@TeamUSA and the 1,000th Gold Medal

At some time during the Rio Olympic Games, the United States will win its 1,000th Summer Olympic gold medal. Going into Rio, @TeamUSA has won 977 gold medals. This does not include the 1906 Intercalated Olympic Games (12 gold medals), nor the Arts Competitions held from 1912-49 (4 gold medals). As of this morning and Kristin Armstrong’s cycling time trial goal, we are at 987. Here is some perspective on the @TeamUSA and our gold medals through Olympic history.

Looking at how quickly the USA has won golds during the last 5-6 Olympics, this will most likely occur either on Sunday, 14 August, or Monday, 15 August. We don’t know who will win this gold medal yet. Here are the possibilities for those days in the approximate start orders, if there are no schedule delays, although because each event takes different times to complete, it is difficult to say when they will finish.

14 August

  • Men’s Golf
  • Women’s Athletics (Track & Field) Marathon
  • Men’s Singles Tennis
  • Men’s Doubles Tennis
  • Women’s Doubles Tennis
  • Mixed Doubles Tennis
  • Men’s Small-Bore Rifle Shooting
  • Men’s RS:X Sailing
  • Women’s RS:X Sailing
  • Men’s Gymnastics Floor Exercise
  • Men’s Gymnastics Pommel Horse
  • Women’s Gymnastics Vault
  • Women’s Gymnastics Uneven Bars
  • Men’s Boxing Light-flyweight
  • Women’s Springboard Diving
  • Men’s Greco-Roman Wrestling 59 kg
  • Men’s Greco-Roman Wrestling 75 kg
  • Men’s Cycling Sprint
  • Men’s Fencing Team Épée
  • Women’s +75 kg Weightlifting
  • Women’s Athletics (Track & Field) Triple Jump
  • Men’s Athletics (Track & Field) 400 metres
  • Men’s Athletics (Track & Field) 100 metres

15 August

  • Women’s 10 km Open-Water Swimming
  • Mixed Equestrian Individual Dressage
  • Women’s Athletics (Track & Field) Hammer Throw
  • Women’s 3,000 metre Steeplechase
  • Women’s Laser Radial Sailing
  • Men’s Laser Sailing
  • Men’s Gymnastics Rings
  • Men’s Gymnastics Vault
  • Women’s Gymnastics Balance Beam
  • Men’s Cycling Omnium
  • Men’s Greco-Roman Wrestling 85 kg
  • Men’s Greco-Roman Wrestling 130 kg
  • Men’s 105 kg Weightlifting
  • Men’s Heavyweight (91 kg) Boxing
  • Men’s Athletics (Track & Field) Pole Vault
  • Men’s Athletics (Track & Field) 800 metres
  • Women’s Athletics (Track & Field) 400 metres

Next Best Nations

  • Soviet Union      473
  • Germany              288
  • Great Britain     246
  • France                   234
  • Italy                        236
  • China                     213

Other than the Soviets, no longer extant, the next 4 best NOCs have 1,004 gold medals through 2012 (USA had 977)

At current rates of winning gold medals (since 2000), the next time any nation will reach 1,000 Summer Olympic Gold medals is as follows:

  • China              21 Olympics             2100        1,850 USA
  • Germany      47 Olympics             2204        2,850 USA

The numbers in the right-hand column give the estimated number of golds the USA will have by those dates, if @TeamUSA continues to produce as they have at the last 7 Summer Olympics.

@TeamUSA Best to Date

Most Gold Medals (thru 2012)

22              Michael Phelps                    SWI       (and counting)

Most Gold Medals, Men (thru 2012)

22              Michael Phelps                    SWI       (and counting)

Most Gold Medals, Women (thru 2012)

