Venezuelan Sailor, US Presidential Candidate, Social Activist

Full Name       Pedro Miguel “Peter” Camejo Guanche

Used Name    Peter Camejo

Born                   31 December 1939; Queens, New York (USA)

Died                   13 September 2008; Folsom, California (USA)

Vitals                179 cm / 65 kg

[table]

Games,Sport,Event,Place

1960 Summer,Sailing,Two-Person Keelboat (Star),21

[/table]

Although he competed in sailing for Venezuela (with his father Daniel Camejo) at the 1960 Rome Olympics, Peter Camejo is one of only four Olympians to have run for President of the United States (along with Bob Richards, Bill Bradley, and Benjamin Spock). Born to a wealthy Venezuelan family, his mother had Peter born in New York, because of the better health care, and he thus earned dual citizenship. He later attended MIT but dropped out to pursue civil rights work in the American south, and participated in civil rights marches in Selma, Alabama. He returned to school at U Cal Berkeley but was expelled in the 1960s, amazingly for Berkeley, for his vocal criticism of the Vietnam War, although ostensibly it was for “using an unauthorized microphone.” In 1968, while still a student he was placed on Governor Ronald Reagan’s list of the 10 most dangerous Californians because of his anti-war protests.

In 1976, Camejo ran for President as a member of the Socialist Workers’ Party, a Trotskyist organization. On the ballot in 18 states, he received 90,986 votes nationwide. He later was tossed from the party after he alleged corruption among the leadership. In 1991 he helped establish the Californian Green Party, and he ran for Governor of California in both 2002 and 2003 as a member of that party. In 2002 he received 393,000 votes, or 5.3% of the electorate, the largest total vote by a third-party candidate for California governor since 1946. In 2004, Ralph Nader had Camejo on his ticket as a Vice-Presidential candidate. Nader and Camejo came in third in the Presidential election, after the Republican and Democratic candidates, receiving 460,000 votes, or 0.4% of the national vote.

In the last decade of his life Camejo served as the CEO of a financial investment firm that focused on socially responsible investments. He died in 2008 after a two-year struggle with lymphoma.

Olympians have usually achieved great success in sports, but such success does not always translate to other fields, nor does it guarantee happiness in one’s life. Unfortunately a number of Olympians were unable to deal with the realities of everyday life and chose to end their own. Here is the list of Olympians who have committed suicide.

[table]

Athlete,Nation(s),Sport(s),Era,Notes

Bill Agee,USA,ATH,1928,Committed suicide by slashing his wrist.

John Albrechtson,SWE,SAI,1968-76,

Percy Almstedt,SWE,SAI,1920,Committed suicide by shooting himself.

Charles Aman,USA,ROW,1904,

Alfred Annan,USA,GOL,1904,

Yevgeny Babich,URS,ICH,1956,Committed suicide by hanging himself.

Eugène Balme,FRA,SHO,1908,

Heidi Becker-Ramlow,GDR,DIV,1972-76,

Yevgeny Belosheykin (DNS),URS,ICH,1988,

Ahmet Bilek,TUR,WRE,1960,

Edith Bonlieu,FRA,ASK,1956,Committed suicide as member of the Order of the Solar Temple.

Franco Bontadini,ITA,FTB,1912,Committed suicide after a disappointment in love.

Erich Borchmeyer,GER,ATH,1932-36,

Hugo Borja,MEX,BAS,1936,Committed suicide after his daughter died of an infection; date unknown

Günter Böttcher,FRG,HAN,1976,Committed suicide in a hospital.

Enrico Bovone,ITA,BAS,1968,

Walter Brödel,SAA,FEN,1952,

Jürgen Brümmer,FRG,GYM,1988,Committed suicide by jumping from a bridge after having killed his son.

Ricardo Cardoso,BRA,JUD,1988,Committed suicide in 1991 after a love disappointment.

Edwin Everett Codman,USA,ART,1932,

Richard Corts,GER,ATH,1928,

Ivan Viscount d’Oyley,USA,FEN,1900,Died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Sigi Denk,AUT,CYC,1972,Committed suicide by hanging.

Jacques Dimont,FRA,FEN,1968,

Christophe Dupouey,FRA,CYC,1996-00,

Knut Torbjørn Eggen,NOR,FTB,1984,Committed suicide. Noted of him that he “had come to the point of life where he was more afraid to live than to die”

István Énekes,HUN,BOX,1932,

Jackson Fear,AUS,ARC,1996,

Ragnar Fogelmark,SWE,WRE,1912,

Lucien Gaudin,FRA,FEN,1920-28,

Oskar Gloeckler,GER,ART,1928-32,

Daan de Groot,Ned NED,CYC,1952,

David Guttman,SWE,ATH,1912,Committed suicide by hanging himself.

Jerry Heidenreich,USA,SWI,1972,

Claudia Heill,AUT,JUD,2004-08,Fell from the sixth floor of her flat. It is possible that she committed suicide per original press reports.

Gabriel Hernández,DOM,BOX,1996,He committed suicide by hanging (aged 27) nine days after his last bout against Ralph Monday.

Lutz Hoffmann,GDR,GYM,1980,

Robert Howard,USA,ATH,1996-00,Committed suicide after murdering his wife.

Herbert Huber,AUT,ASK,1968,Committed suicide by hanging.

Yelena Ivashchenko,RUS,JUD,2012,Jumped from her apartment window which was on the 15th floor.

Peter Jaks,SUI,ICH,1988-92,Committed suicide by train.

Hamilton Jukes,GBR,ICH,1924,

Jo Kaiser,GER,ATH,1960,

Anneliese Kapp,GER,DIV,1936,

Kentaro Kawatsu,JPN,SWI,1932,

Per Kinde,SWE,SHO,1920,Committed suicide by hanging himself.

