[table]

Full name,Eugeniusz Zenon Lokajski

Born,14 December 1908 in Warszawa; Mazowieckie

Died,25 September 1944 in Warszawa; Mazowieckie

Measurements,181 cm / 74 kg

Affiliations,Warszawianka

[/table]

A multi-talented athlete who was adept in a number of track and field disciplines and also as a gymnast, Eugeniusz Lokajski is also known for his contributions, both as a soldier and also as a documenter through his photography, to the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.

Champion of Poland at the javelin in both 1934 and 1935 he recorded a throw of 73.25m in the early summer of 1936 that established him as one the favourites for Berlin. A shoulder injury incurred shortly before the Olympic Games hampered him and he could only finish 7th as a throw of 71m claimed the Olympic title. His shoulder never recovered enough for him to return to serious athletics despite an attempted comeback. He was also a national champion at gymastics in 1934 and 1935.

Conscripted into the Polish Army in 1939 Lokajski served as an infantry commander and was taken prisoner by Soviet forces during the Siege of Brest-Litovsk. He escaped from his captors and returned to his hometown of Warsaw where he ran a photographic business.

He worked as a teacher in one of the illegal “underground universities” set up by the resistance before taking over his late brother’s responsibilities transporting arms and munitions. Lokajski commanded his own platoon of soldiers during the uprising but he was also charged by his commanding officer to use his talents as a photographer and record the events in the streets of Warsaw and he also provided portraits of resistance fighter for use of fake documents. He died in 1944 when caught in an artillery barrage during a trip to collect photographic materials. His body was only found in 1945 after the end of the war. Eugeniusz Lokajski was buried in the “Aleja Zasłużonych” (Avenue of the Meritorious) at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.

Personal Best: JT – 73.27 (1936).

[table]

Games/Sport,Event,Position

1936 Athletics,Javelin Throw,7

[/table]

[table]

Parameter,Value

Full Name,James Lancefield “Jim” Kerr

Born,17 August 1940 in Plainfield; New Jersey (USA)

Measurements,182 cm / 73 kg

Country ,United States / Virgin Islands

[/table]

Jim Kerr was on the US Olympic team in the modern pentathlon in 1964 but did not compete. He excelled in both swimming and running, and was on state championship teams in both cross-country and swimming at Waukesha South High School in Wisconsin. He later swam at the University of Michigan. After college Kerr competed in fencing competitions and was a competitor at several US national championships. He later settled in the US Virgin Islands, where he continued to compete in fencing and represented the US Virgin Islands as a fencer at the 1984 Olympics. Later in life, Kerr became blind and began sailing for recreation. He then started competing in disabled sailing competitions for the blind, with an aim to sail at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Should Kerr make the US Virgin Islands sailing team for the 2016 Paralympics, it would be a record of sorts. While overlapping the Olympics and Paralympics, and only an alternate in 1964, it would be 52 years since his first appearance at the Olympics in Tokyo. The record for longest time span as an Olympic competitor is 48 years by Japanese equestrien Hiroshi Hoketsu, who competed in 1964, and then not again until 2008, and returned in 2012 at London.

[table]

Games/Sport,Event,Position

1964 Modern Pentathlon,Individual/Team,DNS

1984 Fencing,Individual Épée,=61

[/table]

So we know who holds the Olympic records for most medals won and most gold medals won – that’s an easy one, Michael Phelps, who has won 22 medals and 18 gold medals (and is probably not done yet).

But Phelps won 9 medals in relay races, winning a medal in every swim relay race in 2004, 2008, and 2012, so he had a little help. What about winning individual medals? Who has won the most individual medals and individual gold medals? Is it still Phelps?