8                 Jenny Thompson                SWI

Youngest Gold Medalist

13-268     Marjorie Gestring   DIV     1936   *18 Nov 1922  Springboard

Youngest Gold Medalist, Men

15-324     Michael Schoettle  SAI     1952   *7 Sep 1936    5.5 metres

Youngest Gold Medalist, Women

13-268     Marjorie Gestring   DIV     1936   *18 Nov 1922  Springboard

Oldest Gold Medalist

64-099     Charles Jacobus   ROQ   1904   *1 May 1840    Singles

Oldest Gold Medalist, Men

64-099     Charles Jacobus   ROQ   1904   *1 May 1840    Singles

Oldest Gold Medalist, Women

63-332     Eliza Pollock           ARC   1904   *24 Oct 1840   Team

The Previous Milestones

#1

James B. Connolly – 1896 Athletics Triple Jump – 6 April 1896

For purely historical reasons, James Connolly must be considered the most distinguished of all United States Olympians because, on 6 April 1896, he became the first winner at the Modern Olympic Games and the first known Olympic champion in over 1,500 years. In addition to his triple jump crown, Connolly won medals in the high jump and long jump. One can safely assume that this victory adequately compensated Connolly for the decision he had made at Boston some two months earlier. Connolly’s dean at Harvard had counselled him not to make the trip to Athens because his low academic standing might prejudice his being readmitted to the university upon his return. Connolly, however, entertained no doubts as to his priorities and walked out of Harvard, not setting foot there until 50 years later when, as a well-known writer of Gloucester fishing stories, he was invited to speak on literature before the Harvard Union.

In 1898, Connolly was with the 9th Massachusetts Infantry at the Siege of Santiago, but in 1900 he again sought Olympic honors. He improved on his 1896 winning mark, but had to settle for second place behind Meyer Prinstein. Connolly missed the 1904 Olympics but competed in 1906, failing to make a valid jump in either the long or triple jump. Connolly later served in the Navy and in 1912 he ran for Congress as a Progressive, although he was defeated. Connolly covered Pershing’s “punitive expedition” into Mexico for Colliers and in 1917 became European naval correspondent for the magazine. He remained a writer for the rest of his life.

#10

Bill Hoyt – 1896 Athletics Pole Vault – 10 April 1896

The first Olympic pole vault competition only drew an entry of five competitors and after the early elimination of the three Greek entrants, it became a two-man contest between Bill Hoyt of Harvard and Albert Tyler of Princeton. Tyler had the early edge, clearing 10-0 (3.05) on his first attempt, while Hoyt had two misses at that height. But when the bar was set at 10-10 (3.30) only Hoyt was successful, which won him the gold medal. Hoyt’s Olympic victory was the only truly major success of his career. At home, he had placed second in the IC4A pole vault in 1895 and 1897, and he tied for first place in 1898 with Raymond Clapp of Yale.

After graduating Harvard in 1897, Hoyt entered their medical school, from which he graduated in 1901. Initially he practiced as a doctor in Chicago and was later commissioned into the 1st Illinois Field Hospital Company and served in France in 1918. After the war he tried to resume his Chicago practice, but soon returned to France as a surgeon with the foreign service of the U.S. Public Health Service, and he served overseas for many years. He finally settled in the small town of Berlin, New York, where he continued to practice medicine.

#50

Tom Hicks – 1904 Athletics Marathon – 30 August 1904

The first two men to finish in the 1904 Olympic marathon were the English-born Tom Hicks and the French-born Albert Coray. Although they had a European birthplace in common, their occupations could hardly have been more divergent – Hicks was a clown by profession and Coray earned his living as a professional strike-breaker. Tom Hicks had been around the American distance running scene for some years, having finished sixth in Boston in 1900, improving to fifth in 1901 and placing second in 1904. This experience was to stand him in good stead, considering the extreme conditions in which the 1904 Olympic marathon was run.

The course was hilly, the temperature was 90° F, there were no watering stations apart from a well at the halfway mark, and the automobiles following the race churned up a great deal of dust. Only the fact that Hicks had been sustained by doses of brandy, egg white, and strychnine during the latter stages of the race enabled him to finish. But his dreams of being champion were shattered when he arrived at Francis Field only to see Fred Lorz being photographed, as the victor, with Alice Roosevelt, the daughter of the President Teddy Roosevelt. It later transpired that Lorz had covered much of the course in an automobile and then claimed that his Olympic “victory” was only a practical joke. The AAU did not share his sense of humor and they immediately banned him (he was later reinstated and won the 1905 Boston Marathon). No more was heard of Hicks as after his ordeal, both physical and mental, he retired on the spot.

#100

We can’t tell you exactly who was the 100th USA gold medalist. On 28 October 1904 USA gymnasts won 10 gold medals, and the times are not recorded so we don’t know exactly who won the 100th. It was one of three USA gymnasts – Anton Heida, Ed Hennig, or George Eyser, the gymnast with the wooden leg. His story is the most interesting.

