THE SUMMER SANDERS FAN PAGE
If Janet Evans is the queen of US women's swimming then Summer is the First Lady.
TOP ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITIES JOIN TOP TENNIS STARS AUGUST 24 FOR ARTHUR ASHE KIDS DAY PRESENTED BY AETNA Andre Agassi, Summer Sanders, Mario, Serena Williams, Quddus, BBMak and Andy Roddick to Headline World's Largest Family Music and Tennis Extravaganza
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., August 1, 2002 - The USTA today announced that tennis stars Andre Agassi, Serena Williams, and Andy Roddick, co-hosts Olympic Gold Medalist/TV personality Summer Sanders and MTV VJ Quddus, and new, chart-topping musical talent Mario and BBMak will headline Arthur Ashe Kids' Day presented by Aetna. The seventh annual day-long festival of kids' tennis activities --- including interactive games, musical entertainment, free clinics and the World TeamTennis finals - will take place Saturday, August 24 at the USTA National Tennis Center, in Flushing, N.Y. Arthur Ashe Kids' Day is the official kick off event for the US Open that runs August 26 - September 8.
Arthur Ashe Kids Day is renowned for breaking some of music's biggest acts including Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, O-Town, Lil' Bow Wow, Jessica Simpson, 98 Degrees, and Hanson. And this year's talent is no exception.
J Records' new star, Mario, 15, has been identified for a long career along the lines of Usher, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and other young sensations that came before him. This week, his debut album, Mario, entered the Billboard Top 200 at No. 9, while his smash single, "Just A Friend 2002," climbs to No. 5 on the Billboard Top 40 chart.
In 2000, British group BBMak garnered over onr million sales worldwide with its debut Sooner or Later, an album that spawned two Top 40 hits ("Back Here" and "Still On Your Side"). The band--Christian Burns, Mark Barry and Stephen McNally--has recently released its new CD, Into Your Head, with a Top 40 single, "Out of My Heart (Into Your Head)."
Presented by Aetna and produced by the USTA, Arthur Ashe Kids' Day honors tennis legend Arthur Ashe and continues his mission of using tennis as a means to instill in kids the values of humanitarianism, leadership and academic excellence.
"Arthur Ashe Kids' Day is about perpetuating the legacy of Arthur Ashe and his appreciation and concern for young people," said Pierce O'Neil, Chief Business Officer, USTA. "It's a great way to introduce tennis to kids and their families in a fun and entertaining way."
Kids' activities include the IBM Speed Zone, American Express Skills Challenge, USA Tennis games and clinics, Cartoon Network Smash Tennis and two Nike tennis courts.
At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Summer Sanders emerged as the most decorated U.S. swimmer, winning two gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze medal. Sanders was a sideline reporter for USA Network during the 2001 US Open. Since 1997, Sanders has co-hosted NBA Inside Stuff.
MTV's Quddus began his career at "MTV's Summer in the Keys," co-hosting for 'The Mandy Moore Show' and 'Total Request Live' (TRL). Currently, he is guest hosting "TRL," hosting his own show "MTV SOUL," and has co-hosted MTV's New Years Eve 2002, and hosted several "MTV's Spring Break 2002" shows. Highlights of Quddus' interviews as an MTV VJ include, Kirsten Dunst, Enrique Iglesias, Usher, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Fred Durst.
Gates open for Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at 9 a.m. on August 24 (rain date: August 25). The Arthur Ashe Kids' Day stadium show will take place from 12-1:30 p.m. and be broadcast nationally by CBS on Sunday, August 25, from 12-2:00 p.m. (EST).
Tickets to the event are now on sale and are available through Ticketmaster (1-866-OPENTIX), usopen.org or at the USTA National Tennis Center box office. American Express is the official card of Arthur Ashe Kids' Day. Loge tickets cost $20 and general admission promenade tickets cost $10. Kids 12-and-under with stadium show tickets will receive a Fila hat on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission is free for the interactive games and clinics which will take place on the outer courts at the USTA National Tennis Center from 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Arthur Ashe Kids' Day benefits a variety of youth oriented charities and USA Tennis NJTL (National Junior Tennis League), a program founded by Arthur Ashe, Charlie Pasarell and Sheridan Snyder in 1969 to provide tennis opportunities to economically disadvantaged youngsters.
The USTA owns and operates the US Open and selects and supports the teams that represent the United States in Davis Cup, Fed Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA, the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States, is a not-for-profit organization with more than 660,000 members. It invests all its resources to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass roots to the professional levels. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.
Summer is one of the greatest women's swimmers of the 1990's. She is a double Olympic gold medalist. In recent years she has also become known for her work on television, most notably as the host of FIGURE IT OUT on Nickelodeon and as the co-host of NBA INSIDE STUFF.
Summer won the gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic games in the 200meter buterfly, coming from behind in the last moments of the race, as well as being part of the 4x100m medley relay. She won silver in the 200m individual medley and bronze in the 400m individual medley. (In both medley races she finished behind Chinese swimmer Lin Li who is believed to have been on performance enhancing drugs.)
Summer narrowly missed making the 1988 Seoul Olympic team. She remains the current American record holder in both the 400m individual medley and the 200m individual medley. Summer also won gold in the 200m fly, silver in the 200m IM, bronze in the 400m IM, at the 1991 Perth World Championships.
Summer is like the Brady Bunch. She has appeared on almost every major television network. She is currently the co-host of the NBA/WNBA related show, NBA INSIDE STUFF, along with Ahmad Rashaad and is the host of FIGURE IT OUT, a kid/family game show on the Nickelodeon network.
In the past, Summer has hosted Sandblast for MTV and has done swimming commentary for CBS, NBC during the Atlanta Olympics, and perhaps most notably for FOX Sports Net during the 1998 World Championships in Perth, Australia. Summer has also been a sideline reporter for WNBA games on the LIfetime Network. And finally, you can see her on a commercial for VO5.
Summer was born and grew up in Roseville, California, which a city outside of Sacramento. Summer narrowly missed making the 1988 Seoul Olympic team. She attended Stanford University and won numerous titles for their swim team there. Going into Barcelona in 1992, after winning the 1991 World Championship at Perth in the 200m butterfly, Summer was expected to win several gold medals. She and the rest of the USA women's team were considered failures because they didn't win nearly every event as expected. Personally I don't consider winning a medal in nearly every event a failure. Also add to that the fact that they often lost to Chinese swimmers widely believed to have been using illegal performance enhancing drugs.
Summer retired in 1993. She attempted a comeback in 1995 to try and make the Atlanta team and failed.
Summer has said that she keeps her medals in her sock drawer.
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