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Gold Medalist Deaths While the Title Holder

A bit more on the tragic helicopter crash that took the lives of French swimming gold medalist Camille Muffat, French boxing medalist Alexis Vastine, and renowned French sailor, although not an Olympian, Florence Arthaud.

Muffat was the gold medalist in the women’s 400 metre freestyle at the London Olympics, and thus died while holding the crown. She becomes the 83rd Olympian to have died as the holding gold medalist. She is the 29th Olympian to have been an individual gold medalist, but dying before the event was next contested. (Earlier post incorrect as when checking the database I looked for Olympians dying within 4 years, and neglected some of the 1912 and 1936 Olympians who waited 8 and 12 years for the next Olympics. Thanks to Harri Piironen for pointing this out.)

The full list of the 83 Olympians who died while the holder of a gold medal is as follows:

[table]

Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Spt,Year,YOD

Joseph Olivier,M,S,FRA,RUG,1900,1901

Alfred Tysoe,M,S,GBR,ATH,1900,1901

Galen C. Spencer,M,S,USA,ARC,1904,1904

David Bratton,M,S,USA,WAP,1904,1904

Étienne Desmarteau,M,S,CAN,ATH,1904,1905

George Van Cleaf,M,S,USA,WAP,1904,1905

George Sheldon,M,S,USA,DIV,1904,1907

David Hesser,M,S,USA,WAP,1904,1908

John B. Taylor,M,S,USA,ATH,1908,1908

Carl Holmberg,M,S,SWE,GYM,1908,1909

Reggie Doherty,M,S,GBR,TEN,1908,1910

Bernard Redwood,M,S,GBR,MTB,1908,1911

Carl Folcker,M,S,SWE,GYM,1908,1911

Kostas Tsiklitiras,M,S,GRE,ATH,1912,1913

Ralph Rose,M,S,USA,ATH,1912,1913

Ronald Brebner,M,S,GBR,FTB,1912,1914

Guido Romano,M,S,ITA,GYM,1912,1916

Gaston Salmon,M,S,BEL,FEN,1912,1917

Alister Kirby,M,S,GBR,ROW,1912,1917

Isaac Bentham,M,S,GBR,WAP,1912,1917

Victor Willems,M,S,BEL,FEN,1912,1918

Joseph Dines,M,S,GBR,FTB,1912,1918

Cecil Healy,M,S,ANZ,SWI,1912,1918

Henry Macintosh,M,S,GBR,ATH,1912,1918

Harry Sears,M,S,USA,SHO,1912,1920

Mike Kelly,M,S,USA,SHO,1920,1923

Frans De Haes,M,S,BEL,WLT,1920,1923

Émile Albrecht,M,S,SUI,ROW,1924,1927

Sybil Bauer,F,S,USA,SWI,1924,1927

Ödön von Tersztyánszky,M,S,HUN,FEN,1928,1929

René Borjas,M,S,URU,FTB,1928,1931

George Saling,M,S,USA,ATH,1932,1933

Andrew Libano,M,S,USA,SAI,1932,1935

Paul Wevers,M,S,GER,CAN,1936,1941

Ludwig Stubbendorf,M,S,GER,EQU,1936,1941

Herbert Adamski,M,S,GER,ROW,1936,1941

Hugo Strauß,M,S,GER,ROW,1936,1941

Kalle Jalkanen,M,W,FIN,CCS,1936,1941

Heinz Körvers,M,S,GER,HAN,1936,1942

Martin Karl,M,S,GER,ROW,1936,1942

Ernst Winter,M,S,GER,GYM,1936,1943

Arthur Knautz,M,S,GER,HAN,1936,1943

Hans Maier,M,S,GER,ROW,1936,1943

Hans Woellke,M,S,GER,ATH,1936,1943

Foy Draper,M,S,USA,ATH,1936,1943

Heinz Brandt,M,S,GER,EQU,1936,1944

Kurt Hasse,M,S,GER,EQU,1936,1944

Toni Merkens,M,S,GER,CYC,1936,1944

Endre Kabos,M,S,HUN,FEN,1936,1944

Georg Dascher,M,S,GER,HAN,1936,1944

Hannes Hansen,M,S,GER,HAN,1936,1944

Shigeo Arai,M,S,JPN,SWI,1936,1944

Lauri Koskela,M,S,FIN,WRE,1936,1944

Kustaa Pihlajamäki,M,S,FIN,WRE,1936,1944

Rudolf Lippert,M,S,GER,EQU,1936,1945

Willi Menne,M,S,GER,ROW,1936,1945

Ferenc Csík,M,S,HUN,SWI,1936,1945

Olivér Halassy,M,S,HUN,WAP,1936,1946

Corny Johnson,M,S,USA,ATH,1936,1946

Charles Leaf,M,S,GBR,SAI,1936,1947

Sayed Jaffar,M,S,IND,HOK,1936,1937

Gunnar Höckert,M,S,FIN,ATH,1936,1940

Nils Östensson,M,W,SWE,CCS,1948,1949

George Ahlgren,M,S,USA,ROW,1948,1951

Ed Sanders,M,S,USA,BOX,1952,1954

Skippy Browning,M,S,USA,DIV,1952,1956

Viktor Blinov,M,W,URS,ICH,1968,1968

István Kozma,M,S,HUN,WRE,1968,1970

Yuliya Riabchynska,F,S,URS,CAN,1972,1973

Yuriy Lahutin,M,S,URS,HAN,1976,1978

Bronisław Malinowski,M,S,POL,ATH,1980,1981

Volodymyr Smyrnov,M,S,URS,FEN,1980,1982

Sergey Rogozhin,M,S,URS,EQU,1980,1983

Valeriy Hoborov,M,S,URS,BAS,1988,1989

Paolo Caldarella,M,S,ITA,WAP,1992,1993

Roberto Balado,M,S,CUB,BOX,1992,1994

Fabio Casartelli,M,S,ITA,CYC,1992,1995

Sergey Grinkov,M,W,RUS,FSK,1994,1995

Sandra Schmirler,F,W,CAN,CUR,1998,2000

Bekzat Sattarkhanov,M,S,KAZ,BOX,2000,2000

Sammy Wanjiru,M,S,KEN,ATH,2008,2011

Camille Muffat,F,S,FRA,SWI,2012,2015

[/table]