Not quite. The most individual medals title still belongs to Larisa Latynina, the Soviet gymnast who won 18 medals in all, the records that Phelps broke in London. Latynina won 14 of those medals by herself. Here is the list of all those winning 9 or more individual medals, and women who won 8 or more:

[table]

IndMeds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

14,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM

13,Michael Phelps,M,S,USA,SWI

12,Nikolay Andrianov,M,S,URS,GYM

10,Borys Shakhlin,M,S,URS,GYM

10,Takashi Ono,M,S,JPN,GYM

10,Aleksey Nemov,M,S,RUS,GYM

10,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH

9,Ole Einar Bjørndalen,M,W,NOR,BIA

9,Paavo Nurmi,M,S,FIN,ATH

9,Bjørn Dæhlie,M,W,NOR,CCS

9,Sawao Kato,M,S,JPN,GYM

9,Viktor Chukarin,M,S,URS,GYM

9,Vitaly Shcherbo,M,S,BLR,GYM

9,Martin Sheridan,M,S,USA,ATH

8,Věra Čáslavská,F,S,TCH,GYM

8,Claudia Pechstein,F,W,GER,SSK

8,Karin Enke-Kania,F,W,GDR,SSK

8,Gunda Niemann-St’mann-Kleemann,F,W,GER,SSK

[/table]

Larysa Latynina
As you can see, Latynina is the only woman with more than 8 individual medals, with 4 women tied at that level. Two people on this list, Ray Ewry and Martin Sheridan, won some of their medals in 1906 (Ewry 2, Sheridan 5), so purists may demur and drop them from this list.

As to individual golds, yes, Phelps does lead this list with 11. And again, Ewry presents a problem with 10, including 2 in 1906, but he would still be second with 8, if you skip the 1906 Intercalated Olympics. Here is the list of all Olympians with 5 or more individual gold medals:

[table]

IndGolds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

11,Michael Phelps,M,S,USA,SWI

10,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH

7,Věra Čáslavská,F,S,TCH,GYM

7,Carl Lewis,M,S,USA,ATH

6,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM

6,Nikolay Andrianov,M,S,URS,GYM

6,Borys Shakhlin,M,S,URS,GYM

6,Paavo Nurmi,M,S,FIN,ATH

6,Bjørn Dæhlie,M,W,NOR,CCS

6,Lidiya Skoblikova,F,W,URS,SSK

5,Ole Einar Bjørndalen,M,W,NOR,BIA

5,Sawao Kato,M,S,JPN,GYM

5,Viktor Chukarin,M,S,URS,GYM

5,Vitaly Shcherbo,M,S,BLR/EUN,GYM

5,Martin Sheridan,M,S,USA,ATH

5,Nadia Comăneci,F,S,ROU,GYM

5,Gert Fredriksson,M,S,SWE,CAN

5,Krisztina Egerszegi,F,S,HUN,SWI

5,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK

5,Vitaly Shcherbo,M,S,EUN,GYM

5,Bonnie Blair,F,W,USA,SSK

5,Eric Heiden,M,W,USA,SSK

[/table]

The women’s leader is Czechoslovak gymnast Věra Čáslavská with 7 individual gold medals, followed by Latynina, and Soviet speed skater Lidiya Skoblikova, both with 6. Among Winter Olympians, Skoblikova is tied with Norwegian cross-country skiier Bjørn Dæhlie, with 6 individual gold medals, followed by 4 Winter Olympians with 5: Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Finnish speed skater Clas Thunberg, and American speed skaters Bonnie Blair and Eric Heiden.

So who has won the most Olympic medals, without ever winning an individual medal? I dare say nobody in the twitterverse would ever get this trivia question correct, except for possibly the athlete herself, and even she may not know it. It is the Hungarian canoeist Katalin Kovács, who has won 8 Olympic medals from 2000-12, but never an individual one. Here are all those who won 6 or more Olympic medals, but never won an individual medal. As you would expect, they tend to be in sports with no, or few, opportunities to win individual medals.

[table]

Medals,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

8,Katalin Kovács,F,S,HUN,CAN

7,Willis Lee,M,S,USA,SHO

7,Bogdan Musiol,M,W,GDR/GER,BOB

6,Georgeta Damian-Andrunache,F,S,ROU,ROW

6,Steven Redgrave,M,S,GBR,ROW

6,Doina Ignat,F,S,ROU,ROW

6,Veronica Cogeanu-Cochelea,F,S,ROU,ROW

6,Wolfgang Hoppe,M,W,GDR/GER,BOB

6,Eugenio Monti,M,W,ITA,BOB

[/table]

Katalin Kovács

Now who has won the most Olympic gold medals but never won an individual gold? This one some people may get, as Jenny Thompson won 12 medals and 8 golds in swimming for the United States and leads the list, and is fairly well known. Her frustration at not winning an individual gold was well publicized (as was the same for her frequent teammate, Dara Torres – of note, Thompson and Torres were, and are, not friends). In fact this is not even close, as she leads 5 athletes with 5 team gold medals, with another 21 winning only 4 team golds. Here is the list of all those with 4 or more Olympic gold medals, but no individual gold medals:

