Benjamin Spock

Rower, gold medalist, pediatrician, author, peace activist, Presidential candidate

Category Data
Full Name Benjamin McLane "Ben" Spock
Used Name Ben Spock
Born 2 May 1903; New Haven Connecticut (USA)
Died 15 March 1998; La Jolla California (USA)
Measurements 196 cm
Affiliations Yale University
Year-Games Sport Event Place Medal
1924 Summer Rowing Coxed Eights 1 Gold

Ben Spock ran track for one year at Yale and rowed crew for four years, but his college career pales beside his accomplishments afterwards. After college he started med school at Yale, then transferred to Columbia, where he earned his M.D. and became a pediatrician. As the author of Baby and Child Care, Dr. Spock is a name known to millions of parents in this country. The book was written while Spock practiced pediatrics in New York and sold over 25,000,000 copies. He also wrote five other books on child care.

During the 60s, Dr Benjamin Spock was in the news for other reasons. He took a strong stand against nuclear proliferation and participated in several protests against military escalation in Vietnam. In 1972, Ben Spock became the first former U.S. Olympic athlete to run for the United States presidency on the People’s Party ticket in 1972, but received only 78,759 votes (about 0.1%). He espoused radical political action and severe reduction of the military but received no electoral votes. After he retired from practicing medicine, he did some occasional public speaking, usually at universities or for the benefit of peace groups.

Nations with the Highest Percentage of Women’s Olympic Medals

So which nation has the most important female athletes? No, we don’t mean which nation’s women have won the most medals, that would be the United States, as it is for the men. But which nations’ women have won the highest percentage of the medals for their country?

There are actually 5 countries where all of their medals have been won by women: Bahrain, Costa Rica, Montenegro, Mozambique, and Zimbabwer. Of those, Zimbabwe has won the most medals with only 8. This 100%-er list follows:

NOC Gold Medals GW MW %G %TM
Zimbabwe 3 8 3 8 100.0% 100.0%
Costa Rica 1 4 1 4 100.0% 100.0%
Mozambique 1 2 1 2 100.0% 100.0%
Bahrain 0 1 0 1 —– 100.0%
Montenegro 0 1 0 1 —– 100.0%

But this seems a bit of a specious argument, with so few overall medals won. Let’s look only at the nations that won 100 or more medals overall (both men, women, and mixed), and see how their women did. Here is that list:

NOC Gold Medals GW MW %G %TM
China 213 526 120 303 56.3% 57.6%
Romania 88 302 58 153 65.9% 50.7%
The Ukraine 35 122 18 59 51.4% 48.4%
German Demo. Rep. 192 519 94 241 49.0% 46.4%
Russia 183 528 72 218 39.3% 41.3%
The Netherlands 115 377 52 151 45.2% 40.1%
Australia 144 485 58 189 40.3% 39.0%
Unified Team 54 135 16 52 29.6% 38.5%
Canada 121 443 46 166 38.0% 37.5%
Korea (South) 107 296 45 103 42.1% 34.8%
Germany 288 915 88 300 30.6% 32.8%
Spain 38 133 9 38 23.7% 28.6%
Austria 79 307 21 87 26.6% 28.3%
Soviet Union 473 1204 122 331 25.8% 27.5%
Bulgaria 52 220 12 59 23.1% 26.8%
United States 1071 2682 277 701 25.9% 26.1%
Fed. Rep. Germany 67 243 18 63 26.9% 25.9%
Cuba 71 202 12 49 16.9% 24.3%
Japan 140 443 28 102 20.0% 23.0%
Poland 70 291 12 65 17.1% 22.3%
Hungary 167 480 37 102 22.2% 21.3%
Great Britain 246 805 43 164 17.5% 20.4%
Brazil 23 108 5 22 21.7% 20.4%
Czechoslovakia 51 168 13 33 25.5% 19.6%
New Zealand 42 101 9 19 21.4% 18.8%
Italy 236 664 37 115 15.7% 17.3%
Denmark 43 179 9 30 20.9% 16.8%
France 235 789 37 132 15.7% 16.7%
Greece 30 110 4 18 13.3% 16.4%
Norway 173 476 24 77 13.9% 16.2%
Switzerland 97 323 18 49 18.6% 15.2%
Sweden 192 626 22 77 11.5% 12.3%
Finland 143 463 12 50 8.4% 10.8%
Belgium 39 149 3 16 7.7% 10.7%

China and Romania are the only two nations where their women have won more than 50% of their nations medals and gold medals. Romania is led by their female gymnasts and rowers, while China’s female divers, gymnasts, and weightlifters have won a large percentage of their medals. Romanian women have won an astounding 65.9% of their nations gold medals. And in the era of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), there were fewer women’s medals available, so their percentages in the high 40s are also impressive, although we do know there were, shall we say, some problems with a few of those.

