London Athletes

Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony was born in 1984 in Brooklyn New York.  After a successful high school career at Towson Catholic High school and Oak Hill Academy, Anthony went to Syracuse University on a basketball scholarship. After one season at Syracuse, he left college to enter the 2003 National Basketball Association Draft, where he was selected as the third pick by the Denver Nuggets. In 2011, he was traded to the New York Knicks, where he currently plays as the team’s power forward.

Anthony has emerged as one of the most popular players in the NBA. He has been named to the All-Star team five times, the All-NBA team four times and the All-Rookie team once. Anthony led the Nuggets to two division titles and to the playoffs every year from 2004-2010, including in 2009 when he helped lead them to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1985. As a member of the USA National Team, Anthony won a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.

Anthony married La La Vazquez in 2010 in New York City. Together they have a son, Kiyan Carmelo Anthony, who was born in March 2007. Anthony appears on the reality show “La La’s Full Court Wedding” with his wife.

Medals/Awards

• National Championship (Syracuse) in 2003
• National College Athletic Association’s March Madness Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Award  in 2003
• Most Valuable Player of NCAA East Regional in 2003
• Olympic Bronze medal in 2004
• Olympic Gold medal in 2008

 

Dara Torres

Born in 1967 in Beverley Hills, CA, Torres started swimming at a young age at the local Y.M.C.A. and later accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where she swam in the National Collegiate Athletic Association from 1986 to 1989. In her four years as a Gator, Torres won nine South East Conference championships

Torres is the first American swimmer to compete in five Olympic Games, earning 12 medals throughout her career. At the Beijing Games in 2008, Torres became the oldest swimmer to compete in the Olympics. During the games she won three silver medals, including the 50-meter freestyle race where she missed the Gold by 1/100th of a second.

Today, Torres works as a TV commentator and model. She has been a feature correspondent for Good Morning America and has worked on-air for ESPN, TNT and Fox News Channel. She was also the first female athlete to be on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In 2009, Torres was named one of the Top Female Athletes of the Decade by Sports Illustrated magazine and won the “Best Comeback” award at the 17^th Annual ESPY Awards.  Her memoir, “Age is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams At Any Stage In Your Life,” was published in April, 2009.  Her second book, “Gold Medal Fitness: A Revolutionary 5-Week Program” was released in May, 2010 and quickly became a New York Times Bestseller.

Medals/Awards

• Won nine SEC championships
• SEC Athlete of the Year in 1988
• SEC Female Swimmer of the Year in 1987 and 1989
• 28 All-American swimming honors (the maximum number possible during a college career)
• Inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame in 1999

• Five-time Olympian (first swimmer from the United States to compete in five Olympics)
• Twelve- time Olympic Medalist
• ESPY Award recipient for Best Comeback in 2009

 

 Kerron Clement

Originally born in Trinidad, Clement’s family moved to Texas in 1998. After competing on his high school’s track team, he accepted a track and field scholarship to the University of Florida. Clement became a U.S. citizen in June 2004, the same year he competed in the World Junior Championship.

In 2005, Clement broke the indoor world record for the 400-meter sprint at the National Collegiate Athletic Association indoor championships and set a personal best performance in the 400-meter hurdles, winning the US Outdoor Track and Field Championships title.

Clement earned a gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2007 World Championship. The same year, he left Gainesville for California to train under legendary track coach Bob Kersee to prepare for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Clement qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 400-meter hurdles. The following year, he competed at the International Association of Athletics Federation’s World Championships in Athletics, winning the gold medal.  He took another gold medal at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final.

Within the span of five years Clement became a two-time USA Champion, two-time World Champion, World Record Holder and 2008 Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist. He is currently training for the 2012 Olympics in London.

Medals/Awards

• Won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) outdoor championships in the 400-meter hurdles in 2004
• Won the gold medal in the World Junior Championship in the 400-meter hurdles in 2004
• Gold Medal in the 4×400 Relay at the 2008 Olympics
• Silver Medal in the 400-Hurdles at the 2008 Olympics
• Gold Medal at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Finals

 

Aly Raisman

Aly Raisman is a Massachusetts-born, artistic gymnast and a three-year member of the U.S. National gymnastics team. She is a leader on the team and expected to perform well in 2012.

Raisman began gymnastics as a toddler when her mother, Lynn, a former high school gymnast, put her in a “Mommy & Me” class at 18 months old. She trained at Excel Gymnastics until she was 10, then began training at Brestyan’s American Gymnastics under Mihai and Sylvie Brestyan. Raisman was a student at Needham High School until the end of her junior year. She is currently completing her senior year online so she can focus on training for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Medals/Awards

• 2011 World Championships team gold medalist and floor exercise bronze medalist
• 2010 World Championships team silver medalist
• 2011 CoverGirl Classic all-around, vault (tie) and floor exercise champion
• 2011 U.S. Senior National Championships all-around bronze medalist and floor exercise bronze medalist

 

Steven Lopez

Steven Lopez is a 2000 and 2004 Olympic Gold medalist and a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in taekwondo. He also won the Lightweight Taekwondo World Championship in 2001 and the Welterweight Taekwondo World Championship in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009, making him the first taekwondo fighter to win five World Championships.

Taekwondo runs in the family as brother Mark Lopez and sister Diana Lopez are also Taekwondo World Champions. Jean Lopez, also a brother of Steven, is a taekwondo coach as well.

Lopez is currently training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO to prepare for the 2012 London games.

Medals/Awards

• Olympic gold medalist 2000 and 2004
• 2008 Olympic bronze medalist
• Lightweight Taekwondo World Championship in 2001
• Welterweight Taekwondo World Championship winner in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009