Monthly Archives: June 2015

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Olympic Birthday Medalists

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 15th 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.

Athletics

Ron Clarke (1937-2015)

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As the Australian junior mile champion Ron Clarke was selected to carry the Olympic Torch and light the flame at the 1956 Melbourne Opening Ceremony. He later became one of the great distance runners of all-time, especially measured against the clock, but one who struggled to win on the biggest stages. Between 1963-68 Clarke set 17 world records, over distances ranging from 2 miles to the one-hour race. In 1965, he was at his best, setting 11 world records that year alone. His most famous record occurred on 14 July 1965 at Bislett Stadium in Oslo, when Clarke recorded 27:39.4 (27:39.89) for 10,000 metres, breaking his own listed record of 28:15.6, shattering the previous best by over 36 seconds.

ron clarke 1970
Clarke leading the 1970 Commonwealth Games 10000m

At the Commonwealth Games Clarke won four silver medals, in the 1962 3-miles, the 1966 3- and 6-mile races, and the 1970 10,000 metres. Favored for golds at the 1964 Olympics in the distances, he came away only with a bronze in the 1964 10,000 metres. At Mexico City in 1968, Clarke ran himself to exhaustion in the thin air of the Mexican capital, and lay prostrate on the track at the end of the 10,000, after finishing sixth. After the 1968 Olympics, Clarke visited Czechoslovakia to meet his predecessor as the world’s greatest distance runner, Emil Zátopek. When he left for Australia, Zatopek gave him a present to be opened only on the plane, and it was one of his gold medals, with a note saying, “Because you deserve it.”

Ron Clarke on 50th anniversary of Melbourne Olympics

Clarke later became mayor of Gold Coast, Queensland in 2004, serving until 2012, when he resigned to run in the Queensland state elections, but he was badly beaten in that election. Clarke was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1966. In 2013 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) on the Queens Birthday Honours List. Clarke was elected to the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.

Personal Bests\: 5000 – 13:16.6 (1966); 10000 – 27:39.89 (1965); Mar – 2-20:26 (1964).

Uncategorized

Twins at the Olympics

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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.

Uncategorized

Women’s World Cup / Olympic Champions

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)
Uncategorized

Winter Olympic Program Inflate-Gate

The IOC today approved 6 new events to be held at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Korea. They are as follows:

  • Alpine Skiing – mixed team event
  • Curling – mixed doubles event
  • Snowboarding – Big Air for men / women
  • Speed Skating – mass start for men / women

In addition, snowboarding will lose two events – parallel special slalom for men and women.

This will bring the Winter Olympic Program to a total of 102 events, the first time the Winter Olympics have had more than 100 events. The following is how the Program has inflated over the years at the Olympic Winter Games. The biggest changes have occurred in 2002, with the addition of 10 events, and 2014, when 12 events were added.

Year Men Wom Mix Total Men% Wom% Mix%
1908 2 1 1 4 50.0% 25.0% 25.0%
1920 2 1 1 4 50.0% 25.0% 25.0%
1924 14 1 1 16 87.5% 6.3% 6.3%
1928 12 1 1 14 85.7% 7.1% 7.1%
1932 12 1 1 14 85.7% 7.1% 7.1%
1936 14 2 1 17 82.4% 11.8% 5.9%
1948 17 4 1 22 77.3% 18.2% 4.5%
1952 16 5 1 22 72.7% 22.7% 4.5%
1956 17 6 1 24 70.8% 25.0% 4.2%
1960 16 10 1 27 59.3% 37.0% 3.7%
1964 20 12 2 34 58.8% 35.3% 5.9%
1968 21 12 2 35 60.0% 34.3% 5.7%
1972 21 12 2 35 60.0% 34.3% 5.7%
1976 22 12 3 37 59.5% 32.4% 8.1%
1980 23 12 3 38 60.5% 31.6% 7.9%
1984 23 13 3 39 59.0% 33.3% 7.7%
1988 27 16 3 46 58.7% 34.8% 6.5%
1992 31 23 3 57 54.4% 40.4% 5.3%
1994 33 25 3 61 54.1% 41.0% 4.9%
1998 36 29 3 68 52.9% 42.6% 4.4%
2002 41 34 3 78 52.6% 43.6% 3.8%
2006 44 37 3 84 52.4% 44.0% 3.6%
2010 45 38 3 86 52.3% 44.2% 3.5%
2014 49 43 6 98 50.0% 43.9% 6.1%
2018 50 44 8 102 49.0% 43.1% 7.8%
Totals 608 394 60 1062 57.3% 37.1% 5.6%