At the other end of the spectrum, Belgium and Finland bring up the rear, with only about 11% of medals won by women, and about 8% of gold medals won, by far the worst numbers in this subset in both categories.

Overall, women have won about 27.5% of medals and gold medals awarded at the Olympics. So the former Soviet Union is the closest to the median nation, although when it existed, the percentage of women’s medals was likely slightly lower. The United States is also pretty close to the median.

If we look at the other end of the spectrum, we get the following list of nations whose women have never won a medal or gold medal at the Olympics, although their men have won both:

NOC Gold Medals
Iran 15 60
Egypt 7 25
Trinidad & Tobago 2 18
Mixed Team 6 17
Pakistan 3 10
Uruguay 2 10
Uganda 2 7
Dominican Republic 3 6
Luxembourg 2 5
Panama 1 3
Ecuador 1 2
Surinam 1 2
Burundi 1 1
Grenada 1 1
United Arab Emirates 1 1

There are also 36 nations which won Olympic medals, but no golds, and none won by a woman. The two nations with the most medals in this category are The Philippines, with 9 medals, and Puerto Rico, with 8.

Judy Morstein Martz

Cowgirl, speedskater, politician,governor, beauty queen

Category Data
Full Name Judith Helen “Judy” Morstein (-Martz)
Used Name Judy Morstein
Born 28 July 1943; Big Timber; Montana (USA)
Measurements 176 cm / 68 kg
Affiliations Montana Skating Club
Year-Season Sport Event Finish
1964 Winter Speed Skating 1500 metres 15

Judy Morstein graduated from Butte High School in Montana and later from Eastern Montana College. She competed for the US at the 1963 World Speedskating Championships, as well as the 1964 Winter Olympics. After marrying Harry Martz, she helped him run a commercial solid-waste business in Butte. Her small business experience led her to become involved in local politics. This led to statewide ambitions, and in 1997 she was elected Lieutenant-Governor of Montana. She then served as Montana’s first female governor from 2001-05, as a Republican. Morstein was also once voted Miss Rodeo Montana. After her career in politics, Morstein-Martz sat on the board of several large corporations, including Maternal Life International, University of Montana Western, Big Sky State Games, and TASER International. Personal Bests: 500 – 48.1 (1972); 1000 – 1:38.0 (1972); 1500 – 2:33.3 (1964); 3000 – 5:32.4 (1972).

IOC Olympians

Since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was formed in 1894 at the Sorbonne Congress, there have been 536 IOC Members. How many of these have actually competed in the Olympics (and we’re not counting the Arts Competitions, which would add Pierre de Coubertin)?

Jacques Rogge
IOC President Jacques Rogge (2001-2013) – Olympian 1968-76

Well, the direct answer to that question is 112 IOC Members have also been Olympic sports competitors. Of these 23 of the IOC Olympians have been women, which is a fairly high percentage since there have only been 39 female members of the IOC all-time – the first women were only elected to the IOC in 1981 with Finland’s Pirjo Häggmann and Venezuelan Flor Isava-Fonseca.

How many of the IOC Olympians were successful, i.e., actually won Olympic medals? It’s a large percentage, as of the 112 IOC Olympians, 65 have won medals, and 47 actually won gold medals. This group is led by Norway’s Ole Einar Bjørndalen with 13 medals and 8 gold medals, while among the female IOC Olympians, Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic’s Věra Čáslavská leads with 11 medals and 7 gold medals. In all, 14 of the IOC Olympians won 5 or more medals, and 12 of them won 3 or more gold medals.

Avery Brundage
IOC President Avery Brundage (1952-1972) – Olympian 1912

The first IOC Member to have competed in the Olympics was Greek Alexandros Merkati, who became an IOC Member in 1897, and competed in the Olympic golf event in 1900. He is one of only four IOC Individual Members (see next paragraph) who competed in sports at the Olympics while they served on the IOC, the others being William, Lord Desborough, who served on the IOC from 1905-13, and competed in fencing at the 1906 Intercalated Olympics; Peter Tallberg, elected to the IOC in 1976, but an Olympic sailor for Finland from 1960-80; and Prince Albert II of Monaco, who became an IOC Member in 1985, and then competed in bobsledding at the Olympics five times between 1988 and 2002. Counting Athlete Members, four have competed in the Olympics while on the IOC: Russia’s Aleksandr Popov in swimming, the Czech Republic’s Jan Železný in athletics (javelin), Ukrainian Sergey Bubka in athletics (pole vault), and Great Britain’s Matthew Pinsent in rowing.

In 1999, in response to he Olympic Bribery Scandal, the IOC instituted a new category of IOC Membership termed the Athlete Member. Has this increased the number of IOC Olympians significantly? Certainly has. Since 2000, 38 former Olympians have become IOC Members, 35 of them in the Athlete Member Category. So that is only 3 IOC Individual Member Olympians in the period 2000-14, while there were 74 IOC Individual Member Olympians from 1894-2000, so the rate of former Olympians becoming a full IOC Individual Member has actually decreased significantly.

