Bill Hougland died yesterday. Even to die-hard Olympic fans that is not a well-known name, but Hougland played basketball at the University of Kansas and won gold medals in basketball at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics. An AP story and obituary called him the first Olympian to win 2 gold medals in basketball but that was wrong. The first was Bob Kurland, who won gold medals for the US in 1948 and 1952.
Prior to NBA players being allowed to play in the Olympics, only 3 US Olympians won 2 gold medals in basketball – Kurland, Hougland, and Burdie Halldorson, who played in 1956 and 1960.
Of the multiple Olympic hoops gold medalists, there are 8 Soviet women from 1976-80, but all the others are American, as would be expected, given the US dominance in the sport. Here are the lists of Olympic basketball players to win multiple gold medals – first the men and then the women:
[table]
Name,Gdr,NOC,Sport,Golds,Years
Carmelo Anthony,M,USA,BAS,3,2008/2012/2016
Bob Kurland,M,USA,BAS,2,1948/1952
Bill Hougland,M,USA,BAS,2,1952/1956
Burdie Haldorson,M,USA,BAS,2,1956/1960
Patrick Ewing,M,USA,BAS,2,1984/1992
Michael Jordan,M,USA,BAS,2,1984/1992
Chris Mullin,M,USA,BAS,2,1984/1992
David Robinson,M,USA,BAS,2,1992/1996
Charles Barkley,M,USA,BAS,2,1992/1996
Karl Malone,M,USA,BAS,2,1992/1996
Scottie Pippen,M,USA,BAS,2,1992/1996
John Stockton,M,USA,BAS,2,1992/1996
Gary Payton,M,USA,BAS,2,1996/2000
Jason Kidd,M,USA,BAS,2,2000/2008
LeBron James,M,USA,BAS,2,2008/2012
Kobe Bryant,M,USA,BAS,2,2008/2012
Chris Paul,M,USA,BAS,2,2008/2012
Deron Williams,M,USA,BAS,2,2008/2012
[/table]
[table]
Name,Gdr,NOC,Sport,Golds,Years
Teresa Edwards,F,USA,BAS,4,1984/1988/1996/2000
Lisa Leslie,F,USA,BAS,4,1996/2000/2004/2008
Sue Bird,F,USA,BAS,4,2004/2008/2012/2016
Tamika Catchings,F,USA,BAS,4,2004/2008/2012/2016
Diana Taurasi,F,USA,BAS,4,2004/2008/2012/2016
Dawn Staley,F,USA,BAS,3,1996/2000/2004
Sheryl Swoopes,F,USA,BAS,3,1996/2000/2004
Katie Smith,F,USA,BAS,3,2000/2004/2008
Seimone Augustus,F,USA,BAS,3,2008/2012/2016
Olga Barysheva-Korostelyova,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980
Nelli Feryabnikova,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980
Tatyana Ovechkina,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980
Angelė Rupšienė,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980
Uļjana Semjonova,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980
Nadezhda Shuvayeva-Olkhova,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980
Olga Sukharnova,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980
Tetiana Zakharova-Nadyrova,F,URS,BAS,2,1976/1980
Anne Donovan,F,USA,BAS,2,1984/1988
Katrina McClain,F,USA,BAS,2,1988/1996
Ruthie Bolton-Holifield,F,USA,BAS,2,1996/2000
Nikki McCray,F,USA,BAS,2,1996/2000
Yolanda Griffith,F,USA,BAS,2,2000/2004
DeLisha Milton-Jones,F,USA,BAS,2,2000/2008
Tina Thompson,F,USA,BAS,2,2004/2008
Swin Cash,F,USA,BAS,2,2004/2012
Sylvia Fowles,F,USA,BAS,2,2008/2012
Candace Parker,F,USA,BAS,2,2008/2012
[/table]