Julia Mancuso (born March 9, 1984 in Reno, Nevada) is an alpine ski racer with the U.S. Ski Team. She was the gold medalist in the giant slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympics and the silver medalist in both downhill and combined at the 2010 Winter Olympics. She has also won three medals (a silver and two bronzes) at the World Championships, although she has only won four races in regular World Cup competition. Her three Olympic medals are the most ever for a female American alpine skier.
Mancuso's nickname among her U.S. Ski Team teammates and fans is "Super Jules". Following her Olympic gold medal in 2006, a ski run at Squaw Valley Ski Resort was renamed "Julia's Gold".
Mancuso was born in Reno, Nevada, and grew up in the Lake Tahoe area as the middle of three sisters, between older sister April and younger sister Sara. Her parents divorced in 1992. She attended The Winter Sports School in Park City, Utah, graduating in 2000. She resides in Olympic Valley, California.
Mancuso made her World Cup debut at Copper Mountain, Colorado, on November 20, 1999, at the age of 15. She scored her first World Cup points (top-30 finish in a race) during the 2001 season. While she often struggled in World Cup races over the next few seasons, she enjoyed exceptional success at the Junior World Championships, winning a record eight medals, including five golds in 2002, 2003, and 2004.
Her World Cup results improved dramatically during the 2005 season, as she climbed to ninth place overall from 55th place in 2004. At the 2005 World Championships, she won bronze medals in both the super G and the giant slalom competitions. Her unexpected gold medal at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, coming when she had never finished higher than second in a World Cup race, launched her to stardom.
After her coach gave her a plastic tiara as a good-luck token in 2005, she wore it over her racing helmet during several slalom races. She wore her tiara following her Silver Medal run in the Women's Downhill and again at the medal ceremony at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Mancuso competes using Volkl skis, Lange boots and POC helmets and armor. In December 2006, Lange announced that Mancuso would be the first-ever "Lange Girl Athlete", and be the subject of posters, images, and an "ongoing effort to showcase exceptional women ski athletes who are also attractive and inspiring".
In 2010, Mancuso launched her own lingerie line named Kiss My Tiara. Mancuso also models lingerie and has been memorably quoted as saying, "I think underwear is my calling. You can be feminine and fast."
During the 2010 Winter Olympics, VISA featured Mancuso in an animated story describing how as a child she had drawn a picture of herself as a gold medalist, and closing with a photograph of her after winning the gold medal in 2006. She also starred in a commercial for 24 Hour Fitness called 'Reach Your Potential', directed by Emmy nominee Brent Roske.
Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 5 in singles and World No. 5 in doubles. In a career limited by numerous injuries, she is still considered to be one of the greatest women's tennis players of all time, she has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate occasions. She became the World No. 1 for the first time on February 25, 2002, becoming the first African American woman to achieve the feat during the open era.
Williams is the reigning champion in women's doubles at the Australian Open and the French Open. Her 21 Grand Slam titles ties her for twelfth on the all time list and is more than any other active female player except for her younger sister Serena Williams: seven in singles, twelve in women's doubles, and two in mixed doubles. Her seven Grand Slam singles titles ties her with four other women for twelfth on the all-time list. Her five Wimbledon singles titles ties her with two other women for eighth on the all-time list. She is one of only three women in the open era to have won five or more Wimbledon singles titles. From the 2000 Wimbledon Championships through the 2001 US Open, Williams won four of the six Grand Slam singles tournaments held. She is one of only five women in the open era to win 200 or more main draw Grand Slam singles matches.
Williams has won three Olympic gold medals, one in singles and two in women's doubles. She has won more Olympic gold medals than any other female tennis player. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Williams became only the second player to win Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles at the same Olympic Games, after Helen Wills Moody in 1924.
With 43 career singles titles, Williams along with Justine Henin leads active players on the WTA Tour. Her 35-match winning streak from the 2000 Wimbledon Championships to the 2000 Generali Ladies Linz tournament final is the longest winning streak since January 1, 2000.
Venus has played her sister Serena in 23 professional matches since 1998, with Serena winning 13 of these matches. They have met in eight Grand Slam singles finals, with Serena winning six times. Beginning with the 2002 French Open, they met in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, the first time in the open era that the same two players had contested four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals. The pair have won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles together. She is also one of only three active WTA players to have made the finals of all four Grand Slams, the other two being her sister Serena Williams and Justine Henin.
In professional women's tennis, Venus has played her sister Serena 23 times, accumulating a 10–13 record in the series. They are the only women during the open era to have played each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals. They have met in a total of eight Grand Slam finals, ahead of the number of finals played by Steffi Graf and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and by Helen Wills Moody and Helen Jacobs but behind the record of fourteen finals set by Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. Currently Venus has 43 career tennis titles, Serena has 37. Serena has 13 slams and Venus has seven.
