LISA ANDERSON

As a teenager, Lisa Andersen ran away from her troubled home in Florida to the surfing Mecca of Huntington Beach, Calif. Her plan? To become the world champion of surfing. She eventually got there, but it was hardly an easy ride. Andersen's practice of surfing with men gave her an edge over other female surfers, and she came out of nowhere to win the U.S. amateur championship in 1987.

Later that year, when she beat a group of pro surfers at the Katin Challenge at Huntington Pier, she decided to turn professional herself and went on to win the Association of Surfing Professionals Rookie of the Year title. But Andersen struggled to continue to win events at the pro level and found the lifestyle of constant travel and competition a difficult one. In 1992, she began to find her way, winning three ASP tournament titles and was looking ahead to the world championships when she found out she was pregnant. In 1993, Andersen gave birth to her daughter, Erica. The following year, she finally won the world title and repeated that feat many times.

They said it: "I'd only been surfing a very short time when I began to believe I had the potential to be as good or better than any other woman surfer. And I knew I'd limit myself if I surfed with other girls, so I surfed with the guys." -- Andersen

By Sports Illustrated