Many people celebrate their birthday. What better way to celebrate it than to win an Olympic medal on one’s birthday? And this has happened at the Olympics, in fact, 86 athletes have done it 90 times.

Only one athlete has won 3 Olympic medals on his/her birthday and that was French archer Eugène Richez, who won 2 silvers and a bronze in team target archery events at the 1900 Olympics. Those Olympics were so unusual, and the archery events were especially so, so let’s look at the 2 athletes who have won 2 medals on his/her birthday.

The first was Sidney Merlin, a British shooter who won a gold and bronze medal in 2 trap shooting events at the 1906 Olympics and, again, the 1906 Olympics are somewhat controversial.

So that leaves only German equestrian Michael Jung who won 2 gold medals on 31 July 2012 in eventing, the day he turned 30-years-old. Jung is the only Olympian to have won 2 gold medals on his/her birthday – a fact that seemed to escape most of the world’s media in London, including our OlympStats group, to be fair.

How many athletes have won gold medals on their birthday, the ultimate celebration? That has been done 32 times, by 31 Olympians, with Jung winning 2 in 2012. That has been done 6 times at the Winter Olympics, and 26 times at the Summer Games. Seven women have won an Olympic gold medal on their birthday, two at the Winter Olympics – Madeleine Chamot-Berthod (SUI) in downhill skiing at the 1956 Cortina Olympics, and Cathrine Lindahl (SWE) in 2010 curling.

So Lindahl won her gold medal in a team event. How often have Olympians won medals or gold medals in individual events, probably the uber-ultimate birthday present? That has been done 29 times, by 28 athletes, with Merlin winning two in 1906 on his 26 April birthday.

Winning an individual gold medal on your birthday is fairly rare, done only 13 times by 13 Olympians. The only woman to have done it is Chamot-Berthod at the 1956 Winter Olympics – no woman has done it at the Summer Olympics. Only 4 Winter Olympians have pulled this off while it has been done 9 times at the Summer Olympics.

The youngest birthday medalist was Mariya Filatova, actually a gold medalist in the 1976 gymnastics team all-around, on her 15^th birthday. The oldest was Richez, who was 56-years-old when he won his 3 medals in 1900 archery on 5 August. Again, discounting him, the next oldest was Merlin in 1906, who was 50-years-old, so we’ll look further, and find that William Dod was 41-years-old in 1908 when he won a gold medal on his birthday (18 July) in Double York Round archery. The oldest female to pull this off was Lindahl in curling, who was 40-years-old on 26 February 2010. The youngest man was Jamaican Greg Meghoo, a silver medalist in the 4×100 relay, when he turned 19 on 11 August 1984.

Not easy to do and if you want to do this, in addition to being a great athlete, you better hope to have been born in February, July, or August anymore.

Here is the complete list of the 90 birthday medals:

 