George Eyser was a member of the Concordia Turnverein in 1904 and is probably one of the most amazing stories to emerge from any Olympic Games. In the 12-event All-Around competition he placed 71st individually despite having finished 10th in the nine event all-around. He finished last in the other three events of the triathlon – 100 yard dash, long jump and shot put, pulled down mostly by his 13-foot long jump and 15.4 time for the dash.

Those marks don’t look so bad in another context, for George Eyser competed with a wooden leg. Nothing of the circumstances of the loss of his limb is known. Eyser arrived in America, from Germany, at the age of 14 and settled in Denver, Colorado before moving to St. Louis where he worked as a book-keeper for a construction company. Eyser became a US citizen in 1894. He was a member of the Concordia team which won an international meet in Frankfurt, Germany in 1908, and also won the National Turnfest in Cincinnati in 1909.

#250

Ray Barbuti – 1928 Athletics 400 metres – 3 August 1928

Ray Barbuti won his only AAU title in 1928, when the 400 m final was run in a gale force wind and Barbuti’s rugged strength enabled him to win in a seemingly modest 51.8. He improved that to 47.8 at the Olympics when he was the only American to win an individual track title. He was brought onto the relay team at the last minute and led the U.S. to a new world record of 3:14.2. The following week he (with George Baird, Morgan Taylor, and Bud Spencer) claimed a share in a second world record when the U.S. ran 3:13.4 for the 4×440y in London in the match against the British Empire team.

Barbuti captained both the football and track teams at Syracuse. During his war service he was awarded the Air Medal and the Bronze Star and left the army air corps as a major. He later became deputy director of the Civil Defense Commission for New York State and director of the New York State Office of Disaster Preparedness. After his competitive days were over he was more interested in football than track and he officiated at more than 500 intercollegiate games.

#500

Hayes Jones – 1964 Athletics 110 metre hurdles – 18 October 1964

The 110 metre hurdles final started at 3:50 PM, Tokyo time, on 18 October 1964, with Hayes Jones winning over fellow American Blaine Lindgren. We suspect Jones had no idea he had just won the 500th gold for the USA.

Although at 5-11 (1.80) Hayes Jones seemingly lacked the height for a world-class hurdler, he made up for this apparent handicap with an explosive start and blazing speed on the flat. On the indoor circuit his exceptional starting abilities put him on his way to six AAU titles and he won 55 consecutive indoor races from March 1959 through his retirement in 1964. Jones’ speed on the flat earned him a share in a world 4×100 m relay record (with Frank Budd, Paul Drayton, and the non-Olympian Charles Frazier) in 1961 and over the high hurdles he won the AAU title a record five times. He was also Pan American Games and NCAA champion in 1959. At the 1959 Pan Ams he was also on the gold medal winning 4×100 m relay team. After his retirement Jones served as director of recreation for New York City for two years before returning to private business.

Gold Medals by Sport

[table]

Sport,Golds,Medals

Athletics,321,763

Swimming,231,519

Shooting,53,107

Wrestling,52,130

Boxing,49,111

Diving,48,132

Gymnastics,33,103

Rowing,32,87

Basketball,21,26

Tennis,20,36

Sailing,19,59

Weightlifting,16,45

Archery,14,31

Cycling,14,53

Equestrian Events,11,49

Beach Volleyball,6,9

Canoeing,5,16

Synchronized Swimming,5,9

Football,4,7

Fencing,3,27

Golf,3,10

Softball,3,4

Volleyball,3,8

Rugby Football,2,2

Taekwondo,2,8

Water Polo,2,13

Baseball,1,3

Jeu de Paume,1,1

Judo,1,12

Roque,1,3

Tug-of-War,1,4

Totals,977,2402

[/table]

Gold Medals by States (Birthplace)

[table]

State,###

California,443

New York,259

Illinois,161

Ohio,144

Pennsylvania,138

Texas,119

New Jersey,105

Michigan,84

Florida,73

Georgia,69

Massachusetts,67

Missouri,64

Washington,61

Wisconsin,55

Mississippi,52

Iowa,48

Indiana,47

Virginia,46

Connecticut,40

District of Columbia,39

Kansas,39

Maryland,38

Oregon,38

Minnesota,35

North Carolina,33

Oklahoma,33

Arizona,31

Louisiana,31

Alabama,30

Arkansas,30

Kentucky,30

Hawaiʻi,27

West Virginia,26

Colorado,23

Tennessee,22

South Carolina,20

Nebraska,18

Maine,14

South Dakota,13

Montana,10

Utah,8

New Hampshire,7

Idaho,6

Nevada,6

Rhode Island,6

Alaska,5

Vermont,4

Delaware,3

New Mexico,3

Wyoming,2

Totals,2705

[/table]

Note that all 50 states have produced gold medalists. Because of team events, there are many more gold medalists than just 1,000. Also note that a number of @TeamUSA Olympians have been born out of the continental United States.

