Hudson was unbeaten in every Paralympic race in which she competed, taking gold in 25 races.
- 1976 Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay Swimming Team: En route to breaking the world record by almost four seconds, the women’s team defeated a team of what was later revealed to be state-sponsored, medically enhanced athletes from East Germany.
- 2002 Paralympic Sled Hockey Team: The 2002 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team championship performance led the U.S. to its first-ever Paralympic gold in sled hockey. Going undefeated in Paralympic play, the U.S. twice defeated the 1998 gold medal winning team of Norway in their undefeated six-game run to the gold medal.
- Gretchen Fraser (legend: alpine skiing – 1948): Fraser became the first global ski star, winning gold and silver in the debut of alpine skiing’s modern events at the 1948 Olympic Winter Games.
- Roger Kingdom (legend: track and field – 1984, 1988): A two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 110-meter hurdles in 1984 and 1988 and former world and American record holder, he is one of only two runners to ever win consecutive Olympic titles in the 110-meter hurdles.
- Pat Summitt (coach: basketball – 1976, athlete; 1984, coach): As a coach, Summitt led the U.S. women’s team to gold at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. As the women’s basketball head coach at the University of Tennessee, Summit led the squad to eight NCAA championships and more wins than any other Division I college basketball coach in NCAA history, a record that stood until 2020. As an athlete, Summit won Olympic silver as a co-captain at the 1976 Games.
- Billie Jean King (special contributor): King won 39 major titles in her career, competing in both singles and doubles. In addition to coaching the Olympic gold-medal-winning 1996 and 2000 U.S. women’s tennis teams, King captured a record 20 Wimbledon titles. She was one of the founders and the first president of the Women’s Tennis Association, was part of a group that founded World Team Tennis, and she also founded the Women’s Sports Foundation to support women in sport around Title IX, which continues to have a massive impact on Olympic and Paralympic sport.