[table]

Golds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

8,Jenny Thompson,F,S,USA,SWI

5,Tom Jager,M,S,USA,SWI

5,Willis Lee,M,S,USA,SHO

5,Georgeta Damian-Andrunache,F,S,ROU,ROW

5,Steven Redgrave,M,S,GBR,ROW

5,Anastasiya Davydova,F,S,RUS,SYN

4,Dara Torres,F,S,USA,SWI

4,Ricco Groß,M,W,GER,BIA

4,Jason Lezak,M,S,USA,SWI

4,Einar Liberg,M,S,NOR,SHO

4,Lloyd Spooner,M,S,USA,SHO

4,Katrin Wagner-Augustin,F,S,GER,CAN

4,Doina Ignat,F,S,ROU,ROW

4,Aleksandr Tikhonov,M,W,URS,BIA

4,Jayna Hefford,F,W,CAN,ICH

4,Kevin Kuske,M,W,GER,BOB

4,André Lange,M,W,GER,BOB

4,Oreste Puliti,M,S,ITA,FEN

4,Hayley Wickenheiser,F,W,CAN,ICH

4,Kathrin Boron,F,S,GER,ROW

4,Teresa Edwards,F,S,USA,BAS

4,Jon Olsen,M,S,USA,SWI

4,Viorica Susanu,F,S,ROU,ROW

4,Lisa Leslie,F,S,USA,BAS

4,Caroline Ouellette,F,W,CAN,ICH

4,Matthew Pinsent,M,S,GBR,ROW

4,Anastasiya Yermakova,F,S,RUS,SYN

[/table]

So what does this all mean? Hell, we don’t know, but it was fun doing these lists!

We know that American swimmer Michael Phelps won 6 medals in London in 2012, giving him a total of 22 Olympic medals. We also know that this broke the record for the most Olympic medals all-time, breaking the record of 18 that had been held since 1964 by Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina. Who held the record before Latynina? In baseball, track & field, and several other sports, the list of record progressions is well studied. Is there such a list of the progression of most Olympic medals? Well, we’ve never seen one before but we decided to provide these lists for you, in various permutations.

Here is the overall list for most Olympic medals won. Note that everyone on the list was male except Latynina, so we have also provided the male progression by adding in Nikolay Andrianov.

[table]

Medals,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,Year

6,Hermann Weingärtner,M,S,GER,GYM,1896

6,Bob Garrett,M,S,USA,ATH,1900

6,Anton Heida,M,S,USA,GYM,1904

6,George Eyser,M,S,USA,GYM,1904

6,Burton Downing,M,S,USA,CYC,1904

6,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1904

7,Léon Moreaux,M,S,FRA,SHO,1906

8,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1906

10,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1908

8,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1908

10,Hubert Van Innis,M,S,BEL,ARC,1920

11,Carl Osburn,M,S,USA,SHO,1924

12,Paavo Nurmi,M,S,FIN,ATH,1928

13,Edoardo Mangiarotti,M,S,ITA,FEN,1960

18,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM,1964

15,Nikolay Andrianov,M,S,URS,GYM,1980

22,Michael Phelps,M,S,USA,SWI,2012

[/table]

Two marks for men on this list lasted for 32 years – Paavo Nurmi’s 12 medals, which stood from 1928-60, and Nikolay Andrianov’s 15 medal mark for men, which stood from 1980-2012. Of course, Latynina’s mark lasted for 48 years until Phelps broke it in 2012.

