Women Lead The Way In The 2025 USOPC Hall of Fame Induction

For the past several Olympic Games, American women have outpaced the men in the medal count. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s Hall of Fame Class of 2025 is no different. Of the eight individual Olympic and Paralympic athletes being inducted into the UPOPC Hall of Fame this year, six are women.

These athletes will join 119 individuals already inducted into the USOPC Hall of Fame, which was established in 1979. Of the 119, 51 are women. (Inductees also include 11 teams, five coaches, and 19 special contributors.)

Here’s a look at how the six female Olympians and Paralympians inspired other Team USA athletes:

Gabby Douglas made history at the Olympic Games London 2012, becoming the first Black woman to win the all-around gold medal in gymnastics. A trailblazer and two-time Olympic team gold medalist (2012, 2016), Douglas also contributed to two world championship team titles, earning a total of six medals across the Olympic and world stages. She was the first U.S. gymnast to capture gold in both the all-around and team competitions at a single Olympic Games—a feat she achieved in London—and is one of only two American women to win back-to-back Olympic team golds.

At just 16 years old, Douglas broke barriers and redefined what was possible in the sport. Her groundbreaking achievements helped pave the way for future generations of gymnasts, including Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles. With 11 Olympic and 30 world championship medals, Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history. Chiles is a two-time Olympian and two-time Olympic medalist.

 “For me, Gabby Douglas was that spark,” says Chiles. “Watching her win in 2012 helped me believe that someone who looked like me could take up space and shine. What she did for the sport—and for Black girls—is history. I’m proud to be part of the wave she inspired.”

 “I’m so happy that Gabby is being inducted into the USOPC’s Hall of Fame,” says Biles. “Her accomplishments in the sport speak for themselves, but what truly stands out to me is the impact she has had on the sport of gymnastics. Gabby’s success helped inspire me, and countless other young gymnasts around the world who look like us, to believe that anything is possible. She is a pioneer and her immense impact is evident with more diversity in our sport than ever before. Congratulations and thank you Gabby!”

Allyson Felix is the most decorated athlete in the history of track and field, amassing 31 medals across the Olympic Games and world championships. Over the course of five consecutive Olympic appearances, from 2004 to 2020, she earned 11 Olympic medals, including seven golds, making her the most decorated female track and field athlete in Olympic history. At the Olympic Games London 2012, Felix captured three gold medals, including anchoring a world-record-setting 4x100-meter relay. She is also a 14-time world champion and holds the record for the most career medals at the World Athletics Championships, with a total of 20.

Beyond the track, Felix has become a powerful advocate. She has been a leading voice for maternity health and gender equity, working to create better pathways for women to succeed in sport, business and family life. In 2024, she was elected to the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission and appointed to the USOPC Board of Directors, continuing her legacy of leadership and impact within the Olympic and Paralympic Movement.

She won her final Olympic gold medal in the women’s 4x400 relay at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, along with teammates Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone who ran the first leg and handed the baton to Felix. Dalilah Muhammad ran the third leg, and Athing Mu-Nikolayev, at age 18, anchored the team to gold.

After the race, the three women—all Olympic champions in individual events—spoke about how special it was to compete with Felix in the 2020 Olympic 4x400 relay.

“Handing off to Allyson was just exciting,” said McLaughlin-Levrone, reflecting on the race for NBC. “I'd never been in a race with her before, so this was my one and only time to do it. It just felt like truly the passing of the baton, no pun intended. She's had such an amazing career, so being able to hand off to her was just like a full circle moment for me.”

“I knew the impact that she had had on track and field, and especially Team USA, and I’ve always watched 4x4 relays,” said Mu-Nikolayev, also looking back on the race. “Sharing that moment with Allyson, for me, was just surreal because I grew up watching her. I grew up aspiring to be like her, and now I'm standing on the podium next to her.”

“Just inspired by her throughout my entire career, and I'm truly just honored to have been a part of this team with her on her last Olympics,” said Muhammad immediately after the relay. “I think we're going to look back at this and just think about how special this moment really was.”

Susan Hagel is a trailblazer in adaptive sports, having competed in six Paralympic Games, from 1976-1996, across three different sports where she earned four gold and two bronze medals. Over the course of her decorated career, she earned numerous honors, including the prestigious International Wheelchair Basketball Federation Triad Award in 1998. A 16-time All-Tournament Team selection, Hagel was a cornerstone of 14 U.S. national teams, representing her country at the Paralympic Games, Pan American Games and Gold Cup competitions.

As a member of the NWBA Hall of Fame committee, Hagel continues to champion opportunities in sport for individuals with disabilities. A role model to women and junior girls in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, she holds the distinction of having the longest playing career of any woman in her division. Hagel’s legacy is defined not only by her athletic achievements but also by her unwavering dedication to the growth and inclusivity of adaptive sport.