Here is the list of the 29 individual gold medalists who died as holders:

[table]

Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Spt,Year,YOD

Étienne Desmarteau,M,S,CAN,ATH,1904,1905

George Sheldon,M,S,USA,DIV,1904,1907

Kostas Tsiklitiras,M,S,GRE,ATH,1912,1913

Ralph Rose,M,S,USA,ATH,1912,1913

Frans De Haes,M,S,BEL,WLT,1920,1923

Sybil Bauer,F,S,USA,SWI,1924,1927

Ödön von Tersztyánszky,M,S,HUN,FEN,1928,1929

George Saling,M,S,USA,ATH,1932,1933

Gunnar Höckert,M,S,FIN,ATH,1936,1940

Ludwig Stubbendorf,M,S,GER,EQU,1936,1941

Hans Woellke,M,S,GER,ATH,1936,1943

Kurt Hasse,M,S,GER,EQU,1936,1944

Toni Merkens,M,S,GER,CYC,1936,1944

Endre Kabos,M,S,HUN,FEN,1936,1944

Lauri Koskela,M,S,FIN,WRE,1936,1944

Kustaa Pihlajamäki,M,S,FIN,WRE,1936,1944

Ferenc Csík,M,S,HUN,SWI,1936,1945

Corny Johnson,M,S,USA,ATH,1936,1946

Ed Sanders,M,S,USA,BOX,1952,1954

Skippy Browning,M,S,USA,DIV,1952,1956

István Kozma,M,S,HUN,WRE,1968,1970

Yuliya Riabchynska,F,S,URS,CAN,1972,1973

Bronisław Malinowski,M,S,POL,ATH,1980,1981

Volodymyr Smyrnov,M,S,URS,FEN,1980,1982

Roberto Balado,M,S,CUB,BOX,1992,1994

Fabio Casartelli,M,S,ITA,CYC,1992,1995

Bekzat Sattarkhanov,M,S,KAZ,BOX,2000,2000

Sammy Wanjiru,M,S,KEN,ATH,2008,2011

Camille Muffat,F,S,FRA,SWI,2012,2015

[/table]

Full details of the Olympians, the events in which they competed, and their deaths can be found at www.sports-reference.com/olympics.

Olympians Die in Argentine Helicopter Crash

The time you won your town the race,
We chaired you through the marketplace.
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder high.

Yesterday, two helicopters crashed in Argentina during the filming of a reality survival show. All aboard the choppers were killed, including French swimmer Camille Muffat, a gold medalist in the 400 metre freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics, and Alexis Vastine, a French boxing bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It was, sadly, not the first time that plane disasters claimed the lives of Olympic athletes, often those still young, still in their prime, still with lives to live, victories to win, and laughs to laugh.

Today the road all runners come,
Shoulder high we bring you home.
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.

Camille Muffat 1989-2015 RIP

Shortly after the 1948 Winter Olympics, on 8 November 1948, the Czechoslovak ice hockey team boarded a flight from Paris to London, but the plane disappeared over the English Channel, and six Czechoslovak Olympians, along with all the other passengers, would skate no more. Gone were Jaroslav Jiřík, Karel Stibor, Ladislav Troják, Miloslav Pokorný, Vilibald Šťovík, and Zdeněk Jarkovský.

Smart lad to slip betimes away,
From fields where glory does not stay.
For quickly though the laurel grows,
It withers quicker than a rose.

On 15 February 1961 the US figure skating was travelling to the World Championships in Praha, Czechoslovakia, when their Sabena Boeing 707 crashed on approach to the Brussels airport in Belgium, Everyone was killed including the entire US figure skating team, which included Olympians Laurie Owen, Maribel Owen, Maribel Vinson Owen, Dudley Richards, Ray Hadley, Jr., and Ila Ray Hadley.

Eyes the shady night has shut,
Cannot see the record cut.
And silence sounds no worse than cheers,
After earth has stopped the ears.

In August 1979, two Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134s collided over Dniprodzerzhynsk, Ukraine, killing 178 including the complete football team of Pakhtakor Toshkent. On the plane was Soviet footballer Vladimir Fyodorov, who had played for the Soviet Union at the 1976 Montréal Olympics.

Now you will not swell the rout,
Of lads who wore their honors out.
Runners whom renown outran,
And the name died before the man.

On 27 April 1993, a Buffalo DHC-5D of the Zambian Air Force crashed off the coast of Gabon about 500 metres from Libreville, killing all 30 aboard including 18 Zambian footballers and their coaches. This include 8 previous Zambian Olympians – Alex Chola, Derby Makinka, Efford Chabala, Eston Mulenga, Godfrey Chitalu, Richard Mwanza, Samuel Chomba, and Wisdom Chansa.

The Zambian team at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations pay tribute to the lost generation of Zambian football.

So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.

On 7 September 2011, a Yakovlev Yak-42D carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team crashed on take-off from Tunoshna Airport, in Yaroslavl, Russia. Olympians from five different nations were lost that night – Pavol Demitra (Slovakia), Stefan Liv (Sweden), Ruslan Saley (Belarus), Kārlis Skrastiņš (Latvia), and Josef Vašíček (Czech Republic).

And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl’s. – A. E. Housman

There have been others. And likely there will sadly be more in the future. For the most complete list of Olympians who have died in plane crashes, see our list at http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/friv/lists.cgi?id=2. May they all rest in peace, may we give honor to their lives, and may they stay, in our memories, forever young.