Here is the list for women only, all at the Summer Olympics:

[table]

Medals,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,Year

2,Charlotte Cooper,F,S,GBR,TEN,1900

2,Countess Hélène de Pourtalès,F,S,SUI,SAI,1900

2,Hélène Prévost,F,S,FRA,TEN,1900

2,Marion Jones,F,S,USA,TEN,1900

2,Hedwiga Rosenbaumová,F,S,BOH,TEN,1900

3,Lida Howell,F,S,USA,ARC,1904

3,Emma Cooke,F,S,USA,ARC,1904

3,Eliza Pollock,F,S,USA,ARC,1904

3,Ethelda Bleibtrey,F,S,USA,SWI,1920

3,Suzanne Lenglen,F,S,FRA,TEN,1920

3,Frances Schroth,F,S,USA,SWI,1920

5,Kitty McKane,F,S,GBR,TEN,1924

7,Mariya Horokhovska,F,S,URS,GYM,1952

10,Ágnes Keleti,F,S,HUN,GYM,1956

12,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM,1960

18,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM,1964

[/table]

Latynina’s record for women, with 18 medals, will have stood for 52 years in Rio de Janeiro, and will likely stand for many more Olympiads.

Now at the Winter Games, the progression actually entails a combination of men and women:

[table]

Medals,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,Year

2,Madge Syers,F,W,GBR,FSK,1908

2,Phyllis Johnson,F,W,GBR,FSK,1920

5,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK,1924

7,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK,1928

7,Ivar Ballangrud,M,W,NOR,SSK,1936

7,Veikko Hakulinen,M,W,FIN,CCS,1960

9,Sixten Jernberg,M,W,SWE,CCS,1964

9,Raisa Smetanina,F,W,URS,CCS,1988

10,Raisa Smetanina,F,W,EUN/URS,CCS,1992

12,Bjørn Dæhlie,M,W,NOR,CCS,1998

13,Ole Einar Bjørndalen,M,W,NOR,BIA,2014

[/table]

Following are the winter lists for men and women separately:

[table]

Medals,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,Year

1,9 athletes tied,M,W,—,FSK,1908

1,9 athletes tied,M,W,—,FSK,1920

1,24 athletes tied,M,W,—,ICH,1920

5,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK,1924

5,Roald Larsen,M,W,NOR,SSK,1924

7,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK,1928

7,Ivar Ballangrud,M,W,NOR,SSK,1936

7,Veikko Hakulinen,M,W,FIN,CCS,1960

9,Sixten Jernberg,M,W,SWE,CCS,1964

12,Bjørn Dæhlie,M,W,NOR,CCS,1998

13,Ole Einar Bjørndalen,M,W,NOR,BIA,2014

[/table]

[table]

Medals,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,Year

2,Madge Syers,F,W,GBR,FSK,1908

2,Phyllis Johnson,F,W,GBR,FSK,1920

2,Ludovika Jakobsson-Eilers,F,W,FIN,FSK,1924

3,Andrée Brunet-Joly,F,W,FRA,FSK,1932

3,Beatrix Loughran,F,W,USA,FSK,1932

3,Sonja Henie,F,W,NOR,FSK,1936

3,Trude Jochum-Beiser,F,W,AUT,ASK,1952

3,Mirl Buchner,F,W,GER,ASK,1952

4,Lyubov Kozyreva-Baranova,F,W,URS,CCS,1960

4,Radiya Yeroshina,F,W,URS,CCS,1960

6,Lidiya Skoblikova,F,W,URS,SSK,1964

7,Galina Kulakova,F,W,URS,CCS,1976

8,Galina Kulakova,F,W,URS,CCS,1980

9,Raisa Smetanina,F,W,URS,CCS,1988

10,Raisa Smetanina,F,W,EUN/URS,CCS,1992

10,Stefania Belmondo,F,W,ITA,CCS,2002

10,Marit Bjørgen,F,W,NOR,CCS,2014

[/table]

Now what about gold medals and the progression lists for them? Here is the list for men at the Summer Olympics – here again we have the problem with the 1906 Olympics so we have listed Ray Ewry, both with and without those Games:

[table]

Golds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,Year

3,Hermann Weingärtner,M,S,GER,GYM,1896

3,Alfred Flatow,M,S,GER,GYM,1896

3,Paul Masson,M,S,FRA,CYC,1896

3,Carl Schuhmann,M,S,GER,GYM/WRE,1896

3,Carl Schuhmann,M,S,GER,GYM,1896

4,Al Kraenzlein,M,S,USA,ATH,1900

6,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1904

8,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1906

10,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1908

8,Ray Ewry,M,S,USA,ATH,1908

9,Paavo Nurmi,M,S,FIN,ATH,1928

9,Mark Spitz,M,S,USA,SWI,1972

9,Carl Lewis,M,S,USA,ATH,1996

14,Michael Phelps,M,S,USA,SWI,2008

18,Michael Phelps,M,S,USA,SWI,2012

[/table]

One thing to note above, if one disregards the 1906 Olympics, is how long Paavo Nurmi’s record of 9 gold medals lasted, fully 44 years, until tied in 1972 by Mark Spitz.