What about the current IOC Membership? There are currently 111 IOC Members, of which 39 competed at the Olympics at one time. The longest standing of these is Tallberg, as noted above, an Olympic sailor from 1960-80, who became an IOC Member in 1976, and was a long-term chairman of the Athlete’s Commission. The only other IOC Olympian Member who joined the IOC in the 1970s and is still a member is Dick Pound, a 1960 Canadian swimmer who was co-opted onto the IOC in 1978.

Thomas Bach
Current IOC President Thomas Bach – Olympian 1976

Here is the entire list of IOC Olympians, listing their NOCs while on the IOC, their sports, their Olympic span, their IOC tenures, and their medals won:

Name Gdr NOC Sport Olympics Tenure G S B TM
Alexandros Merkati M GRE GOL 1900 1897-1925 0 0 0 0
Henri Hébrard de Villeneuve M FRA FEN 1900 1900-1911 0 0 0 0
William Lord Desborough M GBR FEN 1906 1905-1913 0 1 0 1
Carlos de Candamo M PER FEN 1900 1905-1922 0 0 0 0
Gheorghe Plagino M ROM SHO 1900 1908-1949 0 0 0 0
Albert Glandaz M FRA SAI 1900 1913-1944 0 0 0 0
Justinien Count Clary M FRA SHO 1900 1919-1933 0 0 1 1
Ernst Krogius M FIN SAI 1912 1920-1948 0 0 0 0
Jacobo Duke de Alba M ESP POL 1920 1924-1927 0 0 0 0
Alberto Count Bonacossa M ITA TEN 1920 1925-1953 0 0 0 0
Karl Ritter von Halt M GER ATH 1912 1929-1964 0 0 0 0
Paolo Count Thaon Di Revel M ITA FEN 1920 1932-1964 1 0 0 1
David Lord Burghley M GBR ATH 1924-1932 1933-1981 1 1 0 2
Arthur Lord Porritt M NZL ATH 1924 1934-1967 0 0 1 1
Avery Brundage M USA ATH 1912 1936-1972 0 0 0 0
Gaston Baron de Trannoy M BEL EQU 1912-1920 1939-1957 0 0 0 0
Charles Pahud de Mortanges M NED EQU 1924-1936 1946-1964 5 2 0 7
Armand Massard M FRA FEN 1920-1928 1946-1970 1 1 1 3
Ioannis Ketseas M GRE TEN 1906 1946-1965 0 0 0 0
Josef Gruss M TCH TEN 1908 1946-1965 0 0 0 0
Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen M NOR SAI 1936 1948-1967 0 1 0 1
Bo Ekelund M SWE ATH 1920 1948-1965 0 0 1 1
Brooks Parker M USA FEN 1920-1924 1950-1951 0 0 0 0
Lewis Luxton M AUS ROW 1932 1951-1974 0 0 0 0
Jean Count de Beaumont M FRA SHO 1924 1951-1990 0 0 0 0
Gustaf Dyrssen M SWE FEN 1920-1936 1952-1970 1 2 0 1
Vladimir Stoychev M BUL EQU 1924-1928 1952-1987 0 0 0 0
Crown Prince Konstantinos II M GRE SAI 1960 1963-1974 1 0 0 1
João Havelange M BRA SWI/WAP 1936-1952 1963-2011 0 0 0 0
Sylvio Padilha M BRA ATH 1932-1936 1964-1995 0 0 0 0
Jim Worrall M CAN ATH 1936 1967-1989 0 0 0 0
Masaji Kiyokawa M JPN SWI 1932-1936 1969-1989 1 0 1 2
Sven Thofelt M SWE FEN 1928-1948 1970-1976 1 0 1 2
Tony Bridge M JAM SHO 1960-1964 1973-2000 0 0 0 0
Julie Roosevelt M USA SAI 1948-1952 1974-1986 1 0 0 1
David McKenzie M AUS FEN 1956-1964 1974-1981 0 0 0 0
Peter Tallberg M FIN SAI 1960-1980 1976-date 0 0 0 0
Kevan Gosper M AUS ATH 1956-1960 1977-2013 0 1 0 1
Roberto Peper M ARG SWI 1932 1977-1999 0 0 0 0
Niels Holst-Sørensen M DEN ATH 1948 1977-2002 0 0 0 0
Dick Pound M CAN SWI 1960 1978-date 0 0 0 0
Pirjo Wilmi-Häggman F FIN ATH 1972-1980 1981-1999 0 0 0 0
Chiharu Igaya M JPN ASK 1952-1960 1982-2012 0 1 0 1
Dame Mary Alison Glen Haig F GBR FEN 1948-1960 1982-1993 0 0 0 0
Phil Coles M AUS CAN 1960-1968 1982-2012 0 0 0 0
Pál Schmitt M HUN FEN 1968-1976 1983-date 1 0 0 2
Prince Albert II of Monaco M MON BOB 1988-2002 1985-date 0 0 0 0
Anita DeFrantz F USA ROW 1976 1986-date 0 0 1 1
Anton Geesink M NED JUD 1964 1987-2010 1 0 0 1