International Women’s Day

Today, 8 March, is International Women’s Day, which has been celebrated now since 1909. So in terms of the Olympics, which nations have been most fair in promoting female participation? This is a difficult question to answer as many of the most prominent nations have competed in the Olympics for the longest time, when there were far fewer women’s events. But here are the nations that have had the highest percentage of females on their Olympic teams, overall, looking at the Summer Games only:

[table]

NOC,Total,Men,Women,Fem%%%

East Timor,5,2,3,60.0%

Bhutan,19,8,11,57.9%

Saint Kitts and Nevis,17,8,9,52.9%

China,2076,1015,1061,51.1%

Palau,18,9,9,50.0%

DPR Korea (North),325,172,153,47.1%

Saint Lucia,17,9,8,47.1%

São Tomé and Principe,11,6,5,45.5%

Belarus,537,295,242,45.1%

Angola,148,82,66,44.6%

[/table]

Among the major nations, the players you would expect, here is how their Summer Olympic team breakdown works out:

[table]

NOC,Total,Men,Women,Fem%%%

Russia,1633,942,691,42.3%

Jamaica,320,207,113,35.3%

German Demo. Rep.,1129,761,368,32.6%

Romania,1456,995,461,31.7%

New Zealand,1112,760,352,31.7%

The Netherlands,2468,1795,673,27.3%

Germany,3516,2592,924,26.3%

United States,7327,5467,1860,25.4%

Brazil,1708,1279,429,25.1%

Fed. Rep. of Germany,1371,1027,344,25.1%

Great Britain,5281,4011,1270,24.0%

Cuba,1204,918,286,23.8%

Poland,2233,1715,518,23.2%

Sweden,2738,2263,475,17.3%

Norway,1361,1125,236,17.3%

France,4911,4082,829,16.9%

Switzerland,1741,1486,255,14.6%

[/table]

Again, remember that many of these nations competed prior to World War II, when there were very few women’s events.

And what about those nations who have had very few, in some cases, almost no, female Summer Olympians:

[table]

NOC,Total,Men,Women,Fem%%%

Saudi Arabia,142,140,2,1.4%

Kuwait,192,189,3,1.6%

Pakistan,354,346,8,2.3%

Afghanistan,100,97,3,3.0%

Monaco,64,62,2,3.1%

Iraq,174,168,6,3.4%

Qatar,108,104,4,3.7%

Botswana,52,50,2,3.8%

British Virgin Islands,23,22,1,4.3%

Iran,463,441,22,4.8%

[/table]

Among current IOC Member nations, only three have had only 1 female competitor – British Virgin Islands (22), Brunei (5), and Tuvalu (4), while six have had only 2 women compete – Botswana (50), Kiribati (5), Monaco (62), Nauru (6), Oman (37), and Saudi Arabia (140). The numbers in parentheses indicate those nations’ male Olympians

Charlotte Cooper - First Female Olympic Gold Medalist - 1900 Tennis
Charlotte Cooper – First Female Olympic Gold Medalist – 1900 Tennis

 

As noted, in those early years, there were very few events for women at the Olympics. How bad was it, Johnny? Here is the breakdown:

[table]

Events,Men,Women,Mixed,Total,Fem%%%,FemEligible

1896,43,0,0,43,0.0%,0.0%

1900,71,2,22,95,2.1%,25.3%

1904,92,3,0,95,3.2%,3.2%

1906,72,1,1,74,1.4%,2.7%

1908,96,3,7,106,2.8%,9.4%

1912,91,5,6,102,4.9%,10.8%

1920,130,7,15,152,4.6%,14.5%

1924,112,10,4,126,7.9%,11.1%

1928,92,14,3,109,12.8%,15.6%

1932,99,14,4,117,12.0%,15.4%

1936,110,15,4,129,11.6%,14.7%

1948,112,19,5,136,14.0%,17.6%

1952,117,25,7,149,16.8%,21.5%

1956,116,26,9,151,17.2%,23.2%

1960,113,29,8,150,19.3%,24.7%

1964,119,33,11,163,20.2%,27.0%

1968,115,39,18,172,22.7%,33.1%

1972,132,43,20,195,22.1%,32.3%

1976,130,49,19,198,24.7%,34.3%

1980,134,50,19,203,24.6%,34.0%

1984,144,62,15,221,28.1%,34.8%

1988,151,72,14,237,30.4%,36.3%

1992,159,86,12,257,33.5%,38.1%

1996,163,97,11,271,35.8%,39.9%

2000,168,120,12,300,40.0%,44.0%

2004,166,125,10,301,41.5%,44.9%

2008,165,127,10,302,42.1%,45.4%

2012,162,132,8,302,43.7%,46.4%

Totals,3374,1208,274,4856,24.9%,30.5%

[/table]

Wojdan Shaherkani, Judo player from Saudi Arabia – London 2012

So, as you can see, prior to World War II, women rarely had even 15% of the events in which they could compete, with the exception of 1900 when there were a lot of mixed events.

How many women have actually competed at the Summer Olympics, as a percentage of the total, since 1896? Here is that table:

[table]

Year,Women,Total,Wom%,WomNOCs,NOCs,%NOC

1896,0,246,0.0%,0,12,0.0%

1900,23,1614,1.4%,6,31,19.4%

1904,6,650,0.9%,1,15,6.7%

1906,6,841,0.7%,2,21,9.5%

1908,44,2023,2.2%,3,22,13.6%

1912,53,2377,2.2%,10,27,37.0%

1920,77,2670,2.9%,14,29,48.3%

1924,135,3067,4.4%,20,44,45.5%

1928,274,2878,9.5%,25,46,54.3%

1932,126,1334,9.4%,19,38,50.0%

1936,329,3956,8.3%,27,49,55.1%

1948,393,4073,9.6%,32,59,54.2%

1952,521,4932,10.6%,41,69,59.4%

1956,383,3344,11.5%,38,72,52.8%

1960,612,5350,11.4%,45,83,54.2%

1964,680,5137,13.2%,53,93,57.0%

1968,783,5557,14.1%,54,112,48.2%

1972,1060,7113,14.9%,67,121,55.4%

1976,1260,6073,20.7%,65,92,70.7%

1980,1123,5259,21.4%,56,80,70.0%

1984,1569,6798,23.1%,95,140,67.9%

1988,2202,8453,26.0%,118,159,74.2%

1992,2723,9386,29.0%,134,169,79.3%

1996,3519,10339,34.0%,168,197,85.3%

2000,4069,10648,38.2%,191,200,95.5%

2004,4304,10561,40.8%,192,201,95.5%

2008,4611,10901,42.3%,195,204,95.6%

2012,4657,10520,44.3%,201,205,98.0%

Totals,25467,107829,23.6%,209,221,94.6%

[/table]

So as we celebrate International Women’s Day, we can see that at the Olympics, in terms of female participation, things were once very bad, they are better now, but there is still a long way to go.

Eugeniusz Lokajski

[table]

Full name,Eugeniusz Zenon Lokajski

Born,14 December 1908 in Warszawa; Mazowieckie

Died,25 September 1944 in Warszawa; Mazowieckie

Measurements,181 cm / 74 kg

Affiliations,Warszawianka

[/table]

A multi-talented athlete who was adept in a number of track and field disciplines and also as a gymnast, Eugeniusz Lokajski is also known for his contributions, both as a soldier and also as a documenter through his photography, to the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.

