Award-winning columnist Christine Brennan writes about national and international sports issues for USA Today. She is also a commentator for ABC News, PBS NewsHour, and National Public Radio, and is the best-selling author of seven books. She has twice been named one of the country's top 10 sports columnists by the Associated Press Sports Editors and has covered the last 16 summer and winter Olympic Games.

Brennan has a number of firsts under her belt, including serving as the first woman sportswriter at The Miami Herald in 1981 and the first woman to cover the Washington Redskins as a staff writer at The Washington Post in 1985. She was also the first president of the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM) in 1988 and began a scholarship-internship program that has honored more than 140 female students over the past two decades.

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Brennan attended the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University where she received her bachelor's and master's degrees. After graduating, she became the first female sports reporter at The Miami Herald and covered the Miami Hurricanes during their trip to the 1984 Orange Bowl national championship game. Afterward, she wrote her first book, “The Miracle of Miami.” She then went on to work for The Washington Post for 12 years before joining USA Today as its national sports columnist in 1997.

Brennan’s seven books include the best-selling “Inside Edge,” about Olympic figure skating. It was named one of the top 100 sports books of all time by Sports Illustrated in 2002. She also covered controversial topics, including the Augusta National Golf Club’s lack of female members, which triggered a national debate. Her news breaks include Augusta National admitting its first two women members in 2012, the pairs figure skating scandal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, and the Russian judging scandal at the 2014 Sochi Games. She has also written on the importance of Title IX, the behavior of professional athletes, and the problems with performance-enhancing drug use in sports.

Brennan has been honored with many awards, including the Women's Sports Foundation Billie Award for Journalism, the Northwestern University's Alumni Service Award, and the Yale University's Kiphuth Medal.