Mia Hamm was born with a club foot that required heavy corrective shoes joined by a metal bar just to take a single step, then grew into arguably the most explosive and technically dominant athlete of the 20th century. This deep dive explores the mechanics of that greatness: how willpower and tactical brilliance dragged an entire sport out of the shadows.

An Air Force kid who was perpetually the new arrival, Hamm sharpened her field vision playing against older boys and even tackle football. After a grueling 16-game international scoring drought taught her to adapt, she became bulletproof, carrying the commercial viability of women’s soccer on her shoulders through its most fragile years.

• Four NCAA titles and a single loss in 95 games at North Carolina
• Playing emergency goalkeeper in the 1995 World Cup after a red card
• Collapsing on a stretcher to win 1996 Olympic gold before 76,000 fans
• The 1999 World Cup win, a three-liter IV drip, and a relentless media tour
• Founding a professional league, honoring her late brother, and later co-owning clubs