Champion of Poland at the javelin in both 1934 and 1935 he recorded a throw of 73.25m in the early summer of 1936 that established him as one the favourites for Berlin. A shoulder injury incurred shortly before the Olympic Games hampered him and he could only finish 7th as a throw of 71m claimed the Olympic title. His shoulder never recovered enough for him to return to serious athletics despite an attempted comeback. He was also a national champion at gymastics in 1934 and 1935.

Conscripted into the Polish Army in 1939 Lokajski served as an infantry commander and was taken prisoner by Soviet forces during the Siege of Brest-Litovsk. He escaped from his captors and returned to his hometown of Warsaw where he ran a photographic business.

He worked as a teacher in one of the illegal “underground universities” set up by the resistance before taking over his late brother’s responsibilities transporting arms and munitions. Lokajski commanded his own platoon of soldiers during the uprising but he was also charged by his commanding officer to use his talents as a photographer and record the events in the streets of Warsaw and he also provided portraits of resistance fighter for use of fake documents. He died in 1944 when caught in an artillery barrage during a trip to collect photographic materials. His body was only found in 1945 after the end of the war. Eugeniusz Lokajski was buried in the “Aleja Zasłużonych” (Avenue of the Meritorious) at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.

Personal Best: JT – 73.27 (1936).

[table]

Games/Sport,Event,Position

1936 Athletics,Javelin Throw,7

[/table]

Jim Kerr

[table]

Parameter,Value

Full Name,James Lancefield “Jim” Kerr

Born,17 August 1940 in Plainfield; New Jersey (USA)

Measurements,182 cm / 73 kg

Country ,United States / Virgin Islands

[/table]

Jim Kerr was on the US Olympic team in the modern pentathlon in 1964 but did not compete. He excelled in both swimming and running, and was on state championship teams in both cross-country and swimming at Waukesha South High School in Wisconsin. He later swam at the University of Michigan. After college Kerr competed in fencing competitions and was a competitor at several US national championships. He later settled in the US Virgin Islands, where he continued to compete in fencing and represented the US Virgin Islands as a fencer at the 1984 Olympics. Later in life, Kerr became blind and began sailing for recreation. He then started competing in disabled sailing competitions for the blind, with an aim to sail at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Should Kerr make the US Virgin Islands sailing team for the 2016 Paralympics, it would be a record of sorts. While overlapping the Olympics and Paralympics, and only an alternate in 1964, it would be 52 years since his first appearance at the Olympics in Tokyo. The record for longest time span as an Olympic competitor is 48 years by Japanese equestrien Hiroshi Hoketsu, who competed in 1964, and then not again until 2008, and returned in 2012 at London.

[table]

Games/Sport,Event,Position

1964 Modern Pentathlon,Individual/Team,DNS

1984 Fencing,Individual Épée,=61

[/table]

How many Olympians have there been?

You’d think that one of the easier questions for us to answer would be: “How many Olympians have there been”? This simple question is actually quite hard to answer. We do have an answer, of course, but it’s also definitely wrong.

As with many statistical issues, one first has to define what an Olympian is. We could look to the World Olympians Association (WOA), which defines an Olympian as:

An Olympian is an athlete who has been accredited to participate in the Olympic Games in a full medal sport.

This is a useful starting point: it explicitly names athletes (so no coaches, doctors, team leaders, etc.) and also excludes competitors in demonstration sports (which have not been held since 1992), exhibitions (last held in 2008) and other side-events. However, the “accredited” part of the definition is a bit less useful for us.

Among accredited athletes are of course those who eventually compete, but also those who fail to start for any reason (injury, disability, left off the team) or are only brought on a substitutes. In some sports, there are even various levels of accreditation. For example, in football (or soccer if you prefer), each team is nowadays allowed to enter 18 players, which are allowed to stay in the Olympic Village. However, if one of these gets injured, they are allowed to replaced them by one of four players on a separate list. Many of these alternate players don’t actually go to the Olympics, but they do have an accreditation. It seems to us that  being present at the Olympics would be a minimum to qualify as an Olympian.

The 18 Mexican football players that were handed an Olympic gold medal in London 2012.

We could then, of course, use that criterion to decide who is an Olympian. But this is pretty hard. Finding entry lists or accreditation lists is one, but these never say if a person was actually in town or not, which means we would have to figure this out for each athlete personally. And not just for recent years, but also for entrants from 1896, making this a virtually impossible task.

So instead of following the WOA, we’ve used our own definition:

An Olympian is an athlete who has competed in the Olympic Games in a full medal sport.

But that definition still isn’t complete. What exactly is a full medal sport? And what are Olympic Games, even?

Turns out that you can debate about both. While the Olympic Games of the modern era are pretty well-known, there’s an odd-one-out: the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens. While organized and approved by the IOC at the time, the IOC later decide not to recognize these Games as official – despite their importance to the Olympic Movement. Many Olympic historians disagree with this view, and so do we, so we include these Games in our figures.

Ray Ewry won a total of 10 Olympic gold medals, including two at the 1906 Intercalated Games, which are not currently recognized by the IOC.

Regarding the full medal sports, there is also debate about the early Olympics. In 1900, the Olympics were held in conjunction with the sports events at the World Exposition in Paris. Many events did not use the predicate ‘Olympic’, despite the fact that the we consider them to have been part of the Olympics. Four years later, when the Olympics were a side-show of yet another major exhibition (the Louisiana Purchase Exposition), the organizers did the opposite, and labelled every sporting event “Olympic”, including e.g. track and field championships for elementary school boys from St. Louis, handicap races, and other competitions hardly word the predicate “Olympic”.

Archery_on_Antropology_days_during_1904_Summer_Olympics

One of the more shameful “Olympic” events in St. Louis were the Anthropology Days in St. Louis, were so-called ‘savages’ competed against one another.