• Sidney Merlin (M / GBR / Summer) (1906 Shooting; Trap, Double Shot, 14 metres) (Gold / Individual) (*26 April 1856; 50-years-old)
• William Dod (M / GBR / Summer) (1908 Archery; Double York Round) (Gold / Individual) (*18 July 1867; 41-years-old)
• Henri Anspach (M / BEL / Summer) (1912 Fencing; Épée, Team) (Gold / Team) (*10 July 1882; 30-years-old)
• Erik Herseth (M / NOR / Summer) (1920 Sailing; 10 metres, 1907 Rating) (Gold / Team) (*9 July 1892; 28-years-old)
• Charles Bugbee (M / GBR / Summer) (1920 Water Polo) (Gold / Team) (*29 August 1887; 33-years-old)
• István Barta (M / HUN / Summer) (1932 Water Polo) (Gold / Team) (*13 August 1895; 37-years-old)
• Dieter Arend (M / GER / Summer) (1936 Rowing; Coxed Pairs) (Gold / Team) (*14 August 1914; 22-years-old)
• Miklós Sárkány (M / HUN / Summer) (1936 Water Polo) (Gold / Team) (*15 August 1908; 28-years-old)
• Sammy Lee (M / USA / Summer) (1952 Diving; Platform) (Gold / Individual) (*1 August 1920; 32-years-old)
• Madeleine Chamot-Berthod (F / SUI / Winter) (1956 Alpine Skiing; Downhill) (Gold / Individual) (*1 February 1931; 25-years-old)
• Viktor Kosichkin (M / URS / Winter) (1960 Speedskating; 5,000 metres) (Gold / Individual) (*25 February 1938; 22-years-old)
• Vladimir Shmelyov (M / URS / Summer) (1972 Modern Pentathlon; Team) (Gold / Team) (*31 August 1946; 26-years-old)
• Jan Egil Storholt (M / NOR / Winter) (1976 Speedskating; 1,500 metres) (Gold / Individual) (*13 February 1949; 27-years-old)
• Mariya Filatova (F / URS / Summer) (1976 Gymnastics; Team All-Around) (Gold / Team) (*19 July 1961; 15-years-old)
• Yelena Novikova-Belova (F / URS / Summer) (1976 Fencing; Foil, Team) (Gold / Team) (*28 July 1947; 29-years-old)
• Vakht’ang Blagidze (M / URS / Summer) (1980 Wrestling; Flyweight, Greco-Roman (≤52 kg)) (Gold / Individual) (*23 July 1954; 26-years-old)
• Pascal Jolyot (M / FRA / Summer) (1980 Fencing; Foil, Team) (Gold / Team) (*26 July 1958; 22-years-old)
• Angel Herrera (M / CUB / Summer) (1980 Boxing; Lightweight (≤60 kg)) (Gold / Individual) (*2 August 1957; 23-years-old)
• Chris Jacobs (M / USA / Summer) (1988 Swimming; 4 x 100 metres Medley Relay) (Gold / Team) (*25 September 1964; 24-years-old)
• Nazim Hüseynov (M / EUN / Summer) (1992 Judo; Extra-Lightweight (≤60 kg)) (Gold / Individual) (*2 August 1969; 23-years-old)
• Ana Ivis Fernández (F / CUB / Summer) (1996 Volleyball) (Gold / Team) (*3 August 1973; 23-years-old)
• Jon Rauch (M / USA / Summer) (2000 Baseball) (Gold / Team) (*27 September 1978; 22-years-old)
• Guillermo Rigondeaux (M / CUB / Summer) (2000 Boxing; Bantamweight (≤54 kg)) (Gold / Individual) (*30 September 1980; 20-years-old)
• Ruth Riley (F / USA / Summer) (2004 Basketball) (Gold / Team) (*28 August 1979; 25-years-old)
• Per-Johan Axelsson (M / SWE / Winter) (2006 Ice Hockey) (Gold / Team) (*26 February 1975; 31-years-old)
• Mari (F / BRA / Summer) (2008 Volleyball) (Gold / Team) (*23 August 1983; 25-years-old)
• Michael Redd (M / USA / Summer) (2008 Basketball) (Gold / Team) (*24 August 1979; 29-years-old)
• Mo Tae-Beom (M / KOR / Winter) (2010 Speedskating; 500 metres) (Gold / Individual) (*15 February 1989; 21-years-old)
• Cathrine Lindahl (F / SWE / Winter) (2010 Curling) (Gold / Team) (*26 February 1970; 40-years-old)
• Michael Jung (M / GER / Summer) (2012 Equestrian Events; 3-Day Event, Individual) (Gold / Individual) (*31 July 1982; 30-years-old)
• Michael Jung (M / GER / Summer) (2012 Equestrian Events; 3-Day Event, Team) (Gold / Team) (*31 July 1982; 30-years-old)
• Daniele Molmenti (M / ITA / Summer) (2012 Canoeing; Kayak Singles, Slalom) (Gold / Individual) (*1 August 1984; 28-years-old)

 