František Kobzík,TCH,ROW,1936,Committed suicide to avoid capture during World War II.

Yoshio Kojima,JPN,ATH,1956,

Clive Longe,GBR,ATH,1968,Committed suicide after murdering his girlfriend.

Frank Mackey,USA,POL,1900,Committed suicide – shot himself while suffering from a terminal illness.

Kersten Meier,FRG,SWI,1972,Committed suicide by jumping from a bridge.

Eugenio Monti,ITA,BOB,1956-68,

Mika Myllylä,FIN,CCS,1992-98,

Takeichi Baron Nishi,JPN,EQU,1932-36,Possibly committed suicide during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Marco Pantani,ITA,CYC,2000,

Dušan Pašek,TCH,ICH,1984-88,Committed suicide by shooting himself.

Víctor Peralta,ARG,BOX,1928,Committed suicide; shot himself while suffering from terminal prostate cancer

Nils Persson,SWE,SAI,1912,Committed suicide by hanging himself.

Jeret Peterson,USA,FRS,2002-10,Died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head; found in Lambs Canyon (Utah).

Antonio Pettigrew,USA,ATH,2000,Committed suicide by an overdose of pills containing diphenhydramine.

Dan Pippin,USA,BAS,1952,

Vladimír Podzimek,Tch TCH,SKJ,1984,Committed suicide by hanging himself.

Andrey Prokofyev,URS,ATH,1980,Committed suicide by hanging himself.

Pierre Quinon,FRA,ATH,1984,

Fausto Radici,ITA,ASK,1976,Committed suicide by shooting himself with a handgun.

Rhoda Rennie,RSA,SWI,1928,

Guy Revell,CAN,FSK,1964,

Jesús Miguel Rollán,ESP,WAP,1988-04,Died after a fall from a balcony of a rehabilitation clinic where he was treated for depression – possibly he committed suicide.

Ludwig Count von Salm-Hoogstraeten,AUT,TEN,1912,Committed suicide by jumping to avoid capture by Nazis.

Stephen Scherer,USA,SHO,2008,Committed suicide by shooting himself.

Thomas Schleicher,AUT,JUD,1996,Committed suicide while in prison.

Shamil Serikov,URS,WRE,1980,

Christine Smith,AUS,ASK,1964,

Boris Strel,YUG,ASK,1980-84,

Doc Strong,USA,WRE,1936,Committed suicide in a jail cell where he sat for public drunkenness.

Willy Sulzbacher,FRA,FEN,1900,Committed suicide by shooting himself.

Darren Sutherland,IRL,BOX,2008,

Gholam Reza Takhti,IRI,WRE,1952-64,Officially he committed suicide but a lot of sources mention theories about being murdered for his political activities.

Hidemitsu Tanaka,JPN,ROW,1932,

Harold Thomas,NZL,BOX,1932,Committed suicide by jumping from a train few hours after his fiancee’s death.

Adán Torres,ARG,ATH,1948,Committed suicide upon becoming disabled after being struck by a vehicle – date unknown.

Fritz Traun,GER,ATH/TEN,1896,

Kokichi Tsuburaya,JPN,ATH,1964,

Ernst Udet,GER,ART,1936,Committed suicide –  shot himself after years of alcoholism and drugs

Vladimír Vávra,TCH,WRE,1928,

Sammy Wanjiru,KEN,ATH,2008,Committed suicide after being found in love triangle by his wife.

Billy Ward,AUS,BOX,2012,

Mike Whitmarsh,USA,BVO,1996,

Percy Williams,CAN,ATH,1928-32,

John Wood,CAN,CAN,1968-76,

Hiromi Yamafuji,JPN,CYC,1964,

Ikuko Yoda,JPN,ATH,1964,

Masami Yoshida,JPN,ATH,1984-92,

[/table]

It was announced recently that Bridgestone has signed with the IOC through 2024, renewing their commitment as a TOP Sponsor. TOP originally stood for The Olympic Programme, but was changed a few years ago to stand for The Olympic Partners. TOP was a program started in the early 1980s by Dick Pound and Juan Antonio Samaranch as a way to help make the IOC less dependent on the largesse of American television networks, which through the 1970s provided almost all the income received by the IOC and the Olympic Family. The principle of TOP was to have only a few sponsors who would pay high rights fees to be exclusive Olympic Sponsors within their category. Thus Coca-Cola could be a sponsor, but TOP exclusivity would prevent Pepsi-Cola from also joining the group.

Over the years the IOC has had 29 different TOP Sponsors, starting with TOP I from 1985-1988. There have been a maximum of 12 companies in any Olympiad, after having 8 companies involved with TOP I. Below we provide a table of all the TOP Sponsors and the years they have been part of the program, along with numbers and estimates of the moneys generated by TOP. Originally the IOC announced how much money was generated by TOP, but the contracts have become somewhat more secretive so for the more recent years (and coming years), the numbers are estimates.

There have been commitments for TOP IX and TOP X through 2024 from both Panasonic and Bridgestone. Panasonic has been a TOP Sponsor for all 10 versions of the program, the only company to date with that distinction, although I suspect it is highly likely that both Coca-Cola and VISA will renew their sponsorship and join Panasonic as TOP Sponsors for every version of the program. Other long-running sponsors are McDonalds, now committed thru 6 TOP programs, and Samsung, committed thru 5 TOP programs. Of note, Coca-Cola’s Olympic sponsorship dates back thru 1928, as the longest running Olympic sponsor, well predating TOP.

