American athletes collected 35 gold medals at the recent Olympic games in Athens, but hobbyists will only be able to find collectible items relating to a handful of those athletes with even fewer autographed items. Among the items collectors can look for:

• Jennie Finch, pitcher for the USA softball team, signed cards for Donruss as part of its continuing Fans of the Game insert program. Some examples of the card, inserted into 2004 Playoff Absolute Baseball, have sold for $145-$155 on eBay in recent days. PSA-graded versions of a 2002 Upper Deck Finch card that she autographed, being sold as a fund raiser for USA Softball, have been selling for $80-$100 on eBay. Finch also has signed cards appearing in Topps Pristine Baseball, which ships Sept. 27.
• Mia Hamm, the most popular member of the USA women’s soccer team, has autographed a variety of items for Steiner Sports in recent years. Jared Weiss, Steiner president, said the gold-medal victory in Hamm’s final international match has helped renew interest in her signed items. "The demand always increases with a championship like that," said Weiss, who has also seen an increase in demand for signed items of Hamm’s teammate, Brandi Chastain. Tickets for Chastain’s Sept. 25 signing at Steiner’s Last Licks ice cream and collectibles store are also selling well, Weiss said.
• Chastain also has autographed cards in the Fans of the Game insert within 2004 Donruss Elite Baseball. Abby Wambach, who had the game-winning goal in the USA women’s soccer team’s gold-medal winning game, will appear on her Fans of the Game card in Donruss Leather & Lumber Baseball, a brand-new product due out Friday.
• Diana Turasi, a member of the USA women’s basketball team, has signed 350 cards for the upcoming release of 2004 SAGE HIT Basketball. Three other members of the team – Swin Cash, Ruth Riley and Tamika Catchings – signed 100 cards each for Ultra WNBA Basketball, which released in late July.
• The most decorated athlete from this year’s games, swimmer Michael Phelps, will autograph cards for Upper Deck’s multi-sport Super Stars set, scheduled for release later this year. In the meantime, collectors can look for special-edition Wheaties boxes honoring Phelps, gymnastics champion Carly Patterson and sprinter Justin Gatlin. Each box includes an action image of the athlete. The 18-ounce packages will be available nationally later this month.