• John Svanberg (M / SWE / Summer) (1906 Athletics; Marathon) (Silver / Individual) (*1 May 1881; 25-years-old)
• Nils Thomas (M / NOR / Summer) (1920 Sailing; 8 metres, 1919 Rating) (Silver / Team) (*9 July 1889; 31-years-old)
• Eugène Richez (M / FRA / Summer) (1920 Archery; Target Archery, 33 metres, Team) (Silver / Team) (*5 August 1864; 56-years-old)
• Eugène Richez (M / FRA / Summer) (1920 Archery; Target Archery, 50 metres, Team) (Silver / Team) (*5 August 1864; 56-years-old)
• John Garrison (M / USA / Winter) (1932 Ice Hockey) (Silver / Team) (*13 February 1909; 23-years-old)
• Dante Secchi (M / ITA / Summer) (1936 Rowing; Coxed Eights) (Silver / Team) (*14 August 1910; 26-years-old)
• Eugenio Monti (M / ITA / Winter) (1956 Bobsledding; Two) (Silver / Team) (*28 January 1928; 28-years-old)
• Teresa Ciepły-Wieczorek (F / POL / Summer) (1964 Athletics; 80 metres Hurdles) (Silver / Individual) (*19 October 1937; 27-years-old)
• Manfred Schumann (M / FRG / Winter) (1976 Bobsledding; Two) (Silver / Team) (*7 February 1951; 25-years-old)
• Daniel Morelon (M / FRA / Summer) (1976 Cycling; Sprint) (Silver / Individual) (*24 July 1944; 32-years-old)
• Dave Ottley (M / GBR / Summer) (1984 Athletics; Javelin Throw) (Silver / Individual) (*5 August 1955; 29-years-old)
• Jeong Sun-Bok (F / KOR / Summer) (1984 Handball) (Silver / Team) (*9 August 1960; 24-years-old)
• Greg Meghoo (M / JAM / Summer) (1984 Athletics; 4 x 100 metres Relay) (Silver / Team) (*11 August 1965; 19-years-old)
• Mark Phillips (M / GBR / Summer) (1988 Equestrian Events; 3-Day Event, Team) (Silver / Team) (*22 September 1948; 40-years-old)
• Andreas Keller (M / FRG / Summer) (1988 Hockey) (Silver / Team) (*1 October 1965; 23-years-old)
• Nataliya Shikolenko (F / EUN / Summer) (1992 Athletics; Javelin Throw) (Silver / Individual) (*1 August 1964; 28-years-old)
• Sergey Tarasov (M / RUS / Winter) (1994 Biathlon; 4 x 7.5 kilometres Relay) (Silver / Team) (*15 February 1965; 29-years-old)
• Tommy Moe (M / USA / Winter) (1994 Alpine Skiing; Super G) (Silver / Individual) (*17 February 1970; 24-years-old)
• Peter Leone (M / USA / Summer) (1996 Equestrian Events; Jumping, Team) (Silver / Team) (*1 August 1960; 36-years-old)
• Paolo Tofoli (M / ITA / Summer) (1996 Volleyball) (Silver / Team) (*4 August 1966; 30-years-old)
• George Karrys (M / CAN / Winter) (1998 Curling) (Silver / Team) (*15 February 1967; 31-years-old)
• Yelena Zamolodchikova (F / RUS / Summer) (2000 Gymnastics; Team All-Around) (Silver / Team) (*19 September 1982; 18-years-old)
• Gillian Lindsay (F / GBR / Summer) (2000 Rowing; Quadruple Sculls) (Silver / Team) (*24 September 1973; 27-years-old)
• Miguel Caldés (M / CUB / Summer) (2000 Baseball) (Silver / Team) (*27 September 1970; 30-years-old)
• Kateřina Neumannová (F / CZE / Winter) (2002 Cross-Country Skiing; 5/5 kilometres Pursuit) (Silver / Individual) (*15 February 1973; 29-years-old)
• Irina Lobacheva (F / RUS / Winter) (2002 Figure Skating; Ice Dancing) (Silver / Team) (*18 February 1973; 29-years-old)
• Brendan Hansen (M / USA / Summer) (2004 Swimming; 100 metres Breaststroke) (Silver / Individual) (*15 August 1981; 23-years-old)
• Jens Arne Svartedal (M / NOR / Winter) (2006 Cross-Country Skiing; Team Sprint) (Silver / Team) (*14 February 1976; 30-years-old)
• Park Gyeong-Mo (M / KOR / Summer) (2008 Archery; Individual) (Silver / Individual) (*15 August 1975; 33-years-old)
• Rohanee Cox (F / AUS / Summer) (2008 Basketball) (Silver / Team) (*23 August 1980; 28-years-old)
• Marianne St-Gelais (F / CAN / Winter) (2010 Short-Track Speedskating; 500 metres) (Silver / Individual) (*17 February 1990; 20-years-old)
• Paola Espinosa (F / MEX / Summer) (2012 Diving; Synchronized Platform) (Silver / Team) (*31 July 1986; 26-years-old)
• Lucha Aymar (F / ARG / Summer) (2012 Hockey) (Silver / Team) (*10 August 1977; 35-years-old)

 

• Sidney Merlin (M / GBR / Summer) (1906 Shooting; Trap, Single Shot, 16 metres) (Bronze / Individual) (*26 April 1856; 50-years-old)
• Charles Vigurs (M / GBR / Summer) (1912 Gymnastics; Team All-Around, European System) (Bronze / Team) (*11 July 1888; 24-years-old)
• Eugène Richez (M / FRA / Summer) (1920 Archery; Target Archery, 28 metres, Team) (Bronze / Team) (*5 August 1864; 56-years-old)
• Freddie McEvoy (M / GBR / Winter) (1936 Bobsledding; Four) (Bronze / Team) (*12 February 1907; 29-years-old)
• Göpf Kottmann (M / SUI / Summer) (1964 Rowing; Single Sculls) (Bronze / Individual) (*15 October 1932; 32-years-old)
• Viktor Borshch (M / URS / Summer) (1972 Volleyball) (Bronze / Team) (*9 September 1948; 24-years-old)
• Silvia Chivás (F / CUB / Summer) (1972 Athletics; 4 x 100 metres Relay) (Bronze / Team) (*10 September 1954; 18-years-old)
• Henry Glaß (M / GDR / Winter) (1976 Ski Jumping; Large Hill, Individual) (Bronze / Individual) (*15 February 1953; 23-years-old)
• Valery Dolinin (M / URS / Summer) (1976 Rowing; Coxless Fours) (Bronze / Team) (*25 July 1953; 23-years-old)
• Pertti Teurajärvi (M / FIN / Winter) (1980 Cross-Country Skiing; 4 x 10 kilometres Relay) (Bronze / Team) (*20 February 1951; 29-years-old)
• László Kuncz (M / HUN / Summer) (1980 Water Polo) (Bronze / Team) (*29 July 1957; 23-years-old)
• Tsutomu Sakamoto (M / JPN / Summer) (1984 Cycling; Sprint) (Bronze / Individual) (*3 August 1962; 22-years-old)
• Mark Kerry (M / AUS / Summer) (1984 Swimming; 4 x 100 metres Medley Relay) (Bronze / Team) (*4 August 1959; 25-years-old)
• Tomislav Ivković (M / YUG / Summer) (1984 Football) (Bronze / Team) (*11 August 1960; 24-years-old)
• Seth Bauer (M / USA / Summer) (1988 Rowing; Coxed Eights) (Bronze / Team) (*25 September 1959; 29-years-old)
• Yevgeny Grishin (M / URS / Summer) (1988 Water Polo) (Bronze / Team) (*1 October 1959; 29-years-old)
• Chris Johnson (M / CAN / Summer) (1992 Boxing; Middleweight (≤75 kg)) (Bronze / Individual) (*8 August 1971; 21-years-old)
• Park Hae-Jeong (F / KOR / Summer) (1996 Table Tennis; Doubles) (Bronze / Team) (*29 July 1972; 24-years-old)
• Matteo Bisiani (M / ITA / Summer) (1996 Archery; Team) (Bronze / Team) (*2 August 1976; 20-years-old)
• \N Leila (F / BRA / Summer) (2000 Volleyball) (Bronze / Team) (*30 September 1971; 29-years-old)
• Aleksey Kovalyov (M / RUS / Winter) (2002 Ice Hockey) (Bronze / Team) (*24 February 1973; 29-years-old)
• Helen Tanger (F / NED / Summer) (2004 Rowing; Coxed Eights) (Bronze / Team) (*22 August 1978; 26-years-old)
• Norman Bröckl (M / GER / Summer) (2008 Canoeing; Kayak Fours, 1,000 metres) (Bronze / Team) (*22 August 1986; 22-years-old)
• Luke Doerner (M / AUS / Summer) (2008 Hockey) (Bronze / Team) (*23 August 1979; 29-years-old)
• Felipe Kitadai (M / BRA / Summer) (2012 Judo; Extra-Lightweight (≤60 kg)) (Bronze / Individual) (*28 July 1989; 23-years-old)