A few companies have opted in for one Olympiad and never renewed. Included in this group are Acer, FedEx (then Federal Express), Johnson & Johnson, Lenovo, Manulife, Mars, Ricoh, and Schlumberger/SEMA.

[table]

Company / TOP,I,II,III,IV,V,VI,VII,VIII,IX,X,###

3M,x,x,,,,,,,,,2

Acer,,,,,,,x,,,,1

Atos Origin,,,,,,x,x,x,x,,4

Bausch & Lomb,,x,x,,,,,,,,2

Bridgestone,,,,,,,,x,x,x,3

Brother,x,x,,,,,,,,,2

Coca-Cola,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,,9

Dow Chemical,,,,,,,x,x,x,,3

Federal Express,x,,,,,,,,,,1

General Electric,,,,,,x,x,x,x,,4

IBM,,,x,x,,,,,,,2

John Hancock,,,x,x,x,,,,,,3

Johnson & Johnson,,,,,,x,,,,,1

Kodak,x,x,x,x,x,x,,,,,6

Lenovo,,,,,,x,,,,,1

Manulife,,,,,,x,,,,,1

Mars,,x,,,,,,,,,1

McDonalds,,,,x,x,x,x,x,x,,6

Omega,,,,,,x,x,x,x,,4

Panasonic (Matsushita),x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,10

Philips,x,x,,,,,,,,,2

Proctor & Gamble,,,,,,,x,x,x,,3

Ricoh,,x,,,,,,,,,1

Samsung,,,,x,x,x,x,x,,,5

Schlumberger SEMA,,,,,x,,,,,,1

Time/Sports Illustrated,,x,x,x,x,,,,,,4

UPS,,x,x,x,,,,,,,3

VISA,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,,9

Xerox,,,x,x,x,,,,,,3

Number of Sponsors,8,12,10,11,10,12,11,11,10,2,29

Money (millions $US),$96,$172,$279,$579,$663,$866,$958,$1155,$1150,$250,$6168

Begin,1985,1989,1993,1997,2001,2005,2009,2013,2017,2021,

End,1988,1992,1996,2000,2004,2008,2012,2016,2020,2024,

[/table]

 

[table]

Field,Data

Full name,Farhang Mohtadi

Original name,فرهنگ مهتدی

DOB,6 January 1926

Sport,Basketball

Nation,Iran

Year(s),1948

Finish,14

[/table]

Farhang Mohtadi played basketball for Iran at the 1948 Olympics. He had earned a B.E. degree from Teheran University in 1945 but in 1948 was studying at Birmingham University in England. Mohtadi was better known as a tennis player and during his years in England played at Wimbledon seven consecutive years (1949-55), although he lost in the first round each year. In 1954 he lost in the final of the North England Hardcourts Championships to Polish player Ignacy Tłoczyński.

He eventually earned a B.Sc. degree and later a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Birmingham. Mohtadi finally settled in Canada where he taught at the University of Calgary, where he served as chairman of the department of chemical and petroleum engineering and director of public relations in the engineering department.

His son, Nick Mohtadi, played briefly on the professional tennis tour, including a bronze medal win at the 1979 World University Games in mixed doubles and one doubles appearance at Wimbledon. Nick Mohtadi later became a renowned orthopaedic surgeon, with special expertise in sports medicine and clinical epidemiology.

The best known long-distance swim in the world is a crossing of the English Channel, connecting Dover, England and either Calais or Cap Griz Nez, France. It was first done in 1875 by Matthew Webb, but it was another 36 years before the feat was repeated, this time by Bill Burgess, a British swimmer who had competed at the 1900 Olympics, making him the first Olympian to swim the Channel.

Since that time, it has been performed multiple times by Olympians, as one would expect. In 1926 Trudy Ederle, who had won 2 bronze medals and a gold medal at the 1924 Olympics, became the first woman to make the crossing, swimming from Cap Griz Nez in France to Dover. Ederle was trained for her swim by Bill Burgess.

The most successful Olympic swimmer to have swum the English Channel was likely John Kinsella, who won a silver medal in the 1968 1,500 freestyle and a gold medal in the 1972 4×200 free relay. Kinsella crossed the Channel in 1979, swimming from England-to-France.

[table]

Athlete,Nation(s),Sport(s),Era,Channel Swims

Greta Andersen,DEN,SWI,1948-52,1957/58/59/64/65 Five successful attempts (Best 13:40). France-to-England in 1957/58/59; England-to-France in 1964/65.

Miguel Arrobas,POR,SWI,1992,2008 England-to-France (9:30).

Bill Burgess,GBR,SWI/WAP,1900,1911 England-to-France (22:35). Second swimmer to cross English Channel in 1911.

Bimal Chandra,IND,SWI,1948,1959 France-to-England (13:50).

Edith van Dijk,NED,SWI,2008,2003 France-to-England (9:08)

Trudy Ederle,USA,SWI,1924,1926 France-to-England (14:39). First woman to swim English Channel. Third person to swim France-to-England.

Jo O-Ryeon,KOR,SWI,1972,1982 England-to-France (9:35).

John Kinsella,USA,SWI,1968-72,1979 England-to-France (9:10).

Yury Kudinov,KAZ,SWI,2012,2007 (7:05)

Linda McGill,AUS,SWI,1964,1965/1967 [3] All France-to-England (Best 9:59 (1967)). Three crossings in 1967. 9:59 at the time a record for women.

Eva Mortensen,DEN,SWI,1988,1996 England-to-France (10:46).

Veljko Rogošić,YUG,SWI,1960-64,2004 England-to-France (11:27) at the age of 63.