Some historians indeed consider all events held in Paris and St. Louis to have been Olympic. The IOC has never officially made a list of Olympic events in 1900 and 1904, although the list of medallists on their website can be taken as such. A clear method by the IOC to decide which events are Olympic, however, is unknown to us. The approach we use was set up by one of us, Bill Mallon, in the late 1990s when writing books about those early Olympics. He applied four criteria to events:

  1. the events must be open to amateurs only (this was the IOC opinion at the time)
  2. all competitors must compete equally (disallowing handicap events)
  3. the events must be open to competitors from all nations (even if only competitors from one nation competed)
  4. the events must be open to all (no limitations on age, origin, competency, etc. such as “junior”, “novice”)

This gives a list that excludes many of the fringe events held in these years, but is also slightly longer than the one used by the IOC.

Moving forward in time, there’s another category of events that qualified as full medal events at the time they were held, but that are often omitted: the art, aeronautics and alpinism competitions. From 1912 through 1948, Olympic medals were awarded in art, and between 1924 and 1936, medals were also handed out in alpinism and aeronautics. These medallists are not found on the IOC website, but they definitely received medals, which is why we include them as well.

So, with all that defining out of the way, it’s finally time to give you a number:

128,420

Now, we do have to say that this number is – sadly – wrong. Records books of the Olympics aren’t always complete, and we know for certain that many athletes are missing. For example, the members of the Greek gymnastics teams in 1896 have so far never surfaced, and neither have the names of the art competitors in 1920 that didn’t win a prize. In some cases, we do even know the number of athletes that we’re missing, but we don’t know if these are all “new” Olympians or not.

Even for more recent Olympics, information on who competed isn’t always clear-cut. In handball, all players on the team are listed on the match roster, even if they didn’t play. For recent years, detailed substitution information is available, but this is lacking for earlier years, leaving us to rely alternative sources such as video footage, contact with the athlete in question, etc.

Some of the 128,420 Olympians during the opening of the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.

Apart from missing data in the sources, we are of course only human, and therefore make errors. For example, we recently figured out we had missed two substitutes in the 1964 4-man bobsled competition (although both were already known as Olympians) – even though this information was in the Official Results.

To compensate for that, we sometimes unearth information that isn’t even in the Official Results. For example, last year, we found out two missing divers in the 1960 women’s diving event, and an hitherto unknown substitute in the 1920 water polo match Brazil – Sweden.

So, it is with full confidence we can say that 128,420 is the wrong number. But we dare you to come up with a better one!

Individual and Team Olympic Medal Records

So we know who holds the Olympic records for most medals won and most gold medals won – that’s an easy one, Michael Phelps, who has won 22 medals and 18 gold medals (and is probably not done yet).

But Phelps won 9 medals in relay races, winning a medal in every swim relay race in 2004, 2008, and 2012, so he had a little help. What about winning individual medals? Who has won the most individual medals and individual gold medals? Is it still Phelps?

Not quite. The most individual medals title still belongs to Larisa Latynina, the Soviet gymnast who won 18 medals in all, the records that Phelps broke in London. Latynina won 14 of those medals by herself. Here is the list of all those winning 9 or more individual medals, and women who won 8 or more:

[table]

IndMeds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

14,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM

13,Michael Phelps,M,S,USA,SWI

12,Nikolay Andrianov,M,S,URS,GYM

10,Borys Shakhlin,M,S,URS,GYM

10,Takashi Ono,M,S,JPN,GYM

10,Aleksey Nemov,M,S,RUS,GYM

10,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH

9,Ole Einar Bjørndalen,M,W,NOR,BIA

9,Paavo Nurmi,M,S,FIN,ATH

9,Bjørn Dæhlie,M,W,NOR,CCS

9,Sawao Kato,M,S,JPN,GYM

9,Viktor Chukarin,M,S,URS,GYM

9,Vitaly Shcherbo,M,S,BLR,GYM

9,Martin Sheridan,M,S,USA,ATH

8,Věra Čáslavská,F,S,TCH,GYM

8,Claudia Pechstein,F,W,GER,SSK

8,Karin Enke-Kania,F,W,GDR,SSK

8,Gunda Niemann-St’mann-Kleemann,F,W,GER,SSK

[/table]

Larysa Latynina
As you can see, Latynina is the only woman with more than 8 individual medals, with 4 women tied at that level. Two people on this list, Ray Ewry and Martin Sheridan, won some of their medals in 1906 (Ewry 2, Sheridan 5), so purists may demur and drop them from this list.

As to individual golds, yes, Phelps does lead this list with 11. And again, Ewry presents a problem with 10, including 2 in 1906, but he would still be second with 8, if you skip the 1906 Intercalated Olympics. Here is the list of all Olympians with 5 or more individual gold medals:

[table]

IndGolds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

11,Michael Phelps,M,S,USA,SWI

10,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH

7,Věra Čáslavská,F,S,TCH,GYM

7,Carl Lewis,M,S,USA,ATH

6,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM

6,Nikolay Andrianov,M,S,URS,GYM

6,Borys Shakhlin,M,S,URS,GYM

6,Paavo Nurmi,M,S,FIN,ATH

6,Bjørn Dæhlie,M,W,NOR,CCS

6,Lidiya Skoblikova,F,W,URS,SSK

5,Ole Einar Bjørndalen,M,W,NOR,BIA

5,Sawao Kato,M,S,JPN,GYM

5,Viktor Chukarin,M,S,URS,GYM

5,Vitaly Shcherbo,M,S,BLR/EUN,GYM

5,Martin Sheridan,M,S,USA,ATH

5,Nadia Comăneci,F,S,ROU,GYM

5,Gert Fredriksson,M,S,SWE,CAN

5,Krisztina Egerszegi,F,S,HUN,SWI

5,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK

5,Vitaly Shcherbo,M,S,EUN,GYM

5,Bonnie Blair,F,W,USA,SSK

5,Eric Heiden,M,W,USA,SSK

[/table]

The women’s leader is Czechoslovak gymnast Věra Čáslavská with 7 individual gold medals, followed by Latynina, and Soviet speed skater Lidiya Skoblikova, both with 6. Among Winter Olympians, Skoblikova is tied with Norwegian cross-country skiier Bjørn Dæhlie, with 6 individual gold medals, followed by 4 Winter Olympians with 5: Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Finnish speed skater Clas Thunberg, and American speed skaters Bonnie Blair and Eric Heiden.

So who has won the most Olympic medals, without ever winning an individual medal? I dare say nobody in the twitterverse would ever get this trivia question correct, except for possibly the athlete herself, and even she may not know it. It is the Hungarian canoeist Katalin Kovács, who has won 8 Olympic medals from 2000-12, but never an individual one. Here are all those who won 6 or more Olympic medals, but never won an individual medal. As you would expect, they tend to be in sports with no, or few, opportunities to win individual medals.

