'We all believed in each other and we believed in this day. 'But right now, it feels great,' she said, clutching the gold medal around her neck.

While her teammates ran the victory lap around the cheering stadium, she limped in the middle of the field. Hamm was hurting so much she came out for a substitute at the end of the game. 'It would have been nice, but I wouldn’t trade this victory for anything in the world,' said the 24-year-old forward from Chapel Hill, N.C., who led North Carolina to four NCAA titles. Hamm was the team’s leading scorer in 1995, but playing on a hurt ankle she had only one goal in the Olympics and did not score in the final. She showed great discipline by getting the rebound, she was right there,' Hamm said. 'Joy put a perfect ball into the box.'Īnd MacMillan 'finished an important goal. 'I’ve never seen her accelerate so fast,' Hamm said of Fawcett, once again downplaying her own role.

With the score tied 1-1, Hamm provided a brilliant through pass to Joy Fawcett, who raced down the right side and sent a perfect pass for Tiffeny Milbrett to slam home for the winning goal. Shannon MacMillan pounced on the rebound and gave the U.S. In the 19th minute, Hamm struck a ball from just inside the penalty area that was deflected by Chinese goalkeeper Gao Hong onto the crossbar. Still, she insisted 'This team is incredible,' deflecting the praise everywhere. The United States beat a talented team from China 2-1 and Hamm had a role in both goals.

They got it before a record crowd of 76,481 at Sanford Stadium, the biggest to watch a women’s game anywhere. The American’s objective was the first Olympic gold medal in women’s soccer. I think that’s what you saw today,' Hamm said. 'From the beginning this has been an entire team effort. For Mia Hamm, it’s her teammates and the team that deserve that description. : For Hamm, Gold Is Painful for RewardingĪTHENS, Ga.

Go for the goal by mia hamm