Gilles Rondy,FRA,SWI,2008,2004 England-to-France (7:54)

Arati Saha,IND,SWI,1952,1959 France-to-England (16:20).

Petar Stoychev,BUL,SWI,2000-12,2006 England-to-France (7:21); 2007 England-to-France (6:57) – first crossing under 7 hours and record time from 2007-2012.

Edward Temme,GBR,WAP,1928-36,1927 France-to-England and 1934 England-to-France (15:34). First swimmer to cross English channel in both ways.

Rostislav Vítek,CZE,SWI,2008,2009 England-to-France (7:16)

[/table]

So we got asked what was the most common name for an Olympic athlete, which led to a little research into the names of Olympians.

First off, the answer to that question is Kim, the most common Korean name, with fully 597 Olympians so-named. Kim is followed by the second most common Korean name – Lee, although that name is used in other English-speaking nations as well. There have been 423 Lee Olympians. The remainder of the names used by more than 100 Olympians are as follows:

[table]

Name,Count

Kim,597

Lee,423

Li,277

Smith,260

Wang,151

Zhang,135

García,119

Andersson,117

González,111

Chen,110

Martin,108

Hansen,104

Liu,103

Park,103

Williams,101

Andersen,100

Singh,100

[/table]

Smith is the most common Anglo-Saxon name with 260 Olympians, although if we count the variants of Anderson (85) / Andersen (100) / Andersson (117), there are 302 of them. Another name that should be higher on the above list is Singh. Singh is the common male surname for Indian Sikhs, but it is often a compound surname, such as Singh Grewal. If you include all the Singhs with the compounds, there are 186 such Singh Olympians.

So what’s the shortest name of any Olympian. The award goes to North Korean table tennis player O Il who competed at the 2004 Athens Games. His name has only 3 letters. The only 4-letter names are E Jie, a 1992 Chinese female fencer, and Li Na, the well-known female Chinese tennis player. In all, there have been 48 Olympians with a single-letter surname, all vowels, and every vowel is represented, as follows:

[table]

Name,###

O,36

U,8

A,2

E,1

I,1

[/table]

All 48 are from either China, Hong Kong, DPR Korea (North), or Chinese Taipei (Taiwan).

So which Olympian has had the longest name? This is a more difficult question with multiple sub-categories. If we include titles, such as the Duchess of Cambridge, who is not an Olympian, the answer is easy. The longest name belongs to 1920 Spanish polo player Jacobo Fitz-James. Fitz-James has a title, in fact, he has a few titles, or more properly, he’s got a whole slew of them. His title is fully: XVII Duque de Alba de Tormes, 10th Duke of Berwick, Duque de Arjona, XVII Duque de Huescar, X Duque de Liria y Jérica, Duque de Montoro, XIII Conde-Duque de Olivares, Marqués del Carpio, Conde de Baños, Conde de Lemos, Conde de Lerín, Conde de Miranda del Castanar, Conde de Monterrey, Conde de Osorno, Conde de Siruela, Condestable de Navarra, XI Marqués de la Algaba, Marqués de Andrade, Marqués de Ardales, Marqués de Ayala, XIII Marqués de Barcarrota, Marqués de Casarrubios del Monte, XVIII Marqués de Coria, Marqués de Eliche, Marqués de Fuentes de Valdepero, Marqués de Fuentiduena, Marqués de Galve, Marqués de los Gelves, Marqués de Mirallo, Marqués de Modica, Marqués de la Mota, Marqués de Moya, Marqués de Osera, Marqués de Piedrahita, Marqués de Salvatierra, Marqués de San Esteban de Gormaz, Marqués de San Leonardo, Marqués de Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Marqués de Sárria, Marqués de Tarazona, Marqués de Valdunquillo, Marqués de Villalba, Marqués de Villanueva del Fresno, Marqués de Villanueva del Río, 10th Earl of Tinmouth, Vizconde de la Calzada, 10th Baron of Bosworth, Caballero del Orden del Toisón de Oro. Which takes up 1,126 characters – and most of a page on this blog.

So let’s omit titles. Now we have to look at what we term Used Names and Full Names. A Used Name is something like Carl Lewis, while his Full Name is Frederick Carleton “Carl” Lewis. Again we have a problem defining terms – should we include the female athletes with multiple hyphenated married names? If we do, the Olympian with the longest Used Name is Slovakian biathlete Martina Jašicová-Schwarzbacherová-Halinárová – 36 characters long.

If we omit hyphenated names, the longest used names are Patricia Galvin de la Tour d’Auvergne, an American equestrienne from 1960-64, and Jacques De Wykerslooth De Rooyesteyn, a 1924 Belgian modern pentathlete. But Galvin de la Tour d’Auvergne is her name after marriage (she was born Patricia Galvin), so De Wykerslooth De Rooyesteyn becomes the longest Used Name (28 characters).

But looking at non-hyphenated and non-compound names, we have three women with Used Names of 20+ characters, led by the Malagasy swimmer (2004-08) Tojohanitra Andriamanjatoarimanana (22), then the Thai weightlifter (2008) Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon (21), and finally the 1992 Fijian judoka Asenaca Lesivakaruakitotoiya (20). Among men, the two longest are 1972-76 Indian hockey player Govinda Billimogaputtaswamy (19) and 1948 Greek fencer Nikolaos Khristogiannopoulos (19).

Looking at Full Names, the two longest are two Liechtensteiner alpine skiiers – Max Emanuel Maria Alexander Vicot Bruno de la Santisima Trinidad y Todos los Santos von Hohenlohe Langenburg (107), and Konstantin Franz Nikolaus Karl Heinrich Dagobert Anton von Padua Ildefons Maria von Liechtenstein (96). For the record, their surnames are, respectively, von Hohenlohe Langenburg and von Padua Ildefons Maria von Liechtenstein.