So after 2018, there will have been 1,062 Winter Olympic events, or 1,054, if you wish to include the 1908 and 1920 figure skating and ice hockey as part of the Summer Olympics, and not include them as Winter Olympic events. So one of the 2018 Winter Olympic events will be the 1,000th event at the Winter Olympics – can’t tell you which one until the schedule comes out, and with weather problems and re-scheduling at the Winter Games, probably not until it actually happens.

By comparison, through 2012, the Summer Olympics will have had 4,856 events (the numbers for 1900 and 1904 are always disputed), including 1906, or 4,782, if you wish to be a purist, and omit 1906, as the IOC does. (The International Society of Olympic Historians [ISOH] considers the 1906 Games as Olympic Games.)

The last time a Summer Olympics had less than 100 events was at St. Louis in 1904, with 95 events. There were 302 events at both the 2008 Beijing and the 2012 London Olympics.

This continues the IOC policy of trying to equalize the program in terms of gender equity. However, because there are more mixed events now (8 in 2018), the men’s and women’s percentages both go down slightly. However, men will be competing in 56.8% of the events on the 2018 Winter Program, and women in 50.9% of the available events, counting the mixed events.

Counting sports and disciplines, there will be no change in 2018 as no new disciplines were added. Here is the breakdown for the various sports-disciplines at the Winter Olympics. Women do not compete in Nordic combined, as the men do. The only other sport in which women have not competed is military patrol, which was on the program in 1924, and is somewhat similar to a biathlon mass start team event. Women also have only one event in bobsledding, unlike the men, who have two; and only one event in ski jumping, while the men have three.

Year Men Women Mixed Total
1908 1 1 1 1
1920 2 1 1 2
1924 9 1 1 9
1928 8 1 1 8
1932 7 1 1 7
1936 8 2 1 8
1948 9 2 1 9
1952 8 3 1 8
1956 8 3 1 8
1960 8 4 1 8
1964 10 5 2 10
1968 10 5 2 10
1972 10 5 2 10
1976 10 5 2 10
1980 10 5 2 10
1984 10 5 2 10
1988 10 5 2 10
1992 12 8 2 12
1994 12 8 2 12
1998 14 11 2 14
2002 15 13 2 15
2006 15 13 2 15
2010 15 13 2 15
2014 15 14 3 15
2018 15 14 5 15
Totals 16 14 5 16
Athletics, LGBT

Is Caitlyn Jenner the first transgender Olympian?

Appearing on the cover of Vanity Fair last week, Caitlyn Jenner revealed her new identity and  name to the world. She was previously known as Bruce Jenner, and was the 1976 Olympic decathlon champion. Probably the most famous transgender worldwide, Jenner’s definitely the most famous transgender Olympian. But is she also the first?

Jenner after winning Olympic decathlon gold in 1976.

The answer is, as you might expect on this site, no. As far as we know, Jenner is the second transgender Olympian, the first one being Balian Buschbaum, who announced his gender reassignment surgery in 2008. Under the name Yvonne, Buschbaum had competed in the women’s pole vault at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The reigning European Junior Champion, she placed a credible sixth.

Buschbaum after winning a medal at the 2002 European Championships

Jenner and Buschbaum are not the only transgender athletes in history, of course. A few famous examples:

  • In the 1930s, Czechoslovakian middle distance runner Zdena Koubková, winner of the 800m at the 1934 Women’s World Games, underwent surgery to become Zdeněk Koubek.
  • In 1979, tennis player Renée Richards reached the third round of the US Open ladies’ singles, and semi-finals in mixed doubles. She had been born as Richard Raskind, and had competed in the men’s tournament in the 1950s. Richards had to go through a long legal battle before being allowed to play, but she achieved a landmark victory for transgender rights in sports.
  • 1986 European shot put champion Heidi Krieger (DDR) became Andreas in 1997, although this was heavily influenced by the immense doses of anabolic steroids that Krieger had received from the DDR doping program as an athlete.

