Dorothy
G. Richardson, M.D., of Clermont, Florida Dr.
Dot Richardson is currently Medical Director of the
National Training Center in Clermont, Florida, a state
of the art facility for athletes of all levels, located
on a campus with a fully staffed hospital (South Lake
Hospital) and the University of Central Florida.
In addition to her medical career,
Dr. Richardson is a well-known athlete in the sport
of softball. A two-time Olympic Gold medalist in softball
(1996 and 2000), she hit the game-winning home run that
led to a Gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Games, the year
softball debuted at the Olympics. That home run was
the first in Olympic softball history. She was the oldest
softball player in 1996 and also at the Sydney Games
in 2000, when she turned 39. The U.S. team had dominated
at the 1996 Games and went to Sydney with a 119-game
winning streak. The team struggled to reach the final
but triumphed over Japan in a dramatic 2-1 victory to
win its second straight Olympic gold medal in softball.
Dot Richardson received her B.S. degree
in Kinesiology and Pre-Med from the University of California
Los Angeles, her Masters in Exercise Physiology/Health
from Adelphi University, and her Doctor of Medicine
from the University of Louisville Medical School. During
her orthopedic surgery residency at the University of
Southern California, she took a one-year leave of absence
to compete at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. After
completing her residency, she began a one-year fellowship
at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic, in Los Angeles,
where she worked with professional athletes from the
Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the
Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
In addition to her Olympic medals,
Dr. Richardson was also a Gold medalist in softball
at the 1999, 1995, 1987 and 1979 Pan American Games;
a Silver medalist at the 1983 Pan American Games; and
a Gold medalist at the 1986 Women's World Championship.
Her career on the U.S. national team began in 1979,
when she was a 17-year-old starter for the team that
won the Pan American Games. Twenty years later, she
helped the U.S. team win another gold medal, in the
1999 Pan American games.
Among her awards are 1999 Hall of
Fame Inductee, State of Florida; 1997 National Athlete
Awards, Female Athlete of the Year; 1997 Babe Zaharias
Award, Female Athlete of the Year; 1996 United States
Olympic Committee Awards, Athlete of the Year; USA Softball's
Most Valuable Player Award (1996, 1990, 1989, 1981).
She has appeared regularly on national television (e.g.
Late Night with David Letterman, The TODAY SHOW,
The Oprah Winfrey Show, Entertainment Tonight, CBS Morning,
Good Morning America) and has been featured frequently
in national magazines and newspapers such as Sports
Illustrated, USA TODAY, TIME, U.S. News & World Report,
and the New York Times.