Kristin Armstrong 3-Peat in Cycling Individual Road Time Trial

 

  • First Olympic cyclist to win the same event 3 times – any event, any nation, male or female, team or individual
  • First female Olympic cyclist to win gold medals at 3 Olympic Games – matches the male record held by Chris Hoy (GBR), Bradley Wiggins (GBR), Jens Fiedler (GDR/GER), and Vyacheslav Yekimov (URS/EUN/RUS)
  • Oldest female Olympic cycling champion – at 42-364 (birthday tomorrow) – breaking her own record of 38-356
  • 2nd oldest Olympic cycling champion – after Juan Esteban Curuchet (ESP) – 2008 Madison at 43-196
  • Oldest @TeamUSA Olympic cycling champion at 42-364
  • 2nd oldest @TeamUSA female individual gold medalist (any sport), after Lida Howell, who was 45-024 (and 45-023) when she won two archery gold medals in 1904
  • 3rd oldest female individual gold medalist (any sport, any nation) after Howell and Sybil Newall, who was 53-275 when she won the 1908 women’s archery gold medal
  • 3 gold medals tied for 2nd among female Olympic cyclists with Félicia Ballenger (FRA) – trails only Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel, who won 4 in 2000-04
  • 3 Olympic cycling medals places Armstrong =5th on the all-time list for female Olympic cyclists
  • Armstrong 2nd @TeamUSA female Olympian, and 1st Summer, to  win same individual event at 3 consecutive Olympics – only other for USA is Bonnie Blair

Katie Ledecky in the 200 Freestyle Today

Katie Ledecky swims the 200 freestyle final tonite, with a chance for her second gold medal of the Rio Olympics, after winning the 400 freestyle a few nights ago. She is probably a co-favorite with Sweden’s Sarah Sjoström. Should Ledecky win the 200 tonite, she will become the 3rd woman, and 6th swimmer, to double in the 200-400 freestyle at the same Olympic Games. The others are:

[table]

Name,Gender,NOC,Year

Debbie Meyer,F,USA,1968

Shane Gould,F,AUS,1972

Yevgeny Sadovy,M,EUN,1992

Danyon Loader,M,NZL,1996

Ian Thorpe,M,AUS,2004

[/table]

Ledecky’s 400 WR in Statistical Context

Katie Ledecky crushed the world record last night in the women’s 400 metre freestyle, swimming 3:56.46, to better her own world record by 1.91 seconds. Since swimming world records converted to all LCM marks in the late 1950s, that is the 7th largest improvement in the women’s 400 free world mark – see the table below. Further, in an era in which records are often improved by 100ths of a second, the mark is a quantum leap, as it has been 40 years since anyone improved the 400 free world record by a larger margin, done in 1976 by Barbara Krause at the GDR Olympic Trials, most likely with a little, shall we say, assistance. The all-time best in this category is held by Debbie Meyer, the woman whose marks Ledecky is chasing in Rio, who won the 200-400-800 freestyle treble at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, and improved the WR by 3.8 seconds at the 1967 Pan American Games. Second is another swim legend to whom Ledecky can aspire, Shane Gould, who won gold at the 1972 Olympics by bettering the world mark by 3.16 seconds. But that was all in a different era.

[table]

Mark,Improvement,Name,NOC,Date,Event

4:32.6,3.8,Debbie Meyer,USA,27 July 1967,Pan American Games

4:19.04,3.16,Shane Gould,AUS,30 August 1972,Olympic Games

4:11.69,3.07,Barbara Krause,GDR,3 June 1976,GDR Olympic Trials

4:42.0,2.5,Marilyn Ramenofsky,USA,11 July 1964,

4:26.7,2.3,Debbie Meyer,USA,1 August 1968,AAU Championships

4:39.5,2.2,Marilyn Ramenofsky,USA,31 August 1964,

3:56.46,1.91,Katie Ledecky,USA,7 August 2016,Olympic Games

[/table]

Phelps Ties Olympic Mark for Most Team Event Gold Medals

Michael Phelps helped the USA win gold in the 4×100 freestyle relay. It was Olympic medal #23  and Olympic gold medal #19. Not as well known, however, is that it was his 8th gold medal in a relay, which equalled the @TeamUSA record, and the overall Olympic record, of 8 gold medals in team events. Phelps is now tied with another @TeamUSA swimmer, Jenny Thompson, who won 8 gold medals in relay events between 1992 and 2000. Three Olympians have won 6 gold medals in team events – USA swimmer Matt Biondi, German canoeist Birgit Fischer-Schmidt, and Hungarian fencer Aladár Gerevich.