Anne HRH The Princess Royal F GBR EQU 1976 1988-date 0 0 0 0
Frank Nyangweso M UGA BOX 1960 1988-2011 0 0 0 0
Fernando Bello M POR SAI 1968-1972 1989-2009 0 0 0 0
Thomas Bach M GER FEN 1976 1991-date 1 0 0 1
Denis Oswald M SUI ROW 1968-1976 1991-date 0 0 1 1
Jacques Rogge M BEL SAI 1968-1976 1991-2013 0 0 0 0
Valery Borzov M UKR ATH 1972-1976 1994-date 2 1 2 5
Arne Ljungqvist M SWE ATH 1952 1994-2012 0 0 0 0
Věra Čáslavská F CZE GYM 1960-1968 1995-2001 7 4 0 11
Jean-Claude Killy M FRA ASK 1964-1968 1995-2014 3 0 0 3
Yury Titov M RUS GYM 1956-1964 1995-1996 1 5 3 9
Olegario Vázquez Raña M MEX SHO 1964-1976 1995-date 0 0 0 0
Guy Drut M FRA ATH 1972-1976 1996-date 1 1 0 2
Irena Kirszenstein-Szewińska F POL ATH 1964-1980 1998-date 3 2 2 7
Nawal El-Moutawakel F MAR ATH 1984 1998-date 1 0 0 1
Aleksandr Popov M RUS SWI 1992-2004 1999-date 4 5 0 9
Johann Olav Koss M NOR SSK 1992-1994 1999-2001 4 1 0 5
Jan Železný M CZE ATH 1988-2004 1999-2012 3 1 0 4
Manuela Di Centa F ITA CCS 1984-1998 1999-2010 2 2 3 7
Vladimir Smirnov M KAZ CCS 1988-1998 1999-2001 1 4 2 7
Bob Ctvrtlik M USA VOL 1988-1996 1999-2007 1 0 1 2
Sergey Bubka M UKR ATH 1988-2000 1999-date 1 0 0 1
Hassiba Boulmerka F ALG ATH 1988-1996 1999-2000 1 0 0 1
Roland Baar M GER ROW 1988-1996 1999-2004 0 1 1 2
Charmaine Crooks F CAN ATH 1984-1996 1999-2004 0 1 0 1
Susie O'Neill F AUS SWI 1992-2000 2000-2005 2 4 2 8
Kip Keino M KEN ATH 1964-1972 2000-2010 2 2 0 4
Manuel Estiarte M ESP WAP 1980-2000 2000-2004 1 1 0 2
Paul Henderson M CAN SAI 1964-1968 2000-2004 0 0 0 0
Carlos Arthur Nuzman M BRA VOL 1964 2000-2012 0 0 0 0
Alfredo Goyeneche M ESP EQU 1960 2000-2002 0 0 0 0
Randhir Singh M IND SHO 1968-1984 2001-date 0 0 0 0
Matthew Pinsent M GBR ROW 1992-2004 2002-2004 4 0 0 4
Pernilla Wiberg F SWE ASK 1992-2002 2002-2010 2 1 0 2
Ådne Søndrål M NOR SSK 1992-2002 2002-2006 1 1 1 3
Jari Kurri M FIN ICH 1980-1998 2002-2006 0 0 1 1
Hicham El Guerrouj M MAR ATH 1996-2004 2004-2012 2 1 0 3
Frank Fredericks M NAM ATH 1992-2004 2004-date 0 4 0 4
Rania El-Wani F EGY SWI 1992-2000 2004-2012 0 0 0 0
Barbara Anne Kendall F NZL SAI 1992-2004 2005-date 1 1 1 3
Beckie Scott F CAN CCS 1998-2006 2006-2014 1 1 0 2
Saku Koivu M FIN ICH 1994-2006 2006-2014 0 1 2 3
Nicole Hoevertsz F ARU SYF 1984 2006-date 0 0 0 0
Haya HRH Princess Bint Al-Hussein F UAE EQU 2000 2007-date 0 0 0 0
Yumilka Ruiz F CUB VOL 1996-2008 2008-date 2 0 1 3
Mun Dae-Seong M KOR TKW 2004 2008-date 1 0 0 1
Claudia Bokel F GER FEN 1996-2004 2008-date 0 1 0 1
Yang Yang (A) F CHN STK 1998-2006 2010-date 2 2 1 5
Angela Ruggiero F USA ICH 1998-2010 2010-date 1 2 1 4
Barry Maister M NZL HOK 1968-1976 2010-date 0 0 0 0
Adam Pengilly M GBR SKE 2006-2010 2010-date 0 0 0 0
José Perurena M ESP CAN 1968 2011-date 0 0 0 0
James Tomkins M AUS ROW 1988-2008 2012-date 3 0 1 4
Tony Estanguet M FRA CAN 2000-2012 2012-date 3 0 0 3
Kirsty Coventry M ZIM SWI 2000-2012 2012-date 2 4 1 7
Danka Barteková F SVK SHO 2008-2012 2012-date 0 0 1 1
Tsunekazu Takeda M JPN EQU 1972-1976 2012-date 0 0 0 0
Stefan Holm M SWE ATH 2000-2008 2013-date 1 0 0 1
Paul Tergat M KEN ATH 1996-2004 2013-date 0 2 0 2
Bernard M BRA VOL 1976-1984 2013-date 0 1 0 1
Ole Einar Bjørndalen M NOR BIA/CCS 1994-2014 2014-date 8 4 1 13
Hayley Wickenheiser F CAN ICH/SOF 1998-2014 2014-date 4 1 0 5
Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen M DEN BDM 1992-2000 2014-date 1 0 0 1