Now the women’s Summer Olympic gold medal record progression:

[table]

Golds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOCGolds,SptGolds,Year

2,Charlotte Cooper,F,S,GBR,TEN,1900

3,Lida Howell,F,S,USA,ARC,1904

3,Ethelda Bleibtrey,F,S,USA,SWI,1920

3,Martha Norelius,F,S,USA,SWI,1928

3,Helene Madison,F,S,USA,SWI,1932

3,Rie Mastenbroek,F,S,NED,SWI,1936

4,Fanny Blankers-Koen,F,S,NED,ATH,1948

5,Ágnes Keleti,F,S,HUN,GYM,1956

7,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM,1960

9,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM,1964

[/table]

Note that Latynina still holds this record, and has held it since 1960 – which will be 56 years in Rio.

Following are the gold medal record progressions for men and women at the Winter Games:

[table]

Golds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOCGolds,SptGolds,Year

3,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK,1924

5,Clas Thunberg,M,W,FIN,SSK,1928

5,Eric Heiden,M,W,USA,SSK,1980

5,Bjørn Dæhlie,M,W,NOR,CCS,1994

8,Bjørn Dæhlie,M,W,NOR,CCS,1998

8,Ole Einar Bjørndalen,M,W,NOR,BIA,2014

[/table]

Note here how long Clas Thunberg’s 5 gold medal record lasted – from 1928 until 1980 when it was tied by Eric Heiden, and until 1998 when it was broken by Bjørn Dæhlie.

[table]

Golds,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOCGolds,SptGolds,Year

2,Andrée Brunet-Joly,F,W,FRA,FSK,1932

3,Sonja Henie,F,W,NOR,FSK,1936

6,Lidiya Skoblikova,F,W,URS,SSK,1964

6,Lyubov Yegorova,F,W,EUN/RUS,CCS,1994

6,Marit Bjørgen,F,W,NOR,CCS,2014

[/table]

Again, two long-lasting records, with Sonja Henie leading the list from 1936-64, and Lidiya Skoblikova leading the list from 1964 through 2014, although her 6 gold medals have been tied twice.

So tomorrow nite Santa Claus will be delivering presents throughout the world to all the good little girls and boys. Santa has never competed at the Olympics, one major reason being that he lives at the North Pole, which is not affiliated with any known National Olympic Committee. It is unknown if he has ever attempted to become affiliated with Greenland, which claims the North Pole, and whose athletes have competed for Denmark. Further, another reason Santa has not competed at the Olympics is that he is, to be politically correct here, somewhat adipose-challenged.

However, in searching our database, we did find the following Olympians who may be related to Santa Claus, although we have not yet finished the search for these relations. Attempts to reach Santa and discuss this were unsuccessful, as his administrative assistant told us, “He’ll get back to you after the New Year. This is really his busy time of year.”

Christian Claus sailed for Austria at the 1988 Olympics, finishing fourth in the Tornado, alongside Norbert Petschel. That same year Yves Clausse, a Luxembourgeois swimmer, also competed at the Olympics, as he did again in 1992. Clausse swam the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle, with a best finish of 28^th in the 1988 50 metre freestyle. It is not known if he changed his name from Claus, possibly because of a falling out with Santa over not receiving the presents he wanted.

Hildrun Claus was a long jumper for East Germany who competed at the 1964 Olympics, although under her married name of Laufer-Claus, having married Peter Laufer. If related to Santa, it is unknown if he approved of this marriage.

Another East German athlete was Kerstin Claus, a high hurdler at the 1980 Olympics, but she competed again in 1988 as Kerstin Knabe.

But of all Santa Claus’s potential Olympic relatives, surely one must be the 2012 Dutch decathlete Eelco Sintnicolaas.

Let’s not also forget that in 1992 a Swedish horse named Lille Claus competed in equestrian. Perhaps she had some reindeer ancestors.

