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Use the menu below to read our biographies of the century's greatest sportswomen and then tell us who you think should be No. 1. Also, be sure to check out our expanded home page and our new issue which is on newsstands now.

77. Manon Rheaume, Hockey

1972-
First woman to play in a professional hockey game

Rheaume has worked hard to reach her goal. Jim Gund
Like most other Canadian children, Manon Rheaume took to the ice at an early age, learning to skate and play hockey before she was six years old. Organized leagues were scarce for girls, so she began to play with the boys. At age 11, Rheaume became the first girl to play in the International Pee Wee Hockey Tournament of Quebec. During her impressive amateur career as a goaltender Rheaume played with (and against) men and women. In 1992 and '94, as a member of Canada's women's national team, she helped her country win two consecutive world championships, and was named MVP of both tournaments. In 1992, Rheaume made sports history by appearing in an NHL exhibition game for the Tampa Bay Lightning, thus becoming the first female to play in a major professional sport. She continued her pro hockey career with various men's minor league teams but in 1995, she turned to professional roller hockey playing for the New Jersey Rock 'n Rollers. In 1998, Rheaume returned to the slick stuff and helped the Canadian team take home a silver medal at the Nagano Olympics. Rheaume plays forward on a Roller Hockey International team in Las Vegas, where her husband, Gerry St. Cyr, is the team's leading scorer. She says she'll return to the ice and put on pads again when she rejoins Canada's national ice hockey team this fall. She also recently had a son, Dylan.

They said it: "Playing hockey is what I do. I don't do this for the media. The media comes to see what I do. I never expected all the attention. All my life, I've played hockey because I love the game." -- Rheaume

--Susan Brody

Athletes were selected by Sports Illustrated For Women, Sports Illustrated and CNN/SI editors, writers and correspondents who considered the athletes' on-field performance and achievements, plus their contributions to women's sports. Because athletic achievement was a key criterion, women whose contributions were made solely in administration and coaching are not included.