[table]

Medals,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

8,Katalin Kovács,F,S,HUN,CAN

7,Willis Lee,M,S,USA,SHO

7,Bogdan Musiol,M,W,GDR/GER,BOB

6,Georgeta Damian-Andrunache,F,S,ROU,ROW

6,Steven Redgrave,M,S,GBR,ROW

6,Doina Ignat,F,S,ROU,ROW

6,Veronica Cogeanu-Cochelea,F,S,ROU,ROW

6,Wolfgang Hoppe,M,W,GDR/GER,BOB

6,Eugenio Monti,M,W,ITA,BOB

[/table]

Katalin Kovács

Now who has won the most Olympic gold medals but never won an individual gold? This one some people may get, as Jenny Thompson won 12 medals and 8 golds in swimming for the United States and leads the list, and is fairly well known. Her frustration at not winning an individual gold was well publicized (as was the same for her frequent teammate, Dara Torres – of note, Thompson and Torres were, and are, not friends). In fact this is not even close, as she leads 5 athletes with 5 team gold medals, with another 21 winning only 4 team golds. Here is the list of all those with 4 or more Olympic gold medals, but no individual gold medals:

[table]

Golds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

8,Jenny Thompson,F,S,USA,SWI

5,Tom Jager,M,S,USA,SWI

5,Willis Lee,M,S,USA,SHO

5,Georgeta Damian-Andrunache,F,S,ROU,ROW

5,Steven Redgrave,M,S,GBR,ROW

5,Anastasiya Davydova,F,S,RUS,SYN

4,Dara Torres,F,S,USA,SWI

4,Ricco Groß,M,W,GER,BIA

4,Jason Lezak,M,S,USA,SWI

4,Einar Liberg,M,S,NOR,SHO

4,Lloyd Spooner,M,S,USA,SHO

4,Katrin Wagner-Augustin,F,S,GER,CAN

4,Doina Ignat,F,S,ROU,ROW

4,Aleksandr Tikhonov,M,W,URS,BIA

4,Jayna Hefford,F,W,CAN,ICH

4,Kevin Kuske,M,W,GER,BOB

4,André Lange,M,W,GER,BOB

4,Oreste Puliti,M,S,ITA,FEN

4,Hayley Wickenheiser,F,W,CAN,ICH

4,Kathrin Boron,F,S,GER,ROW

4,Teresa Edwards,F,S,USA,BAS

4,Jon Olsen,M,S,USA,SWI

4,Viorica Susanu,F,S,ROU,ROW

4,Lisa Leslie,F,S,USA,BAS

4,Caroline Ouellette,F,W,CAN,ICH

4,Matthew Pinsent,M,S,GBR,ROW

4,Anastasiya Yermakova,F,S,RUS,SYN

[/table]

So what does this all mean? Hell, we don’t know, but it was fun doing these lists!

Olympic Medal Record Progressions

We know that American swimmer Michael Phelps won 6 medals in London in 2012, giving him a total of 22 Olympic medals. We also know that this broke the record for the most Olympic medals all-time, breaking the record of 18 that had been held since 1964 by Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina. Who held the record before Latynina? In baseball, track & field, and several other sports, the list of record progressions is well studied. Is there such a list of the progression of most Olympic medals? Well, we’ve never seen one before but we decided to provide these lists for you, in various permutations.

Here is the overall list for most Olympic medals won. Note that everyone on the list was male except Latynina, so we have also provided the male progression by adding in Nikolay Andrianov.

[table]

Medals,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,Year

6,Hermann Weingärtner,M,S,GER,GYM,1896

6,Bob Garrett,M,S,USA,ATH,1900

6,Anton Heida,M,S,USA,GYM,1904

6,George Eyser,M,S,USA,GYM,1904

6,Burton Downing,M,S,USA,CYC,1904

6,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1904

7,Léon Moreaux,M,S,FRA,SHO,1906

8,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1906

10,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1908

8,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1908

10,Hubert Van Innis,M,S,BEL,ARC,1920

11,Carl Osburn,M,S,USA,SHO,1924

12,Paavo Nurmi,M,S,FIN,ATH,1928

13,Edoardo Mangiarotti,M,S,ITA,FEN,1960

18,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM,1964

15,Nikolay Andrianov,M,S,URS,GYM,1980

22,Michael Phelps,M,S,USA,SWI,2012

[/table]

Two marks for men on this list lasted for 32 years – Paavo Nurmi’s 12 medals, which stood from 1928-60, and Nikolay Andrianov’s 15 medal mark for men, which stood from 1980-2012. Of course, Latynina’s mark lasted for 48 years until Phelps broke it in 2012.

Here is the list for women only, all at the Summer Olympics:

[table]

Medals,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,Year

2,Charlotte Cooper,F,S,GBR,TEN,1900

2,Countess Hélène de Pourtalès,F,S,SUI,SAI,1900

2,Hélène Prévost,F,S,FRA,TEN,1900

2,Marion Jones,F,S,USA,TEN,1900

2,Hedwiga Rosenbaumová,F,S,BOH,TEN,1900

3,Lida Howell,F,S,USA,ARC,1904

3,Emma Cooke,F,S,USA,ARC,1904

3,Eliza Pollock,F,S,USA,ARC,1904

3,Ethelda Bleibtrey,F,S,USA,SWI,1920

3,Suzanne Lenglen,F,S,FRA,TEN,1920

3,Frances Schroth,F,S,USA,SWI,1920

5,Kitty McKane,F,S,GBR,TEN,1924

7,Mariya Horokhovska,F,S,URS,GYM,1952

10,Ágnes Keleti,F,S,HUN,GYM,1956

12,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM,1960

18,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM,1964

[/table]

Latynina’s record for women, with 18 medals, will have stood for 52 years in Rio de Janeiro, and will likely stand for many more Olympiads.