With thanx to David Clark, an Australian frequent reader of OlympStats, for suggesting this post.

The IOC has tweeted this morning about twins that have competed at the Olympics (although they added an Olympic and non-Olympic twin in Gracie Gold and her sister, Carly). This can be found at http://hub.olympic.org/share/news/78

They listed 13 “Olympic” twins. Sorry, but we can do a bit better. Here is the list of the 200 known twins that have competed at the Olympics, broken up by type of twin and then alphabetically by nation.

Fraternal Twin Brothers

• Jesús Centeno (ESP / MOP)

Leopoldo Centeno (ESP / MOP)

• Phil Mahre (USA / ASK)

Steve Mahre (USA / ASK)

The Mahre Twins
Fraternal Twin Siblings (sister listed first)

• Carolina Birkner (ARG / ASK)

Ignacio Birkner (ARG / ASK)

• Antonia Becherer (FRG / FSK)

Ferdinand Becherer (FRG / FSK)

• Karin Künzle (SUI / FSK)

Christian Künzle (SUI / FSK)

• Anita Zarnowiecki (SWE / SWI)

Bernt Zarnowiecki (SWE / SWI)

 

Fraternal Twin Sisters

• Katrine Lunde Haraldsen (NOR / HAN)

Kristine Lunde-Borgersen (NOR / HAN)

• Vida Ryan (RSA / HOK)

Vidette Ryan (RSA / HOK)

 

Identical Twin Brothers

• Alberto Sabbione (ARG / HOK)

Jorge Sabbione (ARG / HOK)

• Remo Sansonetti (AUS / CYC)

Sal Sansonetti (AUS / CYC)

• Geoff Stewart (AUS / ROW)

James Stewart (AUS / ROW)

• John Anderson (AUS / SAI)

Tom Anderson (AUS / SAI)

• Jules Crickx (BEL / ROW)

Julien Crickx (BEL / ROW)

• Kevin Borlée (BEL / ATH)

Jonathan Borlée (BEL / ATH)

The Borlee Twins

• Aluísio Marsili (BRA / WAP)

Arnaldo Marsili (BRA / WAP)

• Axel Preben-Schmidt (BRA / SAI)

Erik Preben-Schmidt (BRA / SAI)

• Khristo Etropolski (BUL / FEN)

Vasil Etropolski (BUL / FEN)

• Plamen Petkov (BUL / GYM)

Rumen Petkov (BUL / GYM)

• Georgi Bratoev (BUL / VOL)

Valentin Bratoev (BUL / VOL)

• Colin Morgan (CAN / JUD)

Keith Morgan (CAN / JUD)

• Mark Evans (CAN / ROW)

Mike Evans (CAN / ROW)

• Robert Hay (CAN / ROW)

Strathy Hay (CAN / ROW)

• Marcel Tremblay (CAN / SSK)

Robert Tremblay (CAN / SSK)

• Matt Hindle (CAN / BOB)

Ben Hindle (CAN / BOB)

• Ricardo Roach (CHI / ATH)

Rodrigo Roach (CHI / ATH)

• Yerko Araya (CHI / ATH)

Edward Araya (CHI / ATH)

• Li Dashuang (CHN / GYM)

Li Xiaoshuang (CHN / GYM)

• Neven Žugaj (CRO / WRE)

Nenad Žugaj (CRO / WRE)

• Petr Štercl (CZE / CAN)

