Olympic Basketball Multi-Gold Medalists

Bill Hougland died yesterday. Even to die-hard Olympic fans that is not a well-known name, but Hougland played basketball at the University of Kansas and won gold medals in basketball at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics. An AP story and obituary called him the first Olympian to win 2 gold medals in basketball but that was wrong. The first was Bob Kurland, who won gold medals for the US in 1948 and 1952.

Prior to NBA players being allowed to play in the Olympics, only 3 US Olympians won 2 gold medals in basketball – Kurland, Hougland, and Burdie Halldorson, who played in 1956 and 1960.

Of the multiple Olympic hoops gold medalists, there are 8 Soviet women from 1976-80, but all the others are American, as would be expected, given the US dominance in the sport. Here are the lists of Olympic basketball players to win multiple gold medals – first the men and then the women:

[table]

Name,Gdr,NOC,Sport,Golds,Years

Carmelo Anthony,M,USA,BAS,3,2008/2012/2016

Bob Kurland,M,USA,BAS,2,1948/1952

Bill Hougland,M,USA,BAS,2,1952/1956

Burdie Haldorson,M,USA,BAS,2,1956/1960

Patrick Ewing,M,USA,BAS,2,1984/1992

Michael Jordan,M,USA,BAS,2,1984/1992

Chris Mullin,M,USA,BAS,2,1984/1992

David Robinson,M,USA,BAS,2,1992/1996

Charles Barkley,M,USA,BAS,2,1992/1996

Karl Malone,M,USA,BAS,2,1992/1996

Scottie Pippen,M,USA,BAS,2,1992/1996

John Stockton,M,USA,BAS,2,1992/1996

Gary Payton,M,USA,BAS,2,1996/2000

Jason Kidd,M,USA,BAS,2,2000/2008

LeBron James,M,USA,BAS,2,2008/2012

Kobe Bryant,M,USA,BAS,2,2008/2012

Chris Paul,M,USA,BAS,2,2008/2012

Deron Williams,M,USA,BAS,2,2008/2012

[/table]

[table]

Name,Gdr,NOC,Sport,Golds,Years

Teresa Edwards,F,USA,BAS,4,1984/1988/1996/2000

Lisa Leslie,F,USA,BAS,4,1996/2000/2004/2008

Sue Bird,F,USA,BAS,4,2004/2008/2012/2016

Tamika Catchings,F,USA,BAS,4,2004/2008/2012/2016

Diana Taurasi,F,USA,BAS,4,2004/2008/2012/2016

Dawn Staley,F,USA,BAS,3,1996/2000/2004

Sheryl Swoopes,F,USA,BAS,3,1996/2000/2004

Katie Smith,F,USA,BAS,3,2000/2004/2008

Seimone Augustus,F,USA,BAS,3,2008/2012/2016

Olga Barysheva-Korostelyova,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980

Nelli Feryabnikova,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980

Tatyana Ovechkina,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980

Angelė Rupšienė,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980

Uļjana Semjonova,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980

Nadezhda Shuvayeva-Olkhova,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980

Olga Sukharnova,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980

Tetiana Zakharova-Nadyrova,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980

Anne Donovan,F,USA,BAS,2,1984/1988

Katrina McClain,F,USA,BAS,2,1988/1996

Ruthie Bolton-Holifield,F,USA,BAS,2,1996/2000

Nikki McCray,F,USA,BAS,2,1996/2000

Yolanda Griffith,F,USA,BAS,2,2000/2004

DeLisha Milton-Jones,F,USA,BAS,2,2000/2008

Tina Thompson,F,USA,BAS,2,2004/2008

Swin Cash,F,USA,BAS,2,2004/2012

Sylvia Fowles,F,USA,BAS,2,2008/2012

Candace Parker,F,USA,BAS,2,2008/2012

[/table]