Two Santas have competed at the Olympics – Santa Margarita Skeet played basketball for Cuba at the 1980 Olympics, the team placing sixth, and Santa Inés Melchor competed in athletics for Peru in both 2004 at Athina and 2012 in London, running the 5,000 metres in 2004, and finishing 25^th in the marathon in 2012.

And again, from the reindeer line, Santa Bell was a Dutch horse at the 1936 Olympics, and the horse Santa Fe competed in equestrian for Argentina in both 1948 and 1952.

So what about those reindeer – any of them compete in the Olympics that we know of? Well, we’re not too sure of that, with no reindeer events, but it appears that Santa named his reindeer after a group of Olympians. It is also possible that the trainer of his reindeer is the 2012 Dutch beach volleyball player Reinder Nummerdor.

Six time Olympic fencing champion Rudolf Kárpáti was a soldier in the Hungarian Army during Hungary’s communist era so perhaps he is the “Rudolf the Red” to lead the team.

Australian hockey player Barry Dancer and Helmuth Donner, the Austrian high jumper are easy picks and maybe you could just get away with choosing Uruguayan basketball star Carlos Blixen to the reindeer roster – but then you have to get a little more creative.

Usain Bolt seems a good choice for Dasher,, or you may prefer the Swiss ski jumping brothers Hans and Andreas Däscher. Valegro, the horse that in partnership with Charlotte Dujardin won dressage gold in 2012, might make a good Prancer and it’s fortunate that the nickname of cross-country skier Gunnar Samuelsson (1960) happened to be Comet.

Since a Vixen is a female fox then Jess Fox, the canoe slalom medallist from 2012, can be recruited with little difficulty which just leaves us with one position to fill.

Cupid was difficult, very difficult, but if you know your mythology you know that Cupid was the Roman counterpart to the Greek God Eros. This gives us a tenuous excuse to pick Italian cyclist Eros Poli to complete our team.

So there you have it – we’ll keep searching and if we confirm relationships to Santa Claus, or his reindeer, we’ll let you know. (With thanx to Hilary Evans, Jeroen Heijmans, Ralf Regnitter, and all the OlyMADMen)

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Festivus, and Happy Holidays to all – and to all a good night.

And so it has come to this – Almaty, Kazakhstan and Beijing, China are the two remaining candidate cities to host the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Almaty was formerly known as Alma-Ata when Kazakhstan was a Soviet Republic, and was known as Verniy in the years before the Bolshevik Revolution.

Beijing is an interesting choice for a number of reasons. First of all, Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. No city has ever hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics and many people think it would not be feasible to do so. However, if you have been to Beijing, and traveled to the Great Wall, you know that high mountains and very cold weather are only 50-70 km outside of the city. If you want to see steep mountains, try hiking up some sections of the Great Wall sometime.

Since it seems so unusual, has any city ever bid to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics prior to Beijing? In fact, it has happened and far more frequently than you would imagine.

We must discuss one aberration which are the 1956 Equestrian Games. The 1956 Olympics were held in Melbourne, Australia, which had strict animal quarantine laws and required the 1956 equestrian events to be moved to another country and city, which turned out to be Stockholm, Sweden. But there was a bid for that hosting responsibility, and Berlin, Los Angeles, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro also bid for the 1956 equestrian games.

So now we have three different types of possible Games bids – Summer, Winter, and Equestrian. One city, Stockholm, has sorta bid for all versions of the Olympics. It hosted the Summer Olympics in 1912, the Equestrian Olympics in 1956, bid for the Summer Games in 1952 and 2004, and put in a preliminary bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, but withdrew that in January 2014 because of lack of governmental support.

Four cities also bid for the Summer and Equestrian Olympics – Berlin, Los Angeles, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro – all the losing bid cities for the 1956 Equestrian Games.

