Linda French
Right-handed 
USA National Records:
US National Women's Doubles Champion 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 & 1992
US National Mixed Doubles Champion 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994 & 1995
USA Athlete of the Year 1989, 1993 & 1994
International Records:
USA Olympic Games Women's Doubles 1992 and 1996
Uber Cup Team 1986-1998
Puerto Rico Open Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles Champion (1995)
Iceland Open Women's Doubles Champion
Pan American Games Team (1995), 2 Bronze Medals
Winnipeg Open Mixed Doubles Champion (1988)- Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles
Olympic Festival (years not available)
Presented by Ann French Gonsalves:
I am privileged to present a person who will hold a special place in USA Badminton Olympic history, my sister, Linda French. Linda started playing in Chicago, Illinois, when she was very young, competing against older players and benefiting from the coaching of such top players as Bruce Pontow. After competing in many U.S. Junior National Championships, she attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison on a badminton scholarship. At Wisconsin, she helped the team to a collegiate national championship. She also played collegiately for Arizona State University, a perennial powerhouse, where she continued to contribute toward collegiate national titles (and also received a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science). In 1985, she was selected to her first international team, the World Championships team. She went on to be selected to every IBF World Championship team from 1985 to 1993, and to participate on every Uber Cup team from 1986 to 1998. She was a double bronze medallist at the 1995 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. During that time, she was U.S. National Women's Doubles champion five times, in 1986 and 1987 with Nina Lolk, in 1988 and 1989 with Linda Safarik Tong, and in 1992 with Joy Kitzmiller. She also won seven U.S. National Mixed Doubles titles, in 1987 and 1988 with Chris Jogis, in 1989 with Tariq Wadood, and four times consecutively from 1992 to 1995 with Andy Chong. But perhaps her biggest achievements and proudest accomplishments were competing in the Olympic Games in 1992 and 1996. In 1992, she and her partner Joy Kitzmiller competed on the international circuit and earned a spot in the Women's Doubles draw in Barcelona, Spain, as a member of the first ever USA Olympic badminton team, along with Erika Von Heiland, Chris Jogis, Benny Lee and Tom Reidy. Linda had enrolled in law school at the University of San Diego but interrupted her studies, along with other Olympic badminton hopefuls, to move to USA Badminton's newly designated training center at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. This lovely spot in the "frozen north" was their base as they traveled internationally to qualify for the 1992 Olympic Games. After 1992, Linda returned to San Diego to complete her law degree, which she did in 1993, and to continue her training. In 1995, she and new doubles partner Erika Von Heiland moved to the U.S. Olympic Committee National Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While working in the Olympic Job Opportunities Program, they trained and competed internationally and were able to become USA Badminton's first two-time Olympians in Atlanta in 1996. Linda is currently a member of the bar in Colorado and in Georgia, and is a practicing immigration attorney in Atlanta. She sacrificed a lot for badminton, but I think she will tell you it has all been worthwhile. I know she was always proud to represent her country in every competition over the years, from Iceland to Indonesia to France to Canada and beyond.