Now at the Winter Games, the progression actually entails a combination of men and women:

[table]

Medals,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,Year

2,Madge Syers,F,W,GBR,FSK,1908

2,Phyllis Johnson,F,W,GBR,FSK,1920

5,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK,1924

7,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK,1928

7,Ivar Ballangrud,M,W,NOR,SSK,1936

7,Veikko Hakulinen,M,W,FIN,CCS,1960

9,Sixten Jernberg,M,W,SWE,CCS,1964

9,Raisa Smetanina,F,W,URS,CCS,1988

10,Raisa Smetanina,F,W,EUN/URS,CCS,1992

12,Bjørn Dæhlie,M,W,NOR,CCS,1998

13,Ole Einar Bjørndalen,M,W,NOR,BIA,2014

[/table]

Following are the winter lists for men and women separately:

[table]

Medals,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,Year

1,9 athletes tied,M,W,—,FSK,1908

1,9 athletes tied,M,W,—,FSK,1920

1,24 athletes tied,M,W,—,ICH,1920

5,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK,1924

5,Roald Larsen,M,W,NOR,SSK,1924

7,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK,1928

7,Ivar Ballangrud,M,W,NOR,SSK,1936

7,Veikko Hakulinen,M,W,FIN,CCS,1960

9,Sixten Jernberg,M,W,SWE,CCS,1964

12,Bjørn Dæhlie,M,W,NOR,CCS,1998

13,Ole Einar Bjørndalen,M,W,NOR,BIA,2014

[/table]

[table]

Medals,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,Year

2,Madge Syers,F,W,GBR,FSK,1908

2,Phyllis Johnson,F,W,GBR,FSK,1920

2,Ludovika Jakobsson-Eilers,F,W,FIN,FSK,1924

3,Andrée Brunet-Joly,F,W,FRA,FSK,1932

3,Beatrix Loughran,F,W,USA,FSK,1932

3,Sonja Henie,F,W,NOR,FSK,1936

3,Trude Jochum-Beiser,F,W,AUT,ASK,1952

3,Mirl Buchner,F,W,GER,ASK,1952

4,Lyubov Kozyreva-Baranova,F,W,URS,CCS,1960

4,Radiya Yeroshina,F,W,URS,CCS,1960

6,Lidiya Skoblikova,F,W,URS,SSK,1964

7,Galina Kulakova,F,W,URS,CCS,1976

8,Galina Kulakova,F,W,URS,CCS,1980

9,Raisa Smetanina,F,W,URS,CCS,1988

10,Raisa Smetanina,F,W,EUN/URS,CCS,1992

10,Stefania Belmondo,F,W,ITA,CCS,2002

10,Marit Bjørgen,F,W,NOR,CCS,2014

[/table]

Now what about gold medals and the progression lists for them? Here is the list for men at the Summer Olympics – here again we have the problem with the 1906 Olympics so we have listed Ray Ewry, both with and without those Games:

[table]

Golds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,Year

3,Hermann Weingärtner,M,S,GER,GYM,1896

3,Alfred Flatow,M,S,GER,GYM,1896

3,Paul Masson,M,S,FRA,CYC,1896

3,Carl Schuhmann,M,S,GER,GYM/WRE,1896

3,Carl Schuhmann,M,S,GER,GYM,1896

4,Al Kraenzlein,M,S,USA,ATH,1900

6,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1904

8,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1906

10,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1908

8,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1908

9,Paavo Nurmi,M,S,FIN,ATH,1928

9,Mark Spitz,M,S,USA,SWI,1972

9,Carl Lewis,M,S,USA,ATH,1996

14,Michael Phelps,M,S,USA,SWI,2008

18,Michael Phelps,M,S,USA,SWI,2012

[/table]

One thing to note above, if one disregards the 1906 Olympics, is how long Paavo Nurmi’s record of 9 gold medals lasted, fully 44 years, until tied in 1972 by Mark Spitz.

Now the women’s Summer Olympic gold medal record progression:

[table]

Golds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOCGolds,SptGolds,Year

2,Charlotte Cooper,F,S,GBR,TEN,1900

3,Lida Howell,F,S,USA,ARC,1904

3,Ethelda Bleibtrey,F,S,USA,SWI,1920

3,Martha Norelius,F,S,USA,SWI,1928

3,Helene Madison,F,S,USA,SWI,1932

3,Rie Mastenbroek,F,S,NED,SWI,1936

4,Fanny Blankers-Koen,F,S,NED,ATH,1948

5,Ágnes Keleti,F,S,HUN,GYM,1956

7,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM,1960

9,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM,1964

[/table]

Note that Latynina still holds this record, and has held it since 1960 – which will be 56 years in Rio.

Following are the gold medal record progressions for men and women at the Winter Games:

[table]

Golds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOCGolds,SptGolds,Year

3,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK,1924

5,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK,1928

5,Eric Heiden,M,W,USA,SSK,1980

5,Bjørn Dæhlie,M,W,NOR,CCS,1994

8,Bjørn Dæhlie,M,W,NOR,CCS,1998

8,Ole Einar Bjørndalen,M,W,NOR,BIA,2014

[/table]

Note here how long Clas Thunberg’s 5 gold medal record lasted – from 1928 until 1980 when it was tied by Eric Heiden, and until 1998 when it was broken by Bjørn Dæhlie.

[table]

Golds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOCGolds,SptGolds,Year

2,Andrée Brunet-Joly,F,W,FRA,FSK,1932

3,Sonja Henie,F,W,NOR,FSK,1936

6,Lidiya Skoblikova,F,W,URS,SSK,1964

6,Lyubov Yegorova,F,W,EUN/RUS,CCS,1994

6,Marit Bjørgen,F,W,NOR,CCS,2014

[/table]

Again, two long-lasting records, with Sonja Henie leading the list from 1936-64, and Lidiya Skoblikova leading the list from 1964 through 2014, although her 6 gold medals have been tied twice.

Santa Claus and the Olympics

So tomorrow nite Santa Claus will be delivering presents throughout the world to all the good little girls and boys. Santa has never competed at the Olympics, one major reason being that he lives at the North Pole, which is not affiliated with any known National Olympic Committee. It is unknown if he has ever attempted to become affiliated with Greenland, which claims the North Pole, and whose athletes have competed for Denmark. Further, another reason Santa has not competed at the Olympics is that he is, to be politically correct here, somewhat adipose-challenged.

However, in searching our database, we did find the following Olympians who may be related to Santa Claus, although we have not yet finished the search for these relations. Attempts to reach Santa and discuss this were unsuccessful, as his administrative assistant told us, “He’ll get back to you after the New Year. This is really his busy time of year.”