Scotland at the Olympics

Scotland is preparing to vote in a referendum about becoming an independent nation and leaving the United Kingdom. There has been some discussion about what this would mean for Scottish athletes, in particular concerning their Olympic status. IOC President Bach has already come out and said that Scotland would be welcomed into the Olympic Movement as an independent nation, if that occurs. But did you know that Scotland has already competed at the Olympics as an independent nation, even though they have been part of the United Kingdom since 1707?

Scottish Flag

In 1908, England, Ireland (then part of Great Britain), Scotland, and Wales entered separate national teams in the hockey (field) tournament, with Scotland sharing the bronze medal with Wales. In 1912, England, Ireland, and Scotland entered separate national teams in the cycling road race, with Scotland finishing fourth. All other Scottish appearances at the Olympic Games have come as part of Great Britain’s teams.

Of note, however, Scotland could form its own National Olympic Committee with no delay, as it has affiliations with more than the five requisite IOC-recognized International Federations. Scotland is an independent member of the following nine IFs: Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Curling, Football (Soccer), Hockey (Field), Table Tennis, Volleyball, and Weightlifting.

Will Scotland again be represented as their own nation at the Olympics? We shall see – its been over 100 years since it occurred, but it has happened.

Robin Widdows

Bobsleds, Royal Air Force, Le Mans, Formula 1

Category Data
Full Name Robin Michael Widdows
Used Name Robin Widdows
Born 27 May 1942; Cowley; Hillingdon; Greater London; England
Measurements 178 cm / 80 kg
Year-Season Sport Event Finish
1964 Winter Bobsleigh Four-man 13
1968 Winter Bobsleigh Four-man 8

Robin Widdows’ father, Commodore Charles Widdows, flew for the RAF during the war, and was a test pilot afterwards. Like Alfonso de Portago, Widdows also competed in bobsleigh, although the Spaniard had been the driver, while Widdows formed part of the crew.

Widdows was part of the second British four-man sled in 1964. Steered by Bill McCowen, they ended up in 13th place, just behind the first British sleigh. A week before, two of the crewman of Britain I – Tony Nash and Robin Dixon – had won the gold medal in the two-man bob. Widdows remained on the British team until 1968, taking part in his second Olympics in Grenoble. This time as a member of the first four-man sleigh, which was taken to 8th place by driver Tony Nash.

In the same year Widdows made his first appearance at the Olympics, he also made his racing début. He proved successful, and by 1966 he was racing in Formula 3, and winning races as well, although he was also active in sportscar racing. In 1967, he entered a Brabham in Formula 2 races, racing for his own team, Witley. A win at Hockenheim (Germany) was his best result that year.

More minor successes in Formula 2 the next year – now driving a McLaren – meant he was asked by the Cooper team to drive their second car at the British GP at Brands Hatch. Widdows qualified as 18th of the 20 cars for what would turn out to be his only Formula 1 GP. After 34 laps, his ignition failed, and he had to abandon the race.

His Formula 1 career was over after that race, but Widdows continued to race in other classes. In 1969, he achieved one of his biggest successes when he placed 7th in the 24 hours of Le Mans, with Nanni Galli (ITA). Halfway through the 1970 season however, while still racing Formula 2, Widdows quit racing.

Longest Lived Olympic Athletics Records

What are the longest lived Olympic records? Well, Olympic records can only be set in certain sports. At the Summer Games, this includes athletics (track & field), swimming, shooting, weightlifting, archery, and Olympic bests are usually considered now in rowing and canoeing. At the Winter Games, the measured sports are speed skating and short-track speed skating, with the best jumps measured in ski jumping.