Pavel Štercl (CZE / CAN)

• Jan Vetešník (CZE / ROW)

Ondřej Vetešník (CZE / ROW)

• Kaj Frederiksen (DEN / BOX)

Viggo Frederiksen (DEN / BOX)

• Håkan Nyblom (DEN / WRE)

Anders Nyblom (DEN / WRE)

• Toomas Tõniste (EST / SAI)

Tõnu Tõniste (EST / SAI)

• Sergey Pleshakov (EUN / HOK)

Vladimir Pleshakov (EUN / HOK)

• Yury Pimenov (EUN / ROW)

Nikolay Pimenov (EUN / ROW)

• Jarmo Övermark (FIN / WRE)

Kari Övermark (FIN / WRE)

• Claude Hauet (FRA / HOK)

Jean Hauet (FRA / HOK)

• Charles Imbault (FRA / HOK)

Paul Imbault (FRA / HOK)

• Edmond Faure (FRA / WRE)

Maurice Faure (FRA / WRE)

• Pascal Barré (FRA / ATH)

Patrick Barré (FRA / ATH)

• Jacques Vernier (FRA / ATH)

Jean Vernier (FRA / ATH)

• François Rozenthal (FRA / ICH)

Maurice Rozenthal (FRA / ICH)

• Jean-Jacques Rebière (FRA / CYC)

Jean-Marc Rebière (FRA / CYC)

• Matthias Seack (FRG / CAN)

Oliver Seack (FRG / CAN)

• Michael Roth (FRG / HAN)

Ulrich Roth (FRG / HAN)

• Günter Kilian (FRG / WAP)

Horst Kilian (FRG / WAP)

• John Howard (FSM / ATH)

Jack Howard (FSM / ATH)

• Paul Ceesay (GAM / ATH)

Peter Ceesay (GAM / ATH)

• Stanley McMeekan (GBR / BAS)

Sydney McMeekan (GBR / BAS)

• Jack Wardrop (GBR / SWI)

Bert Wardrop (GBR / SWI)

• Adrian Jardine (GBR / SAI)

Stuart Jardine (GBR / SAI)

• Christopher Chavasse (GBR / ATH)

Noel Chavasse (GBR / ATH)

• Denis Murray (GBR / ATH)

Jack Murray (GBR / ATH)

• Ullrich Dießner (GDR / ROW)

Walter Dießner (GDR / ROW)

• Bernd Landvoigt (GDR / ROW)

Jörg Landvoigt (GDR / ROW)

• Jörg Freimuth (GDR / ATH)

Uwe Freimuth (GDR / ATH)

• Hans Thomson (GER / FEN)

Julius Thomson (GER / FEN)

• Erich Wied (GER / GYM)

Theo Wied (GER / GYM)

• Bengt Zikarsky (GER / SWI)

Björn Zikarsky (FRG / SWI)

• Holger Blume (GER / ATH)

Marc Blume (GER / ATH)

• Markus Dieckmann (GER / BVO)

Christoph Dieckmann (GER / BVO)

• Jochen Kühner (GER / ROW)

Martin Kühner (GER / ROW)

• Nikos Gointoulas (GRE / ROW)

Apostolos Gointoulas (GRE / ROW)

• Kwong Choi Chow (HKG / CYC)

Kwong Man Chow (HKG / CYC)

• György Szebeny (HUN / ROW)

Miklós Szebeny (HUN / ROW)

• Szabolcs Detre (HUN / SAI)

Zsolt Detre (HUN / SAI)

• András Gergely (HUN / ICH)

László Gergely (HUN / ICH)

• Albert Sutanto (INA / SWI)

Felix Sutanto (INA / SWI)

• Haukur Clausen (ISL / ATH)

Örn Clausen (ISL / ATH)

• Kraig Singleton (ISV / SWI)

Kristan Singleton (ISV / SWI)

• Francesco Giovanelli (ITA / SAI)

Guido Giovanelli (ITA / SAI)

• Giuliano Oberti (ITA / SAI)

Massimo Oberti (ITA / SAI)

• Giorgio Damilano (ITA / ATH)

Maurizio Damilano (ITA / ATH)

• Antonio Selvaggio (ITA / ATH)

Piero Selvaggio (ITA / ATH)

• Lorenzo Giacomo Bodini (ITA / SAI)

Marco Bruno Bodini (ITA / SAI)

• Mal Spence (JAM / ATH)

Mel Spence (JAM / ATH)

• Saburo Sato (JPN / SAI)

Tsutomu Sato (JPN / SAI)

• Shigeru So (JPN / ATH)

Takeshi So (JPN / ATH)

• Kenji Ogiwara (JPN / NCO)

Tsugiharu Ogiwara (JPN / NCO)

• Masaichi Kinoshita (JPN / BIA)

Shoichi Kinoshita (JPN / BIA)

• Kenichi Yumoto (JPN / WRE)

Shinichi Yumoto (JPN / WRE)

• Kipkoech Cheruiyot (KEN / ATH)

Charles Cheruiyot (KEN / ATH)

• Kšištof Lavrinovič (LTU / BAS)