If we again try to be restrictive and omit compound surnames, or those with particles (de, von, etc.), the longest full name belongs to an Austrian shooter from 1952-64 – Ladislaus Peter Maria Gabriel Antonius Benedikt Bonaventura Szapáry (66). The American record belongs to the renowned swimmer Duke Paoa Kahino Makoe Hulikohoa Kahanamoku, with a 42-character name.

So there you have it. Which proves, if nothing else, that its dangerous to ask the OlyMADMen a seemingly simple question about Olympic statistics.

Swimmers, Water Poloists, Resistance Fighters, Yogis, Club Med

[table]

Category,Data

Full Name,Gérard Blitz Jr.

Used Name,Gérard Blitz

Born,1 August 1901; Amsterdam (NED)

Died,8 March 1979; Ganshoren (BEL)

[/table]

[table]

Year,Sport,Event,Finish,Medal

1920,Swimming,100 m free,7 h4 r1/4,

,,4×200 m free relay,3 h2 r1/2,

,,100 m back,3,Bronze,

,Water Polo,,2,Silver

1924,Swimming,100 m backstroke,4,

,Water Polo,,2,Silver

1928,Swimming,4×200 m free relay,5 h2 r1/2,

,,100 m backstroke,2 h3 r1/3

,Water Polo,,=5

1936,Water Polo,,3,Bronze

[/table]

[table]

Category,Data

Full Name,Maurice Jean Blitz

Used Name,Maurice Blitz

Born,28 July 1891; Paris (FRA)

Died,2 February 1975

[/table]

[table]

Year,Sport,Finish,Medal

1920,Water Polo,2,Silver

1924,Water Polo,2,Silver

[/table]

Gérard Blitz competed at four Olympics Games as a swimmer and water polo player, appearing four times in water polo and three times in swimming. Blitz won four Olympic medals, three in water polo in 1920, 1924, and 1936, and adding a bronze in the 1920 100 metre backstroke swimming. In 1921 Blitz set a world record of 5:59.2 for the 400 metre backstroke, a mark which lasted until 1927. A Jewish athlete, he was one of the few Jews to win a medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Gérard Blitz was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1990.

Blitz’s older brother, Maurice Blitz, competed alongside Gérard in water polo at the 1920 and 1924 Olympics, winning silver medals both times. Maurice later became an international referee, conducting the Olympic final in 1932, and was a member of the Belgian Olympic Committee and swimming federation. In 1948, Maurice Blitz founded the swimming and waterpolo club Zwemclub Scaldis in Antwerp.

Maurice Blitz’s son, also Gérard Blitz, never competed at the Olympics, but became known during World War II as a resistance fighter with the French Resistance. After the war, Gérard Blitz became famous when he founded a vacation resort named Club Méditerranée, opening the first resort on Majorca, which later became franchised with the name shortened to Club Med. Gérard Blitz, the younger, also studied yoga, and became secretary and then president of the European Union of Yoga from 1974 until his death in 1990.

French Fashion Model, Fencer, Actress

[table]

Category,Data

Full Name,Albertina Charlotte “Nadia” Boudesoque Noblecourt de Haro Oliva

Used Name,Nadia Boudesoque

Other Name,Nadia Haro Oliva

Born,11 April 1918; Montcornet; Aisne (FRA)

Died,17 January 2014; Ciudad de México (MEX)

[/table]

[table]

Year-Season,Sport,Event,Finish

1948 Summer,Fencing,Individual Foil,6 Pool 2 Round 1/4

[/table]

As a teenager Nadia Boudesoque became a model for a fashion house in Paris. She later met Mexican colonel Antonio Haro (Oliva), who was stationed in Paris, and they married, with Boudesoque returning to Mexico. She continued to fence for sport, but after the 1948 London Olympics, where she represented Mexico, Boudesoque became an actress. She acted under the name Nadia Haro Oliva, appearing in multiple films in Mexico in the 1950s and 60s, notably “Misterios de la magia negra” (1957) and “El ángel exterminador” (1962). In the 1970s and 80s she turned more to acting on stage and television. She and her husband also owned and operated the Teatro Arlequín. Nadia Haro Oliva retired from acting after suffering a fall in 2004.

Olympians are people who have achieved success in their sports at the highest level. Such success often translates to other fields, and it is no surprise that numerous Olympians have succeeded outside of sports. With the name recognition that comes from their sports prowess, it is also no surprise that many Olympians have moved into politics. Many of them have served in their national legislatures.

This is a fairly difficult list to track but following is what we consider a fairly complete list. But we’ll accept additions to this list from anybody who has further information.

[table]

Athlete,Nation(s),Sport(s),Era,Notes

David Anderson,CAN,ROW,1960,Member of the Canadian Parliament from 1968 through 1972 and again from 1993 through 2006 (Liberal)

Wendell Anderson,USA,ICH,1956,Member of US Senate; Minnesota 1976-78 (Democrat)

Nancy Arendt-Kemp,LUX,SWI/TRI,1988-00,Member of Luxembourgish D’Chamber from 23 January 1996 through 8 June 1999 and 3 June 2003 through 5 June 2004 and since 3 August 2004 (CSV)

Taro Aso,JPN,SHO,1976,Shugiin (House of Representatives) 1979-83; since 1986 Liberal Democratic Party

John Jacob Astor,GBR,RAQ,1908,Member of the UK House of Commons 1922-45. Member of the UK House of Lords 1956-71 (Conservative)

Mehmet Ali Aybar,TUR,ATH,1928,Member of Turkish Meclis from 1965 through 1973 (TİP)

