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Duvall had the winning combination of power and beauty. Heinz Kluetmeier

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.

91. Camille Duvall, Waterskiing

1960-
Dominated women's professional waterskiing in the 1980s

Camille Duvall was first introduced to waterskiing at age four -- and she hated it. The reluctant toddler didn't like being towed around the lake near her home in Greenville, S.C. nor did she enjoy being left in the water when she dropped the rope, which she sometimes did on purpose. But by the age of six -- thanks to her persistent parents -- Duvall was competing in tournaments and her summers were consumed by the sport. But in 1975, 15-year-old Duvall was forced to put waterskiing on hold, when her family moved to landlocked Dallas. Duvall bided her high school years competing in gymnastics, as well as riding horses and dirt bikes and doing some modeling. In 1979, she moved to central Florida and rededicated herself to her sport of choice.

At 19, Duvall was 5' 11" and 140 pounds. She used her reach and strength as an advantage over opponents who typically gave up six inches and 20 pounds. Between 1984 and '88, Duvall won five consecutive pro world slalom championships and owned more titles in slalom than all her female competitors combined. Though she went largely unrecognized in the mainstream, within the waterskiing world Duvall became known as the "Golden Goddess". Her classic good looks, precision form and a determination to (as her brother, Sammy, a three-time world overall waterskiing champion once put it) "win and win and win," helped Duvall become the first female waterskier to earn $100,000 in prize money and endorsements in a single year. Duval has since published Camille Duvall's Instructional Guide to Waterskiing, served as a trustee for the American Sports Medicine Institute, appeared in numerous waterskiing videos and spoken at conferences dedicated to women and sports.

They said it: "Many times it was hard for me to get up. It was cold, or I didn't feel like it, but my father pushed and pushed me so I had to do it. All the toil paid off." --Duvall

--Jamie MacDonald

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.