Let’s consider only athletics at the Summer Olympics for starters. And we have to make some assumptions, as we commonly do. We’re going to consider marks that have lasted the most Olympics, because the gap from 1936-48 and 1912-20 artificially made records last longer that were set in 1912 or 1932-36. So we’ll consider Olympics Between (OlyBT below) and Years Between (YrsBT below). Also, some marks were set a number of Olympics ago but are still the best on record. We’ll consider all of those to last until 2016 (at a minimum, that is true).

Given that, here are all the athletics Olympic records that have lasted 20+ years or 5 or more Olympics.

OlyBT YrBT Event Mark Athlete(s) NOC Year City
12 48 LJ 8.90A Bob Beamon USA 1968 Mexico City
7 28 Steeplechase 8:05.51 Julius Kariuki KEN 1988 Seoul
7 28 SP 22.47 Ulf Timmermann GDR 1988 Seoul
7 28 HT 84.80 Sergey Litvinov URS 1988 Seoul
6 24 400 43.86A Lee Evans USA 1968 Mexico City
6 24 5K 13:05.59 Saïd Aouita MAR 1984 Los Angeles
6 24 Marathon 2-09:21.0 Carlos Lopes POR 1984 Los Angeles
6 24 400IH 46.78 Kevin Young USA 1992 Barcelona
6 24 4×400 2:56.16A Matthews/Freeman/James/Evans USA 1968 Mexico City
6 24 LJ 7.765 Bob LeGendre USA 1924 Paris
5 24 HT 54.74 Matt McGrath USA 1912 Stockholm
5 20 100 9.95A Jim Hines USA 1968 Mexico City
5 20 200 [21.6] Archie Hahn USA 1904 St. Louis
5 20 400 43.49 Michael Johnson USA 1996 Atlanta
5 20 50KM Wk 3-38:29 Vyacheslav Ivanenko URS 1988 Seoul
5 20 HJ 2.39 Charles Austin USA 1996 Atlanta
5 20 TJ 17.39A Viktor Saneyev URS 1968 Mexico City
5 20 TJ 18.09 Kenny Harrison USA 1996 Atlanta
5 20 Deca 8847 Daley Thompson GBR 1984 Los Angeles
3 20 4×400 3:08.2 Fuqua/Ablowich/Warner/Carr USA 1932 Los Angeles
3 20 JT 72.71 Matti Järvinen FIN 1932 Los Angeles
9 36 800 1:53.43 Nadezhda Olizarenko URS 1980 Moscow
9 36 SP 22.41 Ilona Schoknecht-Slupianek GDR 1980 Moscow
8 32 4×100 41.60 Müller/Eckert-Wöckel/Auerswald-Lange/Oelsner-Göhr GDR 1980 Moscow
7 28 100 10.62 Florence Griffith Joyner USA 1988 Seoul
7 28 200 21.34 Florence Griffith Joyner USA 1988 Seoul
7 28 1500 3:54.0 Paula Ivan ROU 1988 Seoul
7 28 4×400 3:15.18 Ledovskaya/Nazarova/Pinigina/Bryzgina URS 1988 Seoul
7 28 LJ 7.40 Jackie Joyner-Kersee USA 1988 Seoul
7 28 DT 72.30 Martina Hellmann GDR 1988 Seoul
7 28 Hept 7291 Jackie Joyner-Kersee USA 1988 Seoul
5 20 400 48.25 Marie-José Pérec FRA 1996 Atlanta
1 32 800 2:16.8 Lina Radke-Batschauer GER 1928 Amsterdam

Now there are caveats, as there usually are. Beamon’s miracle long jump in Mexico City will last at least 48 years, through 2016, and likely longer, as there is nobody on the horizon about to better 8.90 metres. But the mark was altitude-aided, and the Association of Track & Field Statisticians (ATFS), of which I am a member, usually considers altitude-aided marks in the sprints and horizontal jumps differently. The next best among men, and the top two marks for women, were both set in the 1980s, and shall we say, there are a number of rumors about marks set in that era. If you look at the women’s marks, unfortunately, everything was set from 1980-88 until we get to Marie-José Péréc’s 400 metre mark of 48.25 set in Atlanta in 1996. Please also note Lina Radke-Batschauer’s 800 metre mark from Amsterdam. While it lasted until 1960, it only lasted 1 Olympics, because women did not run the 800 metres from 1932-56.

Of the remaining men’s marks, the one that looks to me to have the best chance to continue to rule is Kevin Young’s 400 hurdles mark of 46.78, set in Barcelona. He remains the only hurdler to better 47 seconds, and nobody is threatening that mark these days. Among the women, nobody is approaching all those Olympic records from the 1980s.