Badmaanyambuugiin Bat-Erdene,Mgl MGL,JUD,1988-00,Member of Mongolian Ulsyn Ikh Khural since 2004 (MAN)

Philip Baker,GBR,ATH,1912-,Member of the UK House of Commons 1929-31 and 1936-70 (Labour)

Richard Barnett,GBR,SHO,1908,Member of the UK House of Commons 1916-29 (Conservative)

John Pius Boland,GBR,TEN,1896,Member of the UK House of Commons 1900-18 (Irish Parliamentary Party)

Valeriy Borzov,URS,ATH,1972-76,Member of Ukrainian Rada from 1998 through 2006 (Rukh; SDPU(o))

Robert Bourne,GBR,ROW,1912,Member of the UK House of Commons 1924-38 (Conservative)

James Bowman,CAN,CUR,1932,Member of Canadian House of Commons 1930 through 1935 (Conservative)

Svetlana Boyarkina-Zhurova,RUS,SSK,1994-06,Member of Russian Duma since 2007 (Edinaya Rossiya)

József Bozsik,HUN,FTB,1952,Member of Hungarian Országgyűlés from 1950 through 1953 (MDP)

Bill Bradley,USA,BAS,1964,Member of US Senate; New Jersey; 1979-97 (Democrat)

Adam Brodecki,POL,FSK,1972,Member of Polish Sejm from 1989 through 1991 (PZPR)

Sergey Bubka,URS/UKR/EUN,ATH,1988-00,Member of Ukrainian Rada from 2002 through 2006 (PR)

David; Lord Burghley,GBR,ATH,1924-32,Member of the UK House of Commons 1931–1943. Member of the UK House of Lords 1956-81 (Conservative)

William Burns,CAN,CUR,1932,Member of Canadian House of Commons 1930 through 1935 (Conservative)

David Butler,ZIM,SAI,1960-64,Member of Rhodesian Legislative Assembly from 1962 through 11 November 1965 (UFP and RP)

Ben Campbell,USA,JUD,1964,Member of US Senate; Colorado; 1993-05 (Democrat/Republican)

Menzies Campbell,GBR,ATH,1964,Member of the UK House of Commons 1983- (Liberal 1983-88; Liberal Democrat 1988- )

Chris Chataway,GBR,ATH,1952-56,Member of the UK House of Commons 1959-66 and 1969-74 (Conservative)

Seb Coe,GBR,ATH,1980-84,Member of the UK House of Commons 1992-97; Member of the UK House of Lords 2000- (Conservative)

Eamonn Coghlan,IRL,ATH,1976-88,Member of the Irish Senate since 2011 (Fine Gael)

Amedeo D’Albora,ITA,ART,1936,Member of Italian Senato from 25 May 1958 through 15 May 1963 (Gruppo Misto; MSI; PDI)

William; Lord Desborough,GBR,FEN,1906,Member of the UK House of Commons 1880-1882; 1885-1886; 1892-1893 and 1900-05 (Liberal 1880-1893 Conservative 1900-05). Member of the UK House of Lords 1905-45.

Heike Drechsler,GDR/GER,ATH,1988-00,Member of East-German Volkskammer from 1986 through 1990 (FDJ)

Guy Drut,FRA,ATH/IOC,1972-76 / 1996 – Present,Member of French Assemblée nationale; Seine-et-Marne; 16 March 1986 through 25 June 2007 (RPR; UMP)

Arsen Fadzayev,URS/EUNUZB,WRE,1988-96,Member of Russian Duma from 2003 through 2011 (SPS; Edinaya Rossiya)

Pedro Figari,URU,ART,1932,Member of Uruguayan Cámara de Representantes from 1897 through 1905 (?) (Partido Colorado)

Anatoly Firsov,URS,ICH,1964-72,Member of USSR Syezd narodnykh deputatov SSSR from 1989 through 1991

Robert Fournier-Sarlovèze,FRA,POL,1900,Member of French Assemblée nationale; Oise; from 24 April 1910 through 31 May 1914 (Républicain Progressiste); 16 November 1919 through 31 May 1932 (ERD/URD)

Ruth Fuchs,GDR,ATH,1972-80,Member of East-German Volkskammer from 18 March 1990 through 2 October 1990 (PDS). Member of German Bundestag from 3 October 1990 through 20 December 1990 and from 11 March 1992 through 2002 (PDS)

Eberhard Gienger,FRG,GYM,1972-76,Member of German Bundestag since 22 September 2002 (CDU)

Oliver St. John Gogarty,IRL,ART,1924,Member of Irish Seanad Éireann from 1922 through 1936 (Cumann na nGaedheal)

Nancy Greene,CAN,ASK,1960-68,Member of Canadian Senate; British Columbia; since 2 January 2009 (Conservative)

John Gretton Jr.,GBR,SAI,1900,Member of the UK House of Commons 1895-06; 1907-43. Member of the UK House of Lords 1944-47 (Conservative)

Kelpo Gröndahl,FIN,WRE,1948-52,Member of Finnish Eduskunta from 20 February 1962 through 22 March 1970 (SKDL)

Gunnar Gundersen,Nor NOR,SWI,1976,Member of Norwegian Storting since 2005 (Høyre)

Dezső Gyarmati,HUN,WAP,1948-64,Member of Hungarian Országgyűlés from 1990 through 1994 (MDF)

Han Pil-Hwa,PRK,SSK,1964-72,Member of North-Korean Choego Inmin Hoe-ui from 1998 through ?

