Women Athletes Posters “L...-”
for social studies and physical education classrooms, home schoolers, fans.

Dorothea Lambert-Chambers, née Douglass
b. 9-3-1878; Guayamas, Ealing, United Kingdom
d. 1-7-1960; Kensington

Tennis player Dorothea Lambert-Chambers made her debut at Wimbledon in 1900. Three years later she won her first of seven ladies singles titles. In 1911 she won without losing a game in the finals, and in 1919 played 44 games against Suzanne Lenglen, eventually losing.

Future Olympic Gold Medalist Andrea Mead Lawrence, 15, Practicing for Winter Olympics, Sun Valley, Photographic Print

Andrea Mead Lawrence
b. 4-19-1932; Rutland County, Vermont
d. 3-30-2009; California

Alpine ski racer Andrea Mead Lawrence competed in three Winter Olympics (and two world championships) and was the first American alpine skier to win two Olympic gold medals.

Suzanne Lenglen, the Ladies' Singles Champion, Giclee Print

Suzanne Lenglen
b. 5-24-1899; Compiègne, France
d. 7-4-1938; France (leukemia)

Suzanne Lenglen, one of the world's greatest tennis players was criticized for turning professional. Her response: “In the twelve years I have been champion I have earned literally millions of francs for tennis and have paid thousands of francs in entrance fees to be allowed to do so.... I have worked as hard at my career as any man or woman has worked at any career. And in my whole lifetime I have not earned $5,000 - not one cent of that by my specialty, my life study - tennis.... I am twenty-seven and not wealthy - should I embark on any other career and leave the one for which I have what people call genius? Or should I smile at the prospect of actual poverty and continue to earn a fortune - for whom?” Quoted by Billie Jean King in We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Women's Tennis.

Tara Lipinski
b. 6-10-1982; Philadelphia, PA

Figure skater Tara Lipinski won won the Ladies' Singles Olympic gold medal in figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics, at age 15. She remains the youngest individual gold medalist in the history of the Olympic Winter Games.

Lipinski is also the 1997 World Champion, two-time Champions Series Final Champion (1997–1998) and 1997 U.S. Champion.

Nancy Lopez, Hispanic Heritage, Wall Poster

Nancy Lopez
b. 1-6-1957; California

Poster Text: It has been said that Nancy Lopez is women's golf, and in many ways that is true. More than any other person, Nancy Lopez is responsible for increating the visibility and popularity of the sport of women's professional golf. She was the first superstar of the sport, and she is still one of the best-known female athletes in the country.

Nancy Lopez was born in Torrence, California, in 1957, but she grew up in the city of Roswell, New Mexico. Her father, Domingo Lopez, came to America from Mexico when he was just a small boy. He worked on the farm with his four sisters and four brothers, and in the evenings he played baseball. Later he took up golf, and within eighteen months he was already winning amateur tournaments. Ms. Lopez has said that she inherited her love of sports from her father. At the age of eight, Nancy was given her first golf clubs, and she quickly became on the the best players in the state. At nine, she won the state peewee tournament. The next year she won the state girls' championship. Her father, impressed with her talent, became her coach and trainer. He even dug a big hole in their backyard and filled it with sand so Nancy could practice hitting out of sandtraps!

Thins were not always easy for Nancy, however. As a Hispanic woman, she was often a victim of discrimination. Her parents were not allowed to join the Roswell Country Club, so Nancy had to play on the municipal course in Roswell. And many people did not like the idea of a Mexican American winning so many golf tournaments. In 1977, Ms. Lopez turned pro, and she quickly made a name for herself by finishing second in her first three tournaments. In 1978, she set a record by winning five straight tournaments. In her long pro career, Nancy Lopez has been one of the most successful and popular athletes in America. She has come a long way from the dusty streets of Roswell. But she always remembers that “you can't win all the time. As long as you're doing the best you can that's [what's] important.”

• Hispanic Heritage posters