Darjuš Lavrinovič (LTU / BAS)

• Darius Škarnulis (LTU / ATH)

Donatas Škarnulis (LTU / ATH)

• Mauricio de la Lama (MEX / SAI)

Víctor de la Lama (MEX / SAI)

• Babsie Podestá (MLT / WAP)

Wilfred Podestá (MLT / WAP)

• Jan Snijders (NED / JUD)

Peter Snijders (NED / JUD)

• Ben Kouwenhoven (NED / SAI)

Jan Kouwenhoven (NED / SAI)

• Erik Vollebregt (NED / SAI)

Sjoerd Vollebregt (NED / SAI)

• Tycho Muda (NED / ROW)

Vincent Muda (NED / ROW)

• Ibo Oziti (NGR / WRE)

Joe Oziti (NGR / WRE)

• Davidson Ezinwa (NGR / ATH)

Osmond Ezinwa (NGR / ATH)

• Erling Maartmann (NOR / FTB)

Rolf Maartmann (NOR / FTB)

• Grzegorz Skrzecz (POL / BOX)

Paweł Skrzecz (POL / BOX)

• Henryk Trzciński (POL / ROW)

Mariusz Trzciński (POL / ROW)

• Józef Lipień (POL / WRE)

Kazimierz Lipień (POL / WRE)

• Dionísio Castro (POR / ATH)

Domingos Castro (POR / ATH)

• Pedro Miguel Curvelo (POR / ATH)

Paulo Miguel Curvelo (POR / ATH)

• João Vieira (POR / ATH)

Sérgio Vieira (POR / ATH)

• McWilliams Arroyo (PUR / BOX)

McJoe Arroyo (PUR / BOX)

• Geza Szabo (ROU / ICH)

Iuliu Szabo (ROU / ICH)

• Dmitry Dubrovsky (RUS / NCO)

Stanislav Dubrovsky (RUS / NCO)

• Predrag Filipović (SCG / ATH)

Nenad Filipović (SRB / ATH)

• Jože Poklukar (SLO / BIA)

Matjaž Poklukar (SLO / BIA)

• Roland Stocker (SUI / ROW)

Peter Stocker (SUI / ROW)

• Mikuláš Konopka (SVK / ATH)

Miloslav Konopka (SVK / ATH)

• Pavol Hochschorner (SVK / CAN)

Peter Hochschorner (SVK / CAN)

The Hochschorners

• Eric Carlberg (SWE / FEN-MOP-SHO)

Vilhelm Carlberg (SWE / SHO)

• Arne Borg (SWE / SWI)

Åke Borg (SWE / SWI)

• Erik Söderlund (SWE / ATH)

Åke Söderlund (SWE / ATH)

• Arvid Sjöqvist (SWE / SAI)

Fritz Sjöqvist (SWE / SAI)

• Christer Abrahamsson (SWE / ICH)

Thommy Abrahamsson (SWE / ICH)

• Mattias Eriksson (SWE / ARC)

Niklas Eriksson (SWE / ARC)

• Hans Andersson-Tvilling (SWE / ICH)

Stig Andersson-Tvilling (SWE / ICH)

• Daniel Sedin (SWE / ICH)

Henrik Sedin (SWE / ICH)

• František Tikal (TCH / ICH)

Steve Tikal (AUS / ICH)

• Panus Ariyamongkol (THA / ATH)

Surapong Ariyamongkol (THA / ATH)

• Chih Chin-Long (TPE / TTN)

Chih Chin-Shui (TPE / TTN)

• Adil Atan (TUR / WRE)

İrfan Atan (TUR / WRE)

• Nihattin Koca (TUR / CCS)

Saim Koca (TUR / CCS)

• Jagdish Singh Kapoor (UGA / HOK)

Upkar Singh Kapoor (UGA / HOK)

• Valeriy Sydorenko (UKR / BOX)

Volodymyr Sydorenko (UKR / BOX)

• Anatoly Beloglazov (URS / WRE)

Sergey Beloglazov (URS / WRE)

• Boris Mayorov (URS / ICH)

Yevgeny Mayorov (URS / ICH)

• Randy Dean (USA / HAN)

Robert Dean (USA / HAN)

• Eugene Clark (USA / ROW)

Thomas Clark (USA / ROW)

• Art McKinlay (USA / ROW)

John McKinlay (USA / ROW)

• Ed Banach (USA / WRE)

Lou Banach (USA / WRE)

• Dave Hazewinkel (USA / WRE)

Jim Hazewinkel (USA / WRE)

• Dennis Koslowski (USA / WRE)

Duane Koslowski (USA / WRE)

• Jim Scherr (USA / WRE)

Bill Scherr (USA / WRE)

• Sumner White (USA / SAI)

Ed White (USA / SAI)

• Alvin Harrison (USA / ATH)

Calvin Harrison (USA / ATH)

• Morgan Hamm (USA / GYM)

Paul Hamm (USA / GYM)

The Hamm twins

• Darrin Steele (USA / BOB)

Dan Steele (USA / BOB)

• Tom Brands (USA / WRE)

Terry Brands (USA / WRE)

• Bob Bryan (USA / TEN)

