Fernando Gonzalez
He is known for having one of the hardest hitting forehands on the tennis circuit. What Fernando González is less famous for is his devotion to Hogar de Cristo, a Catholic charity for needy and homeless children. A frequent visitor to Hogar de Cristo centers, González has also played charity matches for Hogar de Cristo, raising almost $200,000 during just one match last year.
The Chilean champ is one of the sport’s top-ranked Latin players (second only to Spain’s Rafael Nadal, currently the game’s number one player), having won 10 singles and five doubles titles, as well as an Olympic gold medal in Athens, during his decade-long professional career.
Steven Lopez
He always knew he wanted to be an Olympian. It was not a matter of if, but of when, says Steven López. “When taekwando was a demonstration sport at the [1998] Olympics in Korea, I knew my time would come.”
That’s nothing short of remarkable when you consider that López was only 9 years old at the time. And he had already been practicing the martial art for four years.
López achieved the first of many of his Olympian dreams when he not only participated in the 2000 Sydney games but brought home the gold for the United States. He also won the gold in Athens in 2004 and has three world championships under his belt. His latest accomplishment is his greatest, he says, and it’s a family affair. For the first time since 1904, a trio of siblings competed together: brother Jean, 36, as the U.S. National taekwando coach; brother Mark, 26, and sister Diana, 24, all competed in Beijing, making the Lopezes the first family of taekwando.