Olympic Basketball Game Margins

The United States women defeated Senegal today in basketball, 121-56, a 65 point margin. Is that the largest margin in Olympic history? Not quite – its the third largest, after two 66-point margins for women, one by the former Soviet Union, and one by host nation Brazil, although back in 2004. Here are the largest margins ever in Olympic women’s basketball.

[table]

Margin,Teams,Score,Year/Round

66,Soviet Union d. Italy,119 – 53,1980 Round-Robin

66,Brazil d. Japan,128 – 62,2004 Group A

65,United States d. Senegal, 121-56,2012 Group B

64,Soviet Union d. Canada,115 – 51,1976 Round-Robin

60,United States d. DPR Congo (Kinshasa),107 – 47,1996 Group B

58,Soviet Union d. Hungary,120 – 62,1980 Round-Robin

57,Australia d. Senegal,96 – 39,2000 Group A

56,United States d. Czechoslovakia,111 – 55,1992 Group B

56,United States d. Mali,97 – 41,2008 Group B

55,United States d. Spain,114 – 59,1992 Group B

52,United States d. New Zealand,99 – 47,2004 Group B

52,United States d. Angola,90 – 38,2012 Group A

[/table]

And here are the largest margins in men’s Olympic basketball.

[table]

Margin,Teams,Score,Year/Round

100,Korea (South) d. Iraq,120 – 20,1948 Group B

100,China d. Iraq,125 – 25,1948 Group B

83,United States d. Nigeria,156 – 73,2012 Group A

82,Chile d. Iraq,100 – 18,1948 Group B

78,Belgium d. Iraq,98 – 20,1948 Group B

73,Brazil d. India,137 – 64,1980 Group A

72,The Philippines d. Iraq,102 – 30,1948 Group B

72,United States d. Thailand,101 – 29,1956 Group A

72,Soviet Union d. Morocco,123 – 51,1968 Group B

68,United States d. The Philippines,121 – 53,1956 Group A

68,Czechoslovakia d. India,133 – 65,1980 Group A

68,United States d. Angola,116 – 48,1992 Group A

[/table]

As you can see those two 1948 margins are quite a bit larger than any women’s game, and even 17 points more than the margin by which the USA men defeated Nigeria in 2012. The 1992 USA Dream Team’s largest margin of 68 only comes in =10th on this list.

Women’s Air Rifle – Virginia Thrasher – USA

Virginia Thrasher (USA) won the women’s air rifle gold medal this morning for the first gold medal of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The USA has also won the first gold medal at the Summer Olympics in 1896, 1904, 1924, 1952, 1956, 1984, and 2000.

Thrasher is the third USA woman to win the first gold medal of a Summer Olympics, after Connie-Carpenter Phinney, in the 1984 women’s cycling road race; and Nancy Napolski-Johnson, also in the women’s air rifle, in 2000.

 

USA and 1,000 Gold Medals – Hmmm??

Sometime during the coming fortnight, a United States athlete will win a gold medal and it will be the 1,000th gold medal won by a US Olympian at the Summer Olympic Games. The problem comes in knowing which one that will be, and we’re not talking about predicting who it will be.

I compile Olympic statistics and do work for the US Olympic Committee at each Olympic Games. I am always asked to compile various lists for the USA Media Guide, and that always includes the list of most medals won by nations. In the list for 2016 I ran the query thru our database and came out with 975 gold medals for the US at the Summer Olympics since 1896. (This did not include 1906, considered unofficial by the IOC, but not the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH), which would add another 12 gold medals.)

Then a few days later Infostrada / Gracenote came out with their similar list and had 977 gold medals for the USA. Oops! So I know the guys at the former Infostrada and asked for their data and we compared our lists.