Mike Bryan (USA / TEN)

• Brett Camerota (USA / NCO)

Eric Camerota (USA / NCO)

• Tyler Winklevoss (USA / ROW)

Cameron Winklevoss (USA / ROW)

• Javier Molina (USA / BOX)

Oscar Molina (MEX / BOX)

• Ross James (USA / ROW)

Grant James (USA / ROW)

• Vladimir Shayslamov (UZB / CAN)

Sergey Shayslamov (UZB / CAN)

• Zlatko Vujović (YUG / FTB)

Zoran Vujović (YUG / FTB)

• Nenad Miloš (YUG / SWI)

Predrag Miloš (YUG / SWI)

 

Identical Twin Sisters

• Etel Sánchez (ARG / SYN)

Sofía Sánchez (ARG / SYN)

• Patricia Lorenz (AUT / HOK)

Regina Lorenz (AUT / HOK)

• Paula Lewin (BER / SAI)

Peta Lewin (BER / SAI)

• Veronika Pavlovich (BLR / TTN)

Viktoriya Pavlovich (BLR / TTN)

• Nataliya Zyatikova (BLR / CCS)

Vera Zyatikova (BLR / CCS)

• Carolina Moraes (BRA / SYN)

Isabela Moraes (BRA / SYN)

• Galina Tancheva (BUL / RGY)

Vladislava Tancheva (BUL / RGY)

• Penny Vilagos (CAN / SYN)

Vicky Vilagos (CAN / SYN)

• Sharon Firth (CAN / CCS)

Shirley Firth (CAN / CCS)

• Rhoda Wurtele-Eaves (CAN / ASK)

Rhona Wurtele (CAN / ASK)

• Julie Sutton-Skinner (CAN / CUR)

Jodie Sutton (CAN / CUR)

• Huang Ting (CHN / RGY)

Huang Ying (CHN / RGY)

• Li Duihong (CHN / SHO)

Li Shuanghong (CHN / SHO)

• Shen Guoqin (CHN / SSK)

Shen Zhenshu (CHN / SSK)

• Zhang Yu (CHN / BAS)

Zhang Wei (CHN / BAS)

• Jiang Tingting (CHN / SYN)

Jiang Wenwen (CHN / SYN)

• Ana Zaninović (CRO / TKW)

Lucija Zaninović (CRO / TKW)

• Heba Abdel Gawad (EGY / SYN)

Sara Abdel Gawad (EGY / SYN)

• Isabel Checa (ESP / ATH)

Dolores Checa (ESP / ATH)

• Dorota Tlałka-Mogore (FRA / ASK)

Małgorzata Tlałka-Mogore (FRA / ASK)

• Béatrice Mouthon (FRA / TRI)

Isabelle Mouthon-Michellys (FRA / TRI)

• Ann Osgerby (GBR / SWI)

Janet Osgerby (GBR / SWI)

• Susan Tooby (GBR / ATH)

Angela Tooby (GBR / ATH)

• Anja Pyritz (GER / ROW)

Dana Pyritz (GER / ROW)

• Birgit Rockmeier (GER / ATH)

Gabi Rockmeier (GER / ATH)

• Kerstin Kowalski-El-Qalqili (GER / ROW)

Manja Kowalski (GER / ROW)

• Antoinette Gauthier (HAI / ATH)

Rose-Marie Gauthier (HAI / ATH)

• Ágnes Miskó (HUN / GYM)

Zsuzsa Miskó (HUN / GYM)

• Éva Biszku (HUN / VOL)

Zsuzsa Biszku (HUN / VOL)

• Katalin Bácsics (HUN / SAI)

Krisztina Bácsics (HUN / SAI)

• Ayman Kozhakhmetova (KAZ / ATH)

Sholpan Kozhakhmetova (KAZ / ATH)

• Helen Ritter (LIE / ATH)

Maria Ritter (LIE / ATH)

• Rasa Polikevičiūtė (LTU / CYC)

Jolanta Polikevičiūtė (LTU / CYC)

• Marianne Muis (NED / SWI)

Mildred Muis (NED / SWI)

• Melanie de Lange (NED / STK)

Maureen de Lange (NED / STK)

• Bianca van der Velden (NED / SYN)

Sonja van der Velden (NED / SYN)

• Anne Nymark Andersen (NOR / FTB)

Nina Nymark Andersen (NOR / FTB)

• Georgina Evers-Swindell (NZL / ROW)

Caroline Evers-Swindell (NZL / ROW)

The Evers-Swindell Twins

• Margaret de Jesús (PUR / ATH)

Madeline de Jesús (PUR / ATH)

• Alenka Orel (SLO / SAI)

Janja Orel (SLO / SAI)

• Stefanie Marty (SUI / ICH)

Julia Marty (SUI / ICH)

• Laura Benz (SUI / ICH)

Sara Benz (SUI / ICH)

• Lívia Allárová (SVK / SYN)

Lucia Allárová (SVK / SYN)

• Dana Velďáková (SVK / ATH)

Jana Velďáková (SVK / ATH)

• Christina Gustafsson (SWE / SHO)