Andreas Krieger, formerly known as shot putter Heidi Krieger.

Both Jenner and Buschbaum only underwent gender reassignment after their Olympic appearances. To our best knowledge, no Olympians have competed after transgender surgery.  It may only be a matter of time before transgender athletes do compete, as transgender athletes are appearing in several sports, such as cyclists Natalie van Gogh (Netherlands) and Michelle Dumaresq (Canada). However, their involvement in sport is still controversial. Especially in the case of men becoming women, many perceive this as an unfair competitive advantage. While transgenders might have some physical advantages (such as a greater height), their hormone treatments actually puts them at a disadvantage compared to their competitors.

A glimpse of the expected controversy of transgenders competing in the Olympics might be seen by looking at intersexual athletes. Often confused with transgenders, intersexuals have both male and female characteristics from birth. Some, but not all  also decide to undergo surgery to become either a man or a woman. The history of intersexuals in the Olympics has been troublesome.

Polish sprinter Stanisława Walasiewicz (also known as Stella Walsh), who won the 100 m at the 1932 Olympics, had on several occasions been accused of being a man. Upon her death, it was revealed she was a gynandromorph, implying normal external sexual characteristics, but mixed internal sexual organs. In many sources, however, this is (still) simplified to her being a man.

1932 sprint champion Walasiewicz and 1936 champion Stephens.

A contemporary of Walasiewciz, German high jumper Dora Ratjen, fourth at the 1936 Olympics, was “exposed” as a man after winning the 1938 European Championships. Ratjen was, in fact, intersexual, and had been raised as a girl. Ratjen did officially register as a man subsequently, under the name of Heinz.

Due to suspicions that some (Eastern European) female athletes competing in the 1950s and 1960s were in fact men, the IOC and other sports federations introduced so- called “sex-tests”.  Polish sprinter Ewa Kłobukowska, Olympic relay champion in 1964, was banned from sports in 1967 after failing the original IOC gender test (see below).  Kłobukowska would have passed later versions of the test, and to prove her womanhood, she gave birth to a son in 1968.

Another noted victim of the sex tests was 1966 giant slalom champion Erika Schinegger. Prior to the Grenoble Winter Olympics, she failed a sex test due to being intersexual, and was not allowed to compete. Schinegger later officially became a man, Erik Schinegger.

In the 1990s, prompted among others by lawsuits by Spanish hurdler Maria José Martínez-Patiño, most sports governing bodies abandoned the tests.

The whole concept of gender identity is a difficult one, both in sports and scientifically and psychologically in society, and in sports it has a long history. In the 1960s, concern about the problem of men posing as women to gain a competitive advantage led to the introduction of gender verification by the IOC, at the time called sex testing. Several female track & field athletes were then suspected of being genetically male.

From 1968-88, all women wishing to compete in the Olympics were required to undergo sex testing, with one exception, that being Princess Anne of Great Britain, who competed in the 1976 Olympics in the equestrian events. Testing was initially done by obtaining a buccal smear, or a scraping of the cells of the inner wall of the mouth. The cells were examined for the presence of a Barr body, which occurs almost exclusively in females. Females are genetically labeled as XX, while men are labeled as XY, those being the classifications of the respective sex chromosomes. The second X chromosome possessed by women contains a structure termed the Barr body.

Though some men did attempt to breach the rules and compete as women, the entire subject of mixed sexual characteristics is a highly complex and emotional one. A number of people with mixed sexual identity may have elected to compete as women for psychological reasons. In addition, doctors typically label babies with indeterminate genitalia as women. And in certain cases of mixed sex classification, some people who would be considered women lack a Barr body, and would thus have been disqualified.

