You’d think that one of the easier questions for us to answer would be: “How many Olympians have there been”? This simple question is actually quite hard to answer. We do have an answer, of course, but it’s also definitely wrong.
As with many statistical issues, one first has to define what an Olympian is. We could look to the World Olympians Association (WOA), which defines an Olympian as:
An Olympian is an athlete who has been accredited to participate in the Olympic Games in a full medal sport.
This is a useful starting point: it explicitly names athletes (so no coaches, doctors, team leaders, etc.) and also excludes competitors in demonstration sports (which have not been held since 1992), exhibitions (last held in 2008) and other side-events. However, the “accredited” part of the definition is a bit less useful for us.
Among accredited athletes are of course those who eventually compete, but also those who fail to start for any reason (injury, disability, left off the team) or are only brought on a substitutes. In some sports, there are even various levels of accreditation. For example, in football (or soccer if you prefer), each team is nowadays allowed to enter 18 players, which are allowed to stay in the Olympic Village. However, if one of these gets injured, they are allowed to replaced them by one of four players on a separate list. Many of these alternate players don’t actually go to the Olympics, but they do have an accreditation. It seems to us that being present at the Olympics would be a minimum to qualify as an Olympian.
The 18 Mexican football players that were handed an Olympic gold medal in London 2012.
We could then, of course, use that criterion to decide who is an Olympian. But this is pretty hard. Finding entry lists or accreditation lists is one, but these never say if a person was actually in town or not, which means we would have to figure this out for each athlete personally. And not just for recent years, but also for entrants from 1896, making this a virtually impossible task.
So instead of following the WOA, we’ve used our own definition:
An Olympian is an athlete who has competed in the Olympic Games in a full medal sport.
But that definition still isn’t complete. What exactly is a full medal sport? And what are Olympic Games, even?
Turns out that you can debate about both. While the Olympic Games of the modern era are pretty well-known, there’s an odd-one-out: the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens. While organized and approved by the IOC at the time, the IOC later decide not to recognize these Games as official – despite their importance to the Olympic Movement. Many Olympic historians disagree with this view, and so do we, so we include these Games in our figures.
Ray Ewry won a total of 10 Olympic gold medals, including two at the 1906 Intercalated Games, which are not currently recognized by the IOC.
Regarding the full medal sports, there is also debate about the early Olympics. In 1900, the Olympics were held in conjunction with the sports events at the World Exposition in Paris. Many events did not use the predicate ‘Olympic’, despite the fact that the we consider them to have been part of the Olympics. Four years later, when the Olympics were a side-show of yet another major exhibition (the Louisiana Purchase Exposition), the organizers did the opposite, and labelled every sporting event “Olympic”, including e.g. track and field championships for elementary school boys from St. Louis, handicap races, and other competitions hardly word the predicate “Olympic”.
One of the more shameful “Olympic” events in St. Louis were the Anthropology Days in St. Louis, were so-called ‘savages’ competed against one another.
Some historians indeed consider all events held in Paris and St. Louis to have been Olympic. The IOC has never officially made a list of Olympic events in 1900 and 1904, although the list of medallists on their website can be taken as such. A clear method by the IOC to decide which events are Olympic, however, is unknown to us. The approach we use was set up by one of us, Bill Mallon, in the late 1990s when writing books about those early Olympics. He applied four criteria to events:
the events must be open to amateurs only (this was the IOC opinion at the time)
all competitors must compete equally (disallowing handicap events)
the events must be open to competitors from all nations (even if only competitors from one nation competed)
the events must be open to all (no limitations on age, origin, competency, etc. such as “junior”, “novice”)
This gives a list that excludes many of the fringe events held in these years, but is also slightly longer than the one used by the IOC.
Moving forward in time, there’s another category of events that qualified as full medal events at the time they were held, but that are often omitted: the art, aeronautics and alpinism competitions. From 1912 through 1948, Olympic medals were awarded in art, and between 1924 and 1936, medals were also handed out in alpinism and aeronautics. These medallists are not found on the IOC website, but they definitely received medals, which is why we include them as well.