I had a mistake of 1 gold medal, where in a counting field what should have been a 1 was listed as a 0. So my count became 976, which still did not agree with Infostrada / Gracenote. So now what?

Looking at their data, I also noted that InfoGrace had a mistake when they did not include the 1904 women’s team archery event, which the USA won. It is listed as a competition in the Spalding Official Athletic Almanac for 1905, which is considered the 1904 Official Report (except for athletics [track & field], where there was a second report).

Further, InfoGrace had two gold medals I did not list – one in 1904 gymnastics all-around, won by Julius Lenhart, and one in 1904 gymnastics team all-around, won a team from the Philadelphia Turngemeinde, which included Lenhart.

Here is the problem. Lenhart was Austrian, and this has been known since the early 1970s and was discovered by Austrian Erich Kamper, the doyen of Olympic historians and statisticians. We credit the individual all-around gold to Lenhart and to Austria, which is correct. InfoGrace is wrong on that one, I feel, for certain.

The gold medal open to interpretation is the 1904 team all-around. My data credits it to a mixed team, not Austria, and not the United States. In 1900 and 1904, there were several events with teams composed of athletes from various nations. There were no national teams in that era, and athletes basically competed for themselves.

Infostrada / Gracenote conceded on the 1904 women’s archery event, bringing their total to 978, but would not yield on the Lenhart question. This is despite the fact that their results for the 1904 individual all-around also listed Lenhart as Austrian, as he was.

Now, I will admit that the team all-around gold is open to interpretation and somewhat controversial. However, I still think 978 is wrong. I’m sticking with 976 gold medals, although I would concede 977, if somebody wants to use that.

The problem then is who will win the 1,000th gold medal for the USA? Depends on if you use 976 or 977 (or if you use InfoGrace’s data, 978).

Here’s my # – 976 gold medals to date. I’ll go with that and let the race to 1,000 begin.

Random Thoughts on the Day Before the Opening

  • Saturday, 6 August – Courtney and Kelly Hurley will compete for the USA in individual épée fencing. Its a long shot but if they were to both make the podium, they would become the first sisters to finish on the podium in an individual event at the Summer Olympics. Sisters have only done this twice before – both at the Winter Olympics. Here are all the siblings who have finished 1-2 at the Olympics in an individual event.

[table]

Brothers

John / Sumner Paine,pistol shooting,1896
Platt / Ben Adams,standing high jump,1912
Nedo / Aldo Nadi,sabre,1920
Jennison / Jack Heaton,skeleton,1928
Edoardo / Dario Mangiarotti,épée,1952
Raimondo / Piero D’Inzeo,jumping,1960
Phil / Steve Mahre,slalom,1984
Philipp / Simon Schoch,snowboard PGS,2006
Sisters
Christine / Marielle Goitschel,slalom / giant slalom,1964
Doris / Angelika Neuner,luge,1992
Justine / Chloe Dufour-Lapointe,moguls,2014

[/table]

  • If the Hurley sisters do not do that, and it would be an upset if they did, two Australian swimming sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell, have a strong chance to do this in the 100 freestyle (11 August) or 50 freestyle (13 August). Cate is favored to win in both events, and Bronte has a good chance for a medal in either event.
  • In shooting, the Georgian mother-son combo of Nino Salukvadze and Tsotne Machavariani will compete at Rio. This will make them the first mother-son to compete at the same Olympic Games. More on this can be found at https://olympstats.com/2016/05/03/mother-and-son-shooters-to-compete-in-rio/.
  • In athletics, Ashton Eaton will compete in the decathlon, looking to defend his title from 2012. His wife, Brianne Theisen-Eaton will compete in the heptathlon, and has a good shot at a gold medal in that event, although she is not the overwhelming favorite that her husband is. Eaton competes for the United States, while Theisen-Eaton represents Canada – they met in school at the University of Oregon. Should they both win gold medals, they will become the first husband-wife to win gold medals at the same Olympics, while representing different nations. See more on this at https://olympstats.com/2016/01/09/married-couples-winning-olympic-gold-medals/.

Rio Sports Lists – Final 5 Sports

Sports lists for Rio – today we’ll present you 5 record lists for sports on the 2016 Olympic Program – table tennis, taekwondo, trampoline, golf, and rugby sevens. Please refer to a previous post https://olympstats.com/2016/07/29/sports-files-for-rio/ for information about these lists. This completes the presentation of the sports statistical files in preparation for Rio.