For more than 40 years, Hagel was a rehabilitation therapist, and she introduced Ian Lynch to adaptive sports after he was injured in a car accident at the age of eight. Lynch went on to compete in wheelchair basketball at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games, winning gold and bronze medals. He is now the access assistance manager for the University of Minnesota Disability Resource Center.

“I am extremely thankful for Susan's influence on me as an athlete,” says Lynch. “She lives and breathes the Paralympic movement and has been a role model for me for over 30 years. Now, as I have transitioned out of international competition, we have become especially close, and I can fully appreciate what a special person she is and can feel her competitive spirit.”

Kerri Walsh Jennings is one of the most decorated athletes in beach volleyball history. A three-time Olympic gold medalist (2004, 2008, 2012) and bronze medalist (2016), she holds the record for the most career victories in both international and domestic beach volleyball, with 135 wins. A three-time world champion (2003, 2005, 2007), Walsh Jennings also set records for the most consecutive match wins (112) and tournament wins (19). Alongside longtime partner Misty May-Treanor, she achieved an unprecedented 21 consecutive Olympic match victories across three Olympic Games. (May-Treanor was inducted into the USOPC Hall of Fame in 2019.)

Walsh Jennings’ resilience, dominance and dedication have left an enduring legacy in the sport of beach volleyball and beyond. Despite undergoing five shoulder surgeries, she returned to win the Rio Grand Slam in 2016. In one of her most memorable feats, she competed at the Olympic Games London 2012 while five weeks pregnant.

“Congratulations, Mama, you did it,” says May-Treanor in a Hall of Fame congratulatory video to her former teammate. “Retired, maybe sooner than you wanted to, I know you still have it in you to be out there playing. But I was honored to walk and travel that journey with you for over 11 years.

“We started out uniting as ex-college athletes, knowing each other from club and playing against each other in college, to traveling the world, starting off in Portugal with our first FIBV victory, riding in planes, trains and automobiles ‘til we were we were finally able to buy that business class ticket. We never looked back.

“It was truly an honor to do amazing, amazing things, to grow with you, from ex-college athlete to women to moms, to watch you grow, to watch your wings just allow you to rise above the rest. You have done tremendous things. You've set records nobody else will touch, and it was an honor to be by your side.”

Marla Runyan made history as the first visually impaired athlete to compete in the Olympic Games and remains the only U.S. athlete to have competed in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. At the Barcelona 1992 Paralympic Games, she achieved remarkable success, winning gold in the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter races as well as the long jump, while also competing in cycling. She added a fifth gold medal at the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games with a victory in the pentathlon, along with a silver in the shot put.

In 2000, Runyan became the first blind athlete to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team, competing in the 1,500m event in Sydney. In Paralympic sport, Runyan held the women’s T13 400-meter world record for an astounding 29 years, until it was broken in 2024. Over the course of her career, she earned six Paralympic medals—five of them gold—and claimed three national titles in outdoor track and field and three in road 5K events.

In 2001, she co-authored her autobiography, No Finish Line: My Life as I See It, offering an inspiring account of her journey. Since 2013, she has continued to make an impact as a teacher and ambassador for the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts. She has also been a volunteer assistant track and cross-country coach at Northeastern University, working alongside her husband, Matt Lonergran.

“She has had it much harder than us and still overcomes challenges,” Jordan O’Dea told the Boston Herald when she was still a student at Northeastern University. O’Dea competed in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon. “It makes us feel that (anything) is possible even though we don’t have to face the same challenges. It makes us feel like we’re already one step ahead. …  She tells us of achieving things that she didn’t think were possible. It makes us inspired.”

With four Olympic gold medals and 23 Grand Slam singles titles, Serena Williams is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players in history. She ranks fifth in all-time career titles and boasts a remarkable 84% win percentage. Williams held the world No. 1 ranking in women’s singles for a total of 319 weeks, finishing as the year-end No. 1 on five occasions.

Throughout her storied career, Williams revolutionized women’s tennis, redefining the sport with her unmatched power, athleticism, and mental toughness. Alongside her sister Venus, she helped usher in the power era of the women’s game, setting new standards for excellence. Together, the Williams sisters claimed 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and captured Olympic gold in Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008, and London 2012, becoming the most successful doubles team in Olympic history. They also competed in Rio 2016.

From the public courts of Compton to the pinnacle of global sport, Serena Williams’ legacy transcends her records and championships—she remains an enduring symbol of determination, resilience, and inspiration.

In June 2025, Coco Gauff became the first American to win the French Open since Williams in 2015, and she talked about Williams’s influence on her career.

“She’s the reason I picked up the racket and the sport and have the belief that I do,” said Gauff after the French Open.

Later, when asked what she admired most about Williams, Gauff told ESPN’s First Take: “The confidence. Every time she stepped on the court, she believed that she could win the match. That's something that I do every time I step on the court, I have that belief that I can win.”

“And obviously her mental strength,” Gauff added. “I've seen her come back from some crazy moments, and anytime she looks down, she can find a way to bring it back.”