However, most importantly, 6 cities have bid for both the Summer and Winter Olympics, of which Beijing is only the most recent. Here is the full list of cities that have bid for both versions of the Olympics:

[table]

City,NOC,Ssn,Yr1,Yr2,Yr3,Yr4,Yr5

Beijing,CHN,S,2000,2008,,,

,,W,2022,,,,

Helsinki,FIN,S,1936,1940,1944,1952,

,,W,2006,,,,

Minneapolis,USA,S,1948,1952,1956,,

,,W,1932,,,,

Montréal,CAN,S,1940,1944,1956,1972,1976

,,W,1932,1936,1944,1956,

München,FRG,S,1972,,,,

,,W,2018,,,,

Torino,ITA,S,1908,,,,

,,W,2006,,,,

[/table]

No city has ever won the bid to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics, but all but one of the above cities have hosted one Olympics – Summer by Beijing in 2008, Helsinki in 1952, Montréal in 1976, München in 1972; and Winter by Torino in 2006. The lone exception is Minneapolis, Minnesota, which bid for three Summer Olympics and one Winter Olympics, but has yet to see Olympic Rings in their city.

Can Beijing do it? With only two cities, they should have at least a 50% chance, and their ratings by the IOC Evaluation Commission were far higher than those for Almaty. (Oslo, Norway, which recently turned the chance to bid, had the highest ratings of all.) The bid will be announced on 31 July 2015 at the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Stay tuned.

Tomorrow, 16 December, four US cities will make presentations to the US Olympic Committee, who will then select one city as the US choice to be candidate city to host the 2024 Olympic Games. The four US cities bidding are Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.

Los Angeles is well known in the Olympic world. If selected, this would be Los Angeles’s 10^th bid to host the Olympic Games – after 1924, 1928, 1932, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1976, 1980, and 1984. Los Angeles won the bid in 1932 and 1984, acting as the host city. In addition, Los Angeles also bid one other time – in 1956 for the Equestrian Games. The 1956 Olympics were in Melbourne, Australia and restrictive animal quarantine laws forced the equestrian events to be moved to another city and nation, which turned out to be Stockholm, Sweden.

Los Angeles has thus bid 9 times previously for the Summer Olympics, which is an all-time record. Rome, Italy has bid 8 times, winning in 1908 (when it turned down the Games eventually) and 1960. Rome recently announced plans to bid for 2024. Tied for third for most Summer Olympic bids is Athens, which bid 7 times, and has hosted the 1896 and 2004 Olympics, and the 1906 Intercalated Games.

The city tied with Athens is a US one, and nobody would ever guess that Detroit, Michigan has bid for 7 Summer Olympics. Detroit holds the sad distinction (and an expensive one) of making the most Olympic bids without ever winning one.

San Francisco has bid for the Olympics before, back in 1956. There were 10 candidate cities that year, including 6 American ones, and San Francisco was eliminated after the first round vote, having received 0 votes.

Boston and Washington, DC have never bid before for the Olympics, so this will be a first for them.

Why is it necessary for the USOC to pick only one city – couldn’t all four US cities submit bids to the International Olympic Committee? That used to be the case, but since the 1970s the USOC and the IOC have only allowed one city from any nation to bid. The saves the nation money, and also gives the cities more chance to win, as multiple US cities would only split the votes.

But back when it was allowed, US cities liked to bid for the Olympics, led by the aforementioned 1956 bid with 6 US cities involved – Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. In 1948 and 1952 there were also multiple US cities bidding, with 4 in 1948 (Baltimore, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia) and 5 in 1952 (Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia).

At the Winter Olympics, there have also been several times when multiple US cities have bid, most notably in 1932 when 6 US cities bid – Lake Placid, Bear Mountain, New York; Duluth, Minnesota; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Denver, and Yosemite Valley, California. In 1956 Colorado Springs and Lake Placid also made bids.

Here are all the American cities that have bid for the Summer Olympics and the years they bid, also listing the number of times they have won:

[table]

City, Wins, Yr1, Yr2, Yr3, Yr4, Yr5, Yr6, Yr7, Yr8, Yr9

Atlanta,1,1920,1996,,,,,,,

Baltimore,0,1948,,,,,,,,

Chicago,0,1904,1952,1956,2016,,,,,

Cleveland,0,1916,1920,,,,,,,

Detroit,0,1944,1952,1956,1960,1964,1968,1972,,

Los Angeles,2,1924,1928,1932,1948,1952,1956,1976,1980,1984

Minneapolis,0,1948,1952,1956,,,,,,

New York,0,2012,,,,,,,,

Philadelphia,0,1920,1948,1952,1956,,,,,

San Francisco,0,1956,,,,,,,,

St.Louis,1,1904,,,,,,,,

[/table]

So here we go. One US city will be chosen tomorrow. Many people feel that Los Angeles would have the best chance to win the bid. But if the writer of this blog is allowed to pick favorites … Go Boston!