Margareta Gustafsson (SWE / SHO)

• Catarina Eklund (SWE / BIA)

Christina Eklund (SWE / BIA)

• Jenny Kallur (SWE / ATH)

Susanna Kallur (SWE / ATH)

• Hsieh Shu-Ting (TPE / SWI)

Hsieh Shu-Tzu (TPE / SWI)

• Gözde Kırdar (TUR / VOL)

Özge Kırdar (TUR / VOL)

• Valj Semerenko (UKR / BIA)

Vita Semerenko (UKR / BIA)

• Tami Jameson (USA / HAN)

Toni Jameson (USA / HAN)

• Betsy McCagg (USA / ROW)

Mary McCagg (USA / ROW)

• Karen Josephson (USA / SYN)

Sarah Josephson (USA / SYN)

• Tracy Barnes (USA / BIA)

Lanny Barnes (USA / BIA)

• Jocelyne Lamoureux (USA / ICH)

Monique Lamoureux (USA / ICH)

• Sandy Chick (ZIM / HOK)

Sonia Robertson (ZIM / HOK)

So, let’s look at this list of the 200 known twins a bit more. 166 of them competed in the Summer Olympics and 34 in the Winter Olympics. There has yet to be a mixed twin set at the Olympics, i.e., one competing in the Summer and one competing in the Winter Olympics.

There have been 2 sets of fraternal twin brothers and 2 sets of fraternal twin sisters, along with 4 sets of fraternal twin siblings (sister/brother).

All the twins have competed in the same sport – only the Swedish Carlberg twin brothers (Eric / Vilhelm) come close to breaking this rule. Vilhelm competed in shooting, while Erich competed in three sports – fencing, shooting, and modern pentathlon.

Oddly, there have been four sets of twins competing for different nations. Two don’t really count because they are so politically related – Bengt and Björn Zikarsky in swimming competed for Germany, and West Germany, respectively; while Predrag and Nenad Filipović in athletics competed for Serbia & Montenegro and Serbia, respectively.

However, ice hockey players František and Zdeněk “Steve” Tikal competed for Czechoslovakia and Australia respectively, and actually played against each other once in 1960, with Czechoslovakia winning, 18-1. And there is the case of Mexican twin brothers, Javier and Oscar Molina, who boxed for the United States and Mexico, respectively, Javier competing in 2008 and Oscar in 2012.

The Women’s World Cup is underway, with the first round of games having been played on Saturday, 6 June. The two biggest tournaments for women are the World Cup and the Olympics. To date, 19 women have played on winning teams at both  tournaments, as follows:

Women’s Olympic / WC Doubles

• Mary Harvey (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1991 WC)
• Michelle Akers (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1991/1999 WC)
• Brandi Chastain (USA) (1996/2004 Olympics, 1991/1999 WC)
• Julie Foudy (USA) (1996/2004 Olympics, 1991/1999 WC)
• Mia Hamm (USA) (1996/2004 Olympics, 1991/1999 WC)
• Kristine Lilly (USA) (1996/2004 Olympics, 1991/1999 WC)
• Joy Fawcett (USA) (1996/2000/2004 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Shannon MacMillan (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Tiffeny Milbrett (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Carla Overbeck (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Cindy Parlow (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Tiffany Roberts (USA) (1996/2004 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Briana Scurry (USA) (1996/2004 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Tisha Venturini (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Bente Nordby (NOR) (1995 WC, 2000 Olympics)
• Gro Espeseth (NOR) (1995 WC, 2000 Olympics)
• Hege Riise (NOR) (1995 WC, 2000 Olympics)
• Marianne Pettersen (NOR) (1995 WC, 2000 Olympics)

OK, its pretty USA-heavy, with 14 USA players, and 4 Norwegians. That is because the US has won 4 of the 5 Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004-12), with Norway winning in 2000.

Can anybody match this in 2015? Actually, yes, and oddly there are 18 possible World Cup / Olympic doublers playing at the 2015 Women’s World Cup. This is even more USA-top  heavy with 17 of them playing for the US this year. The lone Norwegian is Solveig Gulbrandsen, who was on the 2000 Olympic champions when she was only 19-years-old. Here is the full list of the 18 players who could do it this year:

2015 Possibles

• Abby Wambach (USA) (2004/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Alex Morgan (USA) (2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Amy Rodriguez (USA) (2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Becky Sauerbrunn (USA) (2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Carli Lloyd (USA) (2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Christen Press (USA) (2012 Olympics (DNS), 2015 WC)
• Christie Rampone (USA) (2000/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Heather O’Reilly (USA) (2004/2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Hope Solo (USA) (2004 (DNS)/2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Kelley O’Hara (USA) (2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Lauren Cheney-Holiday (USA) (2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Lori Chalupny (USA) (2008 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Megan Rapinoe (USA) (2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Meghan Klingenberg (USA) (2012 Olympics (DNS), 2015 WC)
• Shannon Boxx (USA) (2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Sydney Leroux (USA) (2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Tobin Heath (USA) (2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Solveig Gulbrandsen (NOR) (2000 Olympics, 2015 WC)