John Harun,KEN,SHO,1968-72,Member of Kenyan National Assembly; Kilome; from 2007 through 4 March 2013 (PICK)

Hiroshi Hase,JPN,WRE,1984,Shugiin (House of Representatives) since 2000 Liberal Democratic Party

Seiko Hashimoto,JPN,CYC/SSK,1984-96,Member of Japanese Sangiin since 26 July 1995 (LDP)

Heikki Hasu,FIN,CCS/NCO,1948-52,Member of Finnish Eduskunta from 20 February 1962 through 4 April 1966 and 25 April 1967 through 22 March 1970 (Suomen Keskusta)

Terry Higgins,GBR,ATH,1952,Member of the UK House of Commons 1964-97 (Conservative)

Manabu Horii,JPN,SSK,1994-02,Member of Japanese Shugiin since 17 December 2012 (LDP)

Robert Jaworski,PHI,BAS,1968,Member of 11th and 12th Congress of the Philippines from 1998 through 2004 (Independent)

Alina Kabayeva,RUS,RGY,2000-04,Member of Russian Duma since 2007 (Edinaya Rossiya)

Kunishige Kamamoto,JPN,FTB,1964-68,Shugiin (House of Councillors) 1995-98 Liberal Democratic Party

Pantelis Karasevdas,GRE,SHO,1896,Member of Greek Vouli ton Ellinon from 1910 through ? (Komma Fileleutheron)

Aleksandr Karelin,RUS/URS/EUN,WRE,1988-00,Member of Russian Duma since 1999 (Edinaya Rossiya)

Wilfred Kent-Hughes,Aus AUS,ATH,1920,Member of Australian House of Representatives; Chisholm; from 10 December 1949 through 31 July 1970 (Liberal)

Leri Khabelovi,RUS/URS/EUN,WRE,1988-96,Member of Georgian Sakartvelos parlament’i since 2012 (K’art’uli ots’neba – demokratiuli Sak’art’velo)

Makharbek Khadartsev,RUS/URS/EUN/UZB,WRE,1988-00,Member of Russian Duma since 21 December 2011 (Edinaya Rossiya)

Svetlana Khorkina,RUS,GYM,1996-04,Member of Russian Duma from 2007 through 2011 (Edinaya Rossiya)

Serik Konakbayev,URS,BOX,1980,Member of Kazakh Majilis from 1999 through 2012

Grigorios Lambrakis,GRE,ATH,1936,Member of the Greek Vouli ton Ellinon 1961 through 27 May 1963 (EDA)

Victor de Laveleye,BEL,HOK/TEN,1920-28,Member of Belgian Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers from 1939 through 14 December 1945 (Liberale Partij)

Bob Mathias,USA,ATH,1948-52,Member of US House of Representatives; California; 1967-75 (Republican)

Marjo Matikainen,FIN,CCS,1984-88,Member of Finnish Eduskunta from 19 March 2003 through 27 March 2003 and since 21 July 2004 (Kansallinen Kokoomus). Member of European Parliament from 11 November 1996 through 19 July 2004 (Kansallinen Kokoomus / ED)

Tom McMillen,USA,BAS,1972,Member of US House of Representatives; Maryland; 1987-93 (Democrat)

Pietro Mennea,ITA,ATH,1972-88,Member of European Parliament from 1999 through 2004 (I Democratic / ELDR)

Daniel Mérillon,FRA,GYM/SHO,1900-12,Member of French Assemblée nationale; Gironde; from 18 October 1885 through 11 November 1889 (Union républicaine)

Ralph Metcalfe,USA,ATH,1932-36,Member of US House of Representatives; Illinois; 1971-78 (Democrat)

Juha Mieto,FIN,CCS,1972-84,Member of Finnish Eduskunta from 21 March 2007 through 19 April 2011 (Suomen Keskusta)

Colin Lord Moynihan,GBR,ROW,1980-84,Member of the UK House of Commons 1983-92; Member of the UK House of Lords 1997- (Conservative)

Kenji Ogiwara,JPN,NCO,1992-02,Member of Japanese Sangiin from 26 July 2004 through 25 July 2010 (LDP)

Katsuo Okazaki,JPN,ATH,1924,Shugiin (House of Representatives) 1949-58 Liberal Democratic Party

Kiyoko Ono,JPN,GYM,1960-64,Shugiin (House of Councillors) 1986-98; 2001-07 Liberal Democratic Party

Rudolph Baron van Pallandt,Ned NED,SHO,1908,Member of Dutch Eerste Kamer from 20 September 1910 through 15 March 1913 (death) (CHU)

Vladimir Parfenovich,URS,CAN,1980,Member of Belarussian Palata Pradstawnikow from 2000 through ?

Zbigniew Pietrzykowski,POL,BOX,1956-64,Member of Polish Sejm from 14 October 1993 through 10 October 1997 (BdP)

Hugh Plaxton,CAN,ICH,1928,Member of Canadian House of Commons 14 October 1935 through 1940 (Liberal)

Pavel Ploc,TCH,SKJ,1984-88,Member of Czech Poslanecká sněmovna since 3 June 2006 (CSSD)

Payao Poontarat,THA,BOX,1976,Member of Thai from 2001 through his death (?) (Phak Prachathipat)

Rolf Rämgård,SWE,CCS,1960,Member of the Swedish Riksdag 1974 through 1985 (Centerpartiet)

Jozef Regec,TCH,CYC,1988,Member of Czech Senát since 23 October 2010 (CSSD; SPOZ)

Philip Richardson,GBR,SHO,1908-12,Member of the UK House of Commons 1922–1931 (Conservative)

Roman Rurua,URS,WRE,1964-68,Member of Georgian Sakartvelos parlament’i from 1999 though 2003 (Sportuli Sakartvelo)