What about the best marks by event. Here they are, for men and women, with a few extras thrown in to cover the various “yeah, buts …”:

Men

OlyBT YrBT Event Mark Athlete(s) NOC Year City
5 20 100 9.95A Jim Hines USA 1968 Mexico City
5 20 200 21.6 Archie Hahn USA 1904 St. Louis
6 24 400 43.86A Lee Evans USA 1968 Mexico City
5 20 400 43.49 Michael Johnson USA 1996 Atlanta
4 16 800 1:42.58 Vebjørn Rodal NOR 1996 Atlanta
3 16 800 1:51.9 Ted Meredith USA 1912 Stockholm
2 16 800 1:49.7 Tommy Hampson GBR 1932 Los Angeles
4 16 1500 3:34.91 Kip Keino KEN 1968 Mexico City
4 16 1500 3:32.53 Sebastian Coe GBR 1984 Los Angeles
4 16 1500 3:32.07 Noah Ngeny KEN 2000 Sydney
2 16 1500 3:47.8 Jack Lovelock NZL 1936 Berlin
6 24 5K 13:05.59 Saïd Aouita MAR 1984 Los Angeles
4 16 10K 27:38.34 Lasse Virén FIN 1972 Munich
2 16 10K 30:11.4 Janusz Kusociński POL 1932 Los Angeles
6 24 Marathon 2-09:21.0 Carlos Lopes POR 1984 Los Angeles
7 28 Steeplechase 8:05.51 Julius Kariuki KEN 1988 Seoul
3 12 110HH 13.24 Rod Milburn USA 1972 Munich
3 12 110HH 12.91 Liu Xiang CHN 2004 Athens
2 12 110HH 15.0 Forrest Smithson USA 1908 London
1 12 110HH 14.1 Forrest Towns USA 1936 Berlin
6 24 400IH 46.78 Kevin Young USA 1992 Barcelona
3 12 20K Wk 1-19:57 Jozef Pribilinec TCH 1988 Seoul
3 12 20K Wk 1-18:59 Robert Korzeniowski POL 2000 Sydney
5 20 50K Wk 3-38:29 Vyacheslav Ivanenko URS 1988 Seoul
4 16 4×100 37.40 Marsh/Burrell/Mitchell/Lewis USA 1992 Barcelona
6 24 4×400 2:56.16A Matthews/Freeman/James/Evans USA 1968 Mexico City
5 20 HJ 2.39 Charles Austin USA 1996 Atlanta
2 16 PV 4.35 Earle Meadows USA 1936 Berlin
2 8 PV 4.09 Frank Foss USA 1920 Antwerp
2 8 PV 5.78 Władysław Kozakiewicz POL 1980 Moscow
2 8 PV 5.90 Sergey Bubka URS 1988 Seoul
2 8 PV 5.92 Jean Galfione FRA 1996 Atlanta
2 8 PV 5.92 Igor Trandenkov RUS 1996 Atlanta
2 8 PV 5.92 Andrej Tiwontschik GER 1996 Atlanta
12 48 LJ 8.90A Bob Beamon USA 1968 Mexico City
6 24 LJ 7.765 Bob LeGendre USA 1924 Paris
5 20 TJ 17.39A Viktor Saneyev URS 1968 Mexico City
5 20 TJ 18.09 Kenny Harrison USA 1996 Atlanta
7 28 SP 22.47 Ulf Timmermann GDR 1988 Seoul
3 12 DT 68.28 Mac Wilkins USA 1976 Montreal
3 12 DT 69.89 Virgilijus Alekna LTU 2004 Athens
2 12 DT 45.21 Armas Taipale FIN 1912 Stockholm
1 12 DT 50.48 Ken Carpenter USA 1936 Berlin
7 28 HT 84.80 Sergey Litvinov URS 1988 Seoul
3 20 JT 72.71 Matti Järvinen FIN 1932 Los Angeles
3 12 JT 85.71 Egil Danielsen NOR 1956 Melbourne
3 12 JT 94.58 Miklós Németh HUN 1976 Montreal
5 20 Deca 8847 Daley Thompson GBR 1984 Los Angeles

