Leora “Sam” Jones competed for the US in handball (team) at three Olympic Games, 1984-92. Jones was a basketball player at East Carolina University, averaging 16 points/game during her career for the Lady Pirates. She then became an assistant coach for East Carolina when she was invited to US team handball tryouts. Between the 1984 and 1988 Olympics Jones played overseas with Austria’s Hypobank Club in 1985 and with Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, helping them win the German Championship in 1986. Jones also competed at the 1983 and 1987 Pan American Games, winning a gold medal in 1987. During her career Jones was voted US Team Handball Federation Player of the Year three times. She later worked in Raleigh, North Carolina for United Parcel Services (UPS).
United States