Jim Ryun,USA,ATH,1964-72,Member of US House of Representatives; Kansas; 1996-07 (Republican)

Yasutaro Sakagami,JPN,WAP,1932-36,Shugiin (House of Representatives) 1958-76 Socialist Party

Viktor Savchenko,URS,BOX,1976-80,Member of Ukrainian Rada from 7 August 1994 through 12 May 1998 (Independent)

Friedel Schirmer,GER,ATH,1952,Member of German Bundestag from 28 September 1969 through 5 March 1983 (SPD)

Ilona Schoknecht-Slupianek,GDR,ATH,1976-80,Member of East German Volkskammer from 1976 through 1986 (FDJ)

Gustav-Adolf Schur,GER,CYC,1956-60,Member of East German Volkskammer 1958 through 1990 (FDJ; SED; PDS). Member of German Bundestag from 1998 through 2002 (PDS).

James Sharpe,AHO,ATH,1992,Member of Dutch Tweede Kamer 17 June 2010 through 19 November 2010 (PVV)

Jyotirmoyee Sikdar,IND,ATH,1996,Member of Indian Lok Sabha; Krishnanagar; from 2003 through 2009 (CPI(M))

Karni Singh,IND,SHO,1960-80,Member of Indian Lok Sabha; Bikaner; from 1952 through 1977 (Independent)

Jiří Šlégr,CZE/TCH,ICH,1992-98,Member of Czech Poslanecká sněmovna since 29 May 2010 through 14 June 2013 (CSSD; LEV 21)

Peter Šťastný,TCH/SVK,ICH,1980-94,Member of European Parliament since 2004 (SDKÚ-DS / EPP)

Marcus Stephen,NRU/SAM,WLT,1992-00,Member of Parliament of Nauru since 3 May 2003 (Independent)

Mieke Sterk,NED,ATH,1968,Member of Dutch Tweede Kamer 30 August 1994 through 19 May 1998 (PvdA)

Joe Sullivan,CAN,ICH,1928,Member of Canadian Senate; Ontario; from 12 October 1957 through 18 February 1985 (Progressive Conservative)

Jaan Talts,URS,WLT,1968-72,Member of Estonian Riigikogu from 11 March 1995 through 17 April 1995 and 6 November 1995 through 1 December 1996 (Eesti Reformierakond)

Jüri Tamm,EST/URS,ATH,1980-96,Member of Estonian Riigikogu 1999 through 2003 (Mõõdukad)

Harald Tammer,EST,ATH/WLT,1920-24,Member of the Estonian Rahvuskogu from 1937 through 1940

Ryoko Tamura-Tani,JPN,JUD,1992-08,Shugiin (House of Councillors) since 2013 Liberal Democratic Party

Masami Tanabu,JPN,ICH,1960-64,Shugiin (House of Representatives) 1979-96 various parties

Erica Terpstra,NED,SWI,1960-64,Member of Dutch Tweede Kamer 8 June 1977 through 22 August 1994 and 19 May 1998 through 15 December 2003 (both VVD)

Arto Tiainen,FIN,CCS,1956-68,Member of Finnish Eduskunta from 22 January 1970 through 22 March 1970 (SDP)

Daulet Turlykhanov,KAZ/URS/EUN,WRE,1988-96,Member of Kazakh Majilis from 1995 through 2004

Cenaida Uribe,Per PER,VOL,1988,Member of Peruvian Congreso de la República since 2006 (Partido Nacionalista Peruano)

Lasse Virén,FIN,ATH,1972-80,Member of Finnish Eduskunta from 24 March 1993 through 20 March 2007 and 19 October 2010 through 19 April 2011 (Kansallinen Kokoomus)

Ingrid Wendl,AUT,FSK,1956,Member of Austrian Nationalrat from 20 December 2002 through 29 October 2006 (ÖVP)

Ulla Werbrouck,BEL,JUD,1992-00,Member of Belgian Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers from 2007 through 2 July 2009 (LDD)

Jack Lord Wodehouse,GBR,POL,1908-,Member of the UK House of Commons 1906-10. Member of the UK House of Lords 1932-41 (Liberal)

[/table]

Olympic shooter, gold medalist, veterinarian, murderer

Full name       James Howard Snook

Used name    James Snook

Born                   17 September 1879; South Lebanon, Ohio (USA)

Died                   28 February 1930; Columbus, Ohio (USA)

[table]

Year-Games,Sport,Event,Finish,Medal

1920-Summer,Shooting,Rapid-Fire Pistol Team,1,Gold

,,Free Pistol 50 m Team,1,Gold

[/table]

http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sn/james-snook-1.html

James Snook, twice a shooting gold medalist at the 1920 Olympics, made national headlines in 1929 and 1930, but not for anything to do with his shooting ability. Snook was a 1908 graduate of the Ohio State Veterinary School and in 1920 was a professor of veterinary medicine at Ohio State. In June 1929 he was practicing at the Ohio State rifle range when he was arrested and accused of the murder of Theora K. Hix, a medical student at Ohio State.

It turned out that Snook and Hix had posed as man and wife for three years, sharing an apartment near the school’s campus. On 13 June 1929, Snook claimed that Hix asked him to divorce his wife and marry her, threatening to kill his wife and child if she was refused. Snook confessed to then beating Hix several times with a hammer before severing her jugular vein with a pocket-knife to “relieve her suffering.” On 14 August 1929 a jury deliberated only 28 minutes before finding Snook guilty of first degree murder. A week later he was sentenced to be put to death, and at 7:10 p.m. on 28 February 1930, he died in the electric chair at the Ohio State Penitentiary.