The IOC, meeting the last few days in Monte Carlo, is discussing whether or not the 2018 Winter Olympic host city Pyeongchang, should move the sliding events (bobsled, luge, skeleton) to another city, with Nagano in Japan, host of the 1998 Winter Olympics, being mentioned as a possibility, although the IOC noted it could be held at as many as 12 sliding centers worldwide.

Has this ever happened before at the Winter Olympics? Well, no Winter Olympic event has ever been held in a nation other than the nation of the host city, but a similar problem arose in 1960 with the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. The Squaw Valley organizers refused to build a bob run that year, citing the costs and the fact that only nine European countries were pledging to compete in the sport that year. Remember that in 1960, getting from Europe to Squaw Valley, near Reno, Nevada, was not easy, especially while transporting bobsleds.

The FIBT (Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing) countered by holding World Championships in 1960 bobsledding in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The FIBT had never before held World Championships in a Winter Olympic year, and would not start doing it again until 1992.

But there have been other times that Olympic events have been held in different nations. The best known example is 1956 when the equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden, instead of Melbourne, Australia. In that era, Australia had strict quarantine laws for animal entering the country, and the horses would have had to arrive in Australia and be quarantined for six months before being allowed to train and compete, obviously an untenable situation.

In 1920, when the Olympics were in Antwerp, Belgium, the 12-foot dinghy yachting event (now sailing) was held in Oostende, Belgium on 7-8 July. On the second day there was a problem with the course related to one of the buoys, when it shifted position, so the race was declared void. Both of the entered yachts were from the Netherlands, so it was elected to finish the final two races in the Netherlands, on the Buiten-IJ, a water near Amsterdam, on 3 September.

In 1908 yachting, one could also argue that the events were held in different countries, although not different NOCs. The 1908 Olympics were in London, England, and most of the yachting events were held off the coast of the Isle of Wight, an island off the south of England, in the English Channel. However, the 12-metre class was sailed in Glasgow, Scotland, technically a different country to some International Federations, but not to the IOC.

Sailing, or the earlier term yachting, has often been held far from the host city. In 2008, the sailing events were held at Qingdao, on the coast of China, and 718 km (446 miles) from Beijing. In 1996, the sailing competition was held at Wassaw Bay in Savannah, 248 miles (400 km) from Atlanta. In 1972, the yachting events were held in Kiel, in the very northern part of Germany, very near to Denmark, which was 871 km (541 miles) from München.

Football also spreads its games around quite a bit now, although they have always been held in the same nation as the host city, with one possible exception. In 1984, when the Games were in Los Angeles, some preliminary football matches were contested at Harvard Stadium, in Allston, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston, which is 2,611 miles (4,205 km) from Los Angeles. In 1996, with the Games in Atlanta, some preliminary football matches took place in Washington, DC.

In 2012, one could again argue that some football matches took place in different countries, as some preliminaries took place in Glasgow, Scotland and Cardiff, Wales. Per FIFA, England, Scotland, and Wales are considered separate nations, or perhaps better termed geo-political entities (GPE), but the IOC only recognizes Great Britain.

In 2008, in addition to sailing at Qingdao, equestrian events were held at Hong Kong, China, which is fully 1,977 km (1,228 miles) from Beijing. Although Hong Kong was part of China in 2008, they were separate NOCs.

And there have been attempts to host the Winter Olympics in contiguous nations, with Östersund, Sweden having considered hosting the Alpine skiing events in Norway. For the 2006 Winter Olympics, Klagenfurt, Austria made a co-bid with Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and Jesnice, Slovenia, but the bid was not advanced to the final stage of voting. In early bidding for 2006, Helsinki, Finland was going to hold the Alpine skiing events in Lillehammer, Norway; and for the 2022 Olympics, an early candidate was a combined bid from Krakow, Poland and Jasna, Slovakia. And going way back, Lahti, Finland, bidding for the 1964, 1968, and 1972 Winter Olympics, and Tampere, Finland, bidding for the 1976 Winter Olympics, both planned to hold the Alpine skiing events in Åre, Sweden.

So if the 2018 bobsledding events are moved from Pyeongchang, it will not be without precedent at the Olympics.