In 2005 Tennis Magazine ranked her as the 25th-best player in 40 years in a controversial article. Most tennis experts consider Venus Williams 2nd all-time after her sister. Since this ranking, however, she has won an additional three Grand Slam singles titles.
On December 13, 2007, Williams received her associate degree in Fashion Design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale with Cum Laude honors and a 3.5 GPA.
Williams's longtime boyfriend, pro golfer Hank Kuehne, has been a visible presence since Wimbledon 2007, holding her hand during long rain delays and clapping support from the players' box along with her parents and younger sister Serena. "He's a great guy", Williams said. "He understands competition. He's very supportive. I love having him here and everyone else in the box, too."
In 2003, Venus and Serena Williams's older sister Yetunde Price, 31, was shot dead near the courts on which the sisters once practiced. Price was the Williams sisters' personal assistant. The Williams family issued this statement shortly after the death: "We are extremely shocked, saddened and devastated by the shooting death of our beloved Yetunde. She was our nucleus and our rock. She was a personal assistant, confidante, and adviser to her sisters, and her death leaves a void that can never be filled. Our grief is overwhelming, and this is the saddest day of our lives."
Williams is the chief executive officer of her interior design firm "V Starr Interiors" located in Jupiter, Florida. Williams's company designed the set of the Tavis Smiley Show on PBS, the Olympic athletes' apartments as part of the U.S. bid package for New York City to host the 2012 Olympic Games, and residences and businesses in the Palm Beach, Florida area.
In 2007, Williams teamed with retailer Steve & Barry's to launch her own fashion line EleVen. "I love fashion and the idea that I am using my design education to actually create clothing and footwear that I will wear on and off the tennis court is a dream come true for me. The vision has been to create a collection that will allow women to enjoy an active lifestyle while remaining fashionable at the same time. I'm thrilled with everything we've created to launch EleVen."
In June 2009, Venus was named 77th in the Top 100 Most Powerful Celebrities compiled by Forbes magazine. In August 2009, Venus Williams became part-owners of the Miami Dolphins with sister Serena Williams. The announcement was made during a press conference overlooking the practice field. This made Venus and indeed her sister Serena the first African-American females to obtain ownership in an NFL franchise.Stephan Ross, the majority owner of the Dolphins, said "We are thrilled to have Venus and Serena join the Dolphins as limited partners. They are among the most admired athletes in the world and have become global ambassadors for the game of tennis. Their addition to our ownership group further reflects our commitment to connect with aggressively and embrace the great diversity that makes South Florida a multicultural gem."
In late June 2010, Venus Williams released her first book, entitled "Come to Win; on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession" which she co-wrote with Kelly E. Carter. In promotion of the book she embarked on a tour around America in support of the release, whilst also appearing on several talk shows including The Early Show and Good Morning America. This gave her a place on the top 5 The New York Times Best Seller List.
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Leryn Dahiana Franco Steneri is a Paraguayan athlete who specializes in the javelin throw. Her personal best throw is 55.38 metres, achieved in May 2007 in Fortaleza.
Born in Paraguay (born 1 March 1982 in Asuncion) of Uruguayan parentage she broke the national records for the under 17 year age group in 1998 for both the javelin and triple jump. After winning bronze medals in 1999 and 2000 Franco won the South American Junior Championship javelin title in 2001. Franco was South American under 23 champion in 2004.
Her performances at world level are 24th in the 2003 World Championship and 42nd out of 45 at the Athens Olympics. Although she set her personal best in 2007 she finished 12th (last) at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. In 2008, she competed in the Beijing Olympics.
She combines her athletic endeavours with a career as a model and beauty pageant contestant. In 2006, she was runner-up Miss Universo Paraguay 2006. She participated at the Miss Bikini Universe pageant and also has her own calendar, which was shot in 2007 by Martin Crespo. She placed #86 in AskMen.com's 2009 "Top 99 Women" poll.
On 14 December 2009, Bleacher Report, a website that provides news and fans opinions of sporting events and self-described world’s leading publisher of original and entertaining sports editorial content, ranked her as No. 6 in its list of "The 40 Hottest Female Athletes Of The Decade" On 23 August 2010, Bleacher Report upgraded Leryn Franco to No. 1 in its list of "The 100 Hottest Athletes Of All Time"
Julia Mancuso (born March 9, 1984 in Reno, Nevada) is an alpine ski racer with the U.S. Ski Team. She was the gold medalist in the giant slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympics and the silver medalist in both downhill and combined at the 2010 Winter Olympics. She has also won three medals (a silver and two bronzes) at the World Championships, although she has only won four races in regular World Cup competition. Her three Olympic medals are the most ever for a female American alpine skier.