So, with all that defining out of the way, it’s finally time to give you a number:
128,420
Now, we do have to say that this number is – sadly – wrong. Records books of the Olympics aren’t always complete, and we know for certain that many athletes are missing. For example, the members of the Greek gymnastics teams in 1896 have so far never surfaced, and neither have the names of the art competitors in 1920 that didn’t win a prize. In some cases, we do even know the number of athletes that we’re missing, but we don’t know if these are all “new” Olympians or not.
Even for more recent Olympics, information on who competed isn’t always clear-cut. In handball, all players on the team are listed on the match roster, even if they didn’t play. For recent years, detailed substitution information is available, but this is lacking for earlier years, leaving us to rely alternative sources such as video footage, contact with the athlete in question, etc.
Some of the 128,420 Olympians during the opening of the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.
Apart from missing data in the sources, we are of course only human, and therefore make errors. For example, we recently figured out we had missed two substitutes in the 1964 4-man bobsled competition (although both were already known as Olympians) – even though this information was in the Official Results.
To compensate for that, we sometimes unearth information that isn’t even in the Official Results. For example, last year, we found out two missing divers in the 1960 women’s diving event, and an hitherto unknown substitute in the 1920 water polo match Brazil – Sweden.
So, it is with full confidence we can say that 128,420 is the wrong number. But we dare you to come up with a better one!
We’ve written before about unlucky Olympians here on OlympStats – Olympic athletes who came closest to winning an Olympic medal, but never did. But which nations have come closest to winning an Olympic medal without actually doing so?
Erick Barrondo’s silver medal removed Guatemala from the list of “unluckiest” nations at the Olympics
Until 2012, the clear number one was Guatemala. The Central American nation had raked up three 4th places (including one in the art competitions), four 5th places (adding a fifth in London) and four more places between 6th and 8th. But race walker Erick Barrondo ended his country’s medal drought and became the first Guatemalteco win an Olympic medal with a silver medal in the 20 km.
Nan Aye Khine earned a 4th place for Myanmar (Burma), but was disqualified afterwards for steroid use.
With Guatemala out of contention, here are four nations that have finished 4th on one occasion. Of these nations, the one with the most 5th places is Myanmar, previously known as Burma. The South East Asian country is relatively strong in weightlifting and boxing. Win Kay Thi earned a 4th place in the 2000 women’s flyweight weightlifting, and two more weightlifters and two boxers have ranked 5th (or losing quarter-finalist) in the past. The nation lost another 4th place, achieved in 2004, when it was found that another female weightlifter, Nan Aye Khine, had used anabolic steroids.
Alessandra Perilli took a shot at the medals in London, but narrowly failed.
Behind Myanmar, the unluckiest nation is San Marino. The tiny enclave republic, embedded within Italy, had its best result in London. Trap shooter Alessandra Perilli was involved in a three-way shoot-off for silver and bronze, but missed her second shot and fell outside of the podium. Prior to Perilli, other Sanmarinese shooters had also come close to the prizes: Francesco Nanni was 5th in 1984 (small-bore rifle, prone), while trap shooters Emanuela Felici (twice) and Francesco Amici had earned 7th places.
Ibrahim Kamal (Jordan) lost the bronze medal match in his taekwondo event, but still achieved his country’s best ever Olympic performance.
Similarly close has been Jordan, which has placed 4th, 5th and 7th in taekwondo. Samoa is closing in on these countries:in London 2012, they earned a 6th and two 7th places (weightlifting and taekwondo), adding to a 4th place won in Beijing.
The first major sports event in any year is the New Year’s Ski Jumping competition at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, part of the prestigious annual Four Hills Tournament. It’s Olympic connections go back all the way to 1922.
Birger Ruud jumps to Olympic gold in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Earlier that year he had also won the New Year’s competition.
On January 1st, 1922, the first New Year’s Ski Jumping competition was held in Garmisch – this was a separate town until it was forcibly merged with Partenkirchen for the 1936 Winter Olympics. It was part of a national German Olympic Games (Deutsche Winterkampfspiele), as Germany was not permitted to take part in the Olympic Games due to its role in World War I. Only at the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz would Germany appear again at the Olympic stage. The jumping hill built for this occasion was used for a competition on January 1st, which was to become an annual tradition. When Garmisch-Partenkirchen was awarded the Winter Olympics of 1936, a new jumping hill was built, which was inaugurated in February 1934, and has been used for the New Year’s event since. It has been renovated several times, in 1950, 1978 and 2007, and is still used in competition today. The event became part of the Four Hills Tournament in 1953, the first edition of that tournament, and has been ever since. The other competitions are held in Oberstdorf (Germany), Innsbruck and Bischofshofen (Austria). Garmisch-Partenkirchen joined Munich in a bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics, but the IOC elected South Korean Pyeongchang instead.