Women

OlyBT YrBT Event Mark Athlete(s) NOC Year City
7 28 100 10.62 Florence Griffith Joyner USA 1988 Seoul
7 28 200 21.34 Florence Griffith Joyner USA 1988 Seoul
5 20 400 48.25 Marie-José Pérec FRA 1996 Atlanta
9 36 800 1:53.43 Nadezhda Olizarenko URS 1980 Moscow
7 28 1500 3:54.0 Paula Ivan ROU 1988 Seoul
4 16 5K 14:40.79 Gabriela Szabo ROU 2000 Sydney
2 8 10K 31:05.21 Olga Bondarenko URS 1988 Seoul
2 8 10K 30:17.49 Derartu Tulu ETH 2000 Sydney
2 8 10K 29:54.66 Tirunesh Dibaba ETH 2008 Beijing
4 16 Marathon 2-24:52 Joan Benoit USA 1984 Los Angeles
4 16 100HH 12.38 Yordanka Donkova BUL 1988 Seoul
2 8 400IH 53.17 Debbie Flintoff-King AUS 1988 Seoul
2 8 400IH 52.82 Deon Hemmings JAM 1996 Atlanta
2 8 400IH 52.64 Melaine Walker JAM 2008 Beijing
2 8 Steeplechase 8:58.81 Gulnara Galkina-Samytova RUS 2008 Beijing
2 8 20KM Wk 1-29:05 Wang Liping CHN 2000 Sydney
8 32 4×100 41.60 Müller/Eckert-Wöckel/Auerswald-Lange/Oelsner-Göhr GDR 1980 Moscow
7 28 4×400 3:15.18 Ledovskaya/Nazarova/Pinigina/Bryzgina URS 1988 Seoul
3 12 HJ 2.06 Yelena Slesarenko RUS 2004 Athens
2 16 HJ 1.67 Jean Shiley USA 1932 Los Angeles
2 8 PV 5.05 Yelena Isinbayeva RUS 2008 Beijing
7 28 LJ 7.40 Jackie Joyner-Kersee USA 1988 Seoul
3 12 TJ 15.33 Inessa Kravets UKR 1996 Atlanta
9 36 SP 22.41 Ilona Schoknecht-Slupianek GDR 1980 Moscow
7 28 DT 72.30 Martina Hellmann GDR 1988 Seoul
1 4 HT 71.16 Kamila Skolimowska POL 2000 Sydney
1 4 HT 75.02 Olga Kuzenkova RUS 2004 Athens
1 4 HT 76.34 Aksana Miankova BLR 2008 Beijing
1 4 HT 78.18 Tatyana Lysenko RUS 2012 London
3 12 JT 74.68 Petra Felke-Meier GDR 1988 Seoul
3 12 JT 71.53 Osleidys Menéndez CUB 2004 Athens
2 8 Pent 5246 Irina Press URS 1964 Tokyo
2 8 Pent 4801 Mary Peters GBR 1972 Munich
7 28 Hept 7291 Jackie Joyner-Kersee USA 1988 Seoul

We’ll look at a similar analysis for the swimming Olympic records in a few weeks.

Women in Olympic Equestrianism

The FEI World Equestrian Games are currently being held in Normandy, France. The events are mixed but there are many women competing, especially in dressage.

Olympic equestrian was male-only until 1952, in fact, until that year, it was only open to military officers – non-coms need not apply (note: there were some women in 1900 but that Olympics was very odd in many respects). In 1952 women were allowed to compete in dressage, and Lis Hartel inspirationally won a silver medal in individual dressage, despite still not being able to walk normally from the effects of polio. In 1956 jumping was opened to women, but it was not until 1964 that women could compete in three-day eventing.

Since 1964, more and more women have competed in Olympic equestrian, especially in dressage, which is now dominated by women. Let’s look at how the proportion of female equestrian competitors has changed since 1964, and also what percentage of medals have been won by women.

Here are the overall percentages of competitors in the 6 equestrian events from 1964-2012.

EQU CompStats

As you can see, all three disciplines show increasing numbers of women, although strangely, it is relatively flat for show jumping, and the percentage of women in show jumping is oddly low at about 20% from 2000-12. Dressage is dominated by female competitors now, and females have made up more than 50% of dressage riders since 1972, save for the anomalous 1980 Olympics (there were very few women riders that year in any event). Eventing is intermediate between dressage and show jumping, but those curves show definite increasing slope, meaning more and more women competitors at each Olympics in each discipline.

How about medals and gold medals? First, we’ll show charts for dressage, but remember, in all of these, for individual gold medals, its all or nothing – 0% or 100%.

DreIndMeds

DreTeamMeds

Once again, women are picking up more and more medals in dressage, in both events. There has not been a male medalist in individual dressage since 1996, and since 1988, men have won only 2 of 21 medals in that event. In team dressage, women have won over 50% of the medals at each Olympics since 1972, save for 1980, and also 2004. They have also won 50%+ gold medals since 1988, with all-female teams in 2000 and 2008.

Now on to eventing, with charts for both individual and team events.

EventIndMeds

EventTeamMeds

A few things are noteworthy. A woman has not yet won an individual eventing gold medal, but they won 2 of 3 medals individually in 1984, 1996, and 2004-12. In team eventing, the medalists have been about 50% women since 1996. The gold medal stats for team eventing are all over the place.

And finally, the anomalous discipline of show jumping, with both individual and team event charts.

JumpIndMeds

JumpTeamMeds

As in eventing, a woman has yet to win individual gold in show jumping. In fact, women have individually won only 1 medal in 1968-72, 1984, 1996, and 2008. In team jumping, its not much better with women winning only 50% of the team medals in 1984 and 2008, and 0 medals in 1964-76, 1988-2000, and 2012.

It is difficult for us to explain why women are so relatively under-represented in jumping, especially in comparison to eventing, which would seem to be the event which might have fewer women. We have no good explanation.