Because of these problems, the test was later changed and the buccal smear no longer used. Women were then cleared for international competition by doctors after simply undergoing a physical examination. In the late 1980s, this method was replaced by a polymerase chain reaction evaluation, looking for the Y-linked SRY gene (sex-determining region Y), and this method was used at both the 1992 and 1996 Olympics

But problems still existed. It was noted that the test failed to exclude all potential impostors, was discriminatory against women with disorders of sexual development, and could be psychologically devastating for a female athlete failing such a test. Thus, during the 1996 IOC World Conference on Women and Health, the IOC passed a resolution “to discontinue the current process of gender verification during the Olympic Games.” The IOC Athletes’ Commission recommended to the IOC Executive Board in January 1999 that gender identification should be eliminated, and this decision was ratified by the IOC Executive Board in June 1999.

However, the IOC Medical Commission addressed the issue of sex reassignment in 2003-2004. Their recommendations were approved by the IOC Executive Board in May 2004. The conclusions of this study were: 1) individuals undergoing sex reassignment of male to female before puberty should be regarded as girls and women (female); 2) individuals undergoing sex reassignment of female to male before puberty should be regarded as boys and men (male); 3) individuals undergoing sex reassignment from male to female after puberty (and vice versa) be eligible for participation in female or male competitions, respectively, under the following conditions: 3a) surgical anatomical changes have been completed, including external genitalia changes and gonadectomy; 3b) legal recognition of the assigned sex has been conferred by the appropriate official authorities; 3c) hormonal therapy appropriate for the assigned sex has been administered in a verifiable manner and for a sufficient length of time to minimize gender-related advantages in sport competitions; 3d) eligibility should begin no sooner than two years after gonadectomy; and 4) evaluation will occur on a confidential case-by-case basis.

The entire subject is very difficult, in many ways. Interestingly, Renée Richards, described above as playing on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tour after changing to female gender, has come to believe that the IOC ruling is incorrect, and that men changing to women should not be allowed to compete at the highest levels of sport, because they could have an advantage. Of note, Richards is a medical doctor and likely understands all aspects of this discussion far better than anyone. See her interview and discussion on the topic here.

All these multiple administrative decisions paved the way for Brazilian judoka Edinanci Silva to compete in the Olympics from 1996 through 2008. Born intersexual, she underwent surgery to become a woman.

Edinanci da Silva after winning at the 2007 Pan American Games.

But the abolition of gender testing did not kill all controversy. In 2009, South African Castor Semenya won the women’s 800 m at the athletics World Championships. There were wild speculations about her being a man and/or having a genetic disorder. The IAAF responded non-tactfully and with a re-instated gender test, but her results were allowed to stand. Semenya went on to carry the South African flag at the opening of the 2012 Olympics, and won a silver medal in the event.

Let’s hope that Caitlyn Jenner’s public transition will help future transgenders and intersexuals in being accepted as regular competitors.

Uncategorized

Max Emmerich, Olympic Champion and Bank Robber

Full Name Max Phillip Emmerich
Born 1 June 1879 in Indianapolis (USA)
Died 29 June 1956 in Indianapolis (USA)
Affiliations Socialer Turnverein Indianapolis (USA)
Country United States

Year-Sport Event Place
1904 Athletics All-Around DNF
1904 Gymnastics Individual All-Around Men 67th
1904 Gymnastics Individual All-Around Field Sports Men Gold
1904 Gymnastics Individual All-Around Apparatus Work 100th

poster1904
From Indianapolis, Max Emmerich competed in two sports at the 1904 Olympics. Besides the gymnastics events he entered the all-around competition in track & field. At that sport, however, his participation lasted only a few seconds; as in the first event – the 100 yard dash – he pulled up lame after only a few yards. Emmerich won the triathlon in the gymnastics program, but it was really a track & field competition. It consisted of the 100 yard dash, long jump, and shot put, and was a part of the 12 event all-around competition.

In 1909 Emmerich, a bank clerk at the Capitol National Bank in Indianapolis, suddenly disappeared. Suspicious bank officials examined his accounts and brought in the Pinkerton Detective Agency when it became apparent that fraudulent transactions had taken place. Emmerich was tracked by a Pinkerton detective to a motel in Jacksonville, Florida, from where he was about to leave for South America, arrested and returned to Indiana. Emmerich, fellow Olympian Harry Prinzler and another conspirator were each sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling $40,000. When released in 1913 he returned to accountancy.