Christian Claus sailed for Austria at the 1988 Olympics, finishing fourth in the Tornado, alongside Norbert Petschel. That same year Yves Clausse, a Luxembourgeois swimmer, also competed at the Olympics, as he did again in 1992. Clausse swam the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle, with a best finish of 28th in the 1988 50 metre freestyle. It is not known if he changed his name from Claus, possibly because of a falling out with Santa over not receiving the presents he wanted.

Hildrun Claus was a long jumper for East Germany who competed at the 1964 Olympics, although under her married name of Laufer-Claus, having married Peter Laufer. If related to Santa, it is unknown if he approved of this marriage.

Another East German athlete was Kerstin Claus, a high hurdler at the 1980 Olympics, but she competed again in 1988 as Kerstin Knabe.

But of all Santa Claus’s potential Olympic relatives, surely one must be the 2012 Dutch decathlete Eelco Sintnicolaas.

Let’s not also forget that in 1992 a Swedish horse named Lille Claus competed in equestrian. Perhaps she had some reindeer ancestors.

Two Santas have competed at the Olympics – Santa Margarita Skeet played basketball for Cuba at the 1980 Olympics, the team placing sixth, and Santa Inés Melchor competed in athletics for Peru in both 2004 at Athina and 2012 in London, running the 5,000 metres in 2004, and finishing 25th in the marathon in 2012.

And again, from the reindeer line, Santa Bell was a Dutch horse at the 1936 Olympics, and the horse Santa Fe competed in equestrian for Argentina in both 1948 and 1952.

So what about those reindeer – any of them compete in the Olympics that we know of? Well, we’re not too sure of that, with no reindeer events, but it appears that Santa named his reindeer after a group of Olympians. It is also possible that the trainer of his reindeer is the 2012 Dutch beach volleyball player Reinder Nummerdor.

Six time Olympic fencing champion Rudolf Kárpáti was a soldier in the Hungarian Army during Hungary’s communist era so perhaps he is the “Rudolf the Red” to lead the team.

Australian hockey player Barry Dancer and Helmuth Donner, the Austrian high jumper are easy picks and maybe you could just get away with choosing Uruguayan basketball star Carlos Blixen to the reindeer roster – but then you have to get a little more creative.

Usain Bolt seems a good choice for Dasher,, or you may prefer the Swiss ski jumping brothers Hans and Andreas Däscher. Valegro, the horse that in partnership with Charlotte Dujardin won dressage gold in 2012, might make a good Prancer and it’s fortunate that the nickname of cross-country skier Gunnar Samuelsson (1960) happened to be Comet.

Since a Vixen is a female fox then Jess Fox, the canoe slalom medallist from 2012, can be recruited with little difficulty which just leaves us with one position to fill.

Cupid was difficult, very difficult, but if you know your mythology you know that Cupid was the Roman counterpart to the Greek God Eros. This gives us a tenuous excuse to pick Italian cyclist Eros Poli to complete our team.

So there you have it – we’ll keep searching and if we confirm relationships to Santa Claus, or his reindeer, we’ll let you know. (With thanx to Hilary Evans, Jeroen Heijmans, Ralf Regnitter, and all the OlyMADMen)

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Festivus, and Happy Holidays to all – and to all a good night.

Bidding for Summer and Winter Olympic Games

And so it has come to this – Almaty, Kazakhstan and Beijing, China are the two remaining candidate cities to host the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Almaty was formerly known as Alma-Ata when Kazakhstan was a Soviet Republic, and was known as Verniy in the years before the Bolshevik Revolution.

Beijing is an interesting choice for a number of reasons. First of all, Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. No city has ever hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics and many people think it would not be feasible to do so. However, if you have been to Beijing, and traveled to the Great Wall, you know that high mountains and very cold weather are only 50-70 km outside of the city. If you want to see steep mountains, try hiking up some sections of the Great Wall sometime.

Since it seems so unusual, has any city ever bid to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics prior to Beijing? In fact, it has happened and far more frequently than you would imagine.

We must discuss one aberration which are the 1956 Equestrian Games. The 1956 Olympics were held in Melbourne, Australia, which had strict animal quarantine laws and required the 1956 equestrian events to be moved to another country and city, which turned out to be Stockholm, Sweden. But there was a bid for that hosting responsibility, and Berlin, Los Angeles, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro also bid for the 1956 equestrian games.

So now we have three different types of possible Games bids – Summer, Winter, and Equestrian. One city, Stockholm, has sorta bid for all versions of the Olympics. It hosted the Summer Olympics in 1912, the Equestrian Olympics in 1956, bid for the Summer Games in 1952 and 2004, and put in a preliminary bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, but withdrew that in January 2014 because of lack of governmental support.

Four cities also bid for the Summer and Equestrian Olympics – Berlin, Los Angeles, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro – all the losing bid cities for the 1956 Equestrian Games.

However, most importantly, 6 cities have bid for both the Summer and Winter Olympics, of which Beijing is only the most recent. Here is the full list of cities that have bid for both versions of the Olympics:

[table]

City,NOC,Ssn,Yr1,Yr2,Yr3,Yr4,Yr5

Beijing,CHN,S,2000,2008,,,

,,W,2022,,,,

Helsinki,FIN,S,1936,1940,1944,1952,

,,W,2006,,,,

Minneapolis,USA,S,1948,1952,1956,,

,,W,1932,,,,

Montréal,CAN,S,1940,1944,1956,1972,1976

,,W,1932,1936,1944,1956,

München,FRG,S,1972,,,,

,,W,2018,,,,

Torino,ITA,S,1908,,,,

,,W,2006,,,,

[/table]

No city has ever won the bid to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics, but all but one of the above cities have hosted one Olympics – Summer by Beijing in 2008, Helsinki in 1952, Montréal in 1976, München in 1972; and Winter by Torino in 2006. The lone exception is Minneapolis, Minnesota, which bid for three Summer Olympics and one Winter Olympics, but has yet to see Olympic Rings in their city.

Can Beijing do it? With only two cities, they should have at least a 50% chance, and their ratings by the IOC Evaluation Commission were far higher than those for Almaty. (Oslo, Norway, which recently turned the chance to bid, had the highest ratings of all.) The bid will be announced on 31 July 2015 at the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Stay tuned.