Jens Weißflog won 4 times at Garmisch, and also earned 3 Olympic golds, two of them in Lillehammer 1994 (shown here).
Among the winners of the New Year’s Ski Jump have – naturally – been a lot of Olympians. In fact, all winners since Paavo Lukkariniemi in 1966 have competed at the Olympics. The person with the most wins is Germany’s Martin Neuner with five (1924-1928), and in his only Olympic appearance (1928), he placed 9th. Two Germans have won four times on January 1st: Sepp Weiler, who only attended the 1952 Olympics as he was blocked from competing in 1948 and Jens Weißflog. Weißflog won at Garmisch in 1984-85, in 1990 and, jointly, in 1992. In 1984 he also won a gold medal, adding two more in 1994.
Winners in Garmisch didn’t always do well at the Olympics – e.g. three-time winner Bjørn Wirkola (1967-69), but since the mid-80s, all but a handful of winners have won at least one Olympic medal. On 9 occasions did the winner of the New Year’s Jump also win Olympic gold, although the last two times (2002 and 2010) this was in the team competition rather than an individual event.
The 2014 podium, with Austrian winner Thomas Diethart.
The winner of the 1962 competition was Georg Thoma of Germany. Two years earlier, he had won a gold medal, but not in ski jumping, but in the Nordic combined (which combines ski jumping with cross country skiing), becoming the first non-Scandinavian to win that title.
The new Olympic (left) and Paralympic mascots – still to be named.
A mascot is originally a good luck charm, which was also its original role at the Olympics. For the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, a skier named Schuss made its appearance. The stylized man was created unofficially for the Games. The first official mascot followed four years later, in Munich: a colored dachshund named Waldi. The marathon course that year was modelled to look like the profile of the dog. From Innsbruck 1976, where Schneemann was used to ensure a snow-filled Games, all Olympics have had mascots. Besides a good luck charm, they’ve figured in opening ceremonies, are used for distraction during breaks and – of course – to boost the sales of Olympic memorabilia.
In true OlympStats style, we could present you a list of all Olympic mascots here, but there’s several places on the web that already do a comendable job. In particular, the IOC has two reference documents (Summer, Winter) that extensively describe and depict all mascots.
So, instead I’ve listed my personal top three of best and worst Olympic mascots.
Worst Olympic mascot by a clear margin: Atlanta 1996’s Izzy
Izzy 1996 – probably the most ridiculed Olympic mascot of all time, its original name was tellingly “Whatizit”. Still, nobody knows what it is.
Wenlock 2012 – a droplet of steel with one eye, he loses out to Izzy due to fact his name is taken from the Much Wenlock Games, one of the source of inspiration for Pierre de Coubertin
Magique 1992 – unlike the top entries, Magique is actually vagualy recognizble, described by the IOC as an “imp”. But despite its name, it fails to inspire me to view magical things.
Did I miss a horrible one? Gloss over the best mascot of all time? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
Yesterday, the IOC announced a set of recommendations for the future of the Olympic movement. Recommendation 37 calls for the possibility for IOC members to be granted exception to the maximum age rule, while Recommendation 11 calls to foster gender equality. So how is the IOC doing regarding age and gender equality?
When the IOC was founded in 1894, Pierre de Coubertin was 31 years old. This fit in well with the other 14 IOC members, of which the average age was just under 40, and the mean age 34.5 years.
The average age of IOC members since 1894.
Since then, the average age of IOC members has steadily grown (as has the number of members). In 1913, the average age was 50, and in 1942 it hit 60 for the first time. Save for a few dips, it has since remained steady between 60 and 65 years old. The number of IOC members under forty, which started at 9 out of 15 in 1894, remained low. In 1998, there were only 3.
Then, the bribery scandal surrounding the election of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics became public. In the aftermath of the scandal, the IOC decided to ban several members, establish an age limit of 70 for new members (and 80 for existing ones as of 1999) and add a group of athletes members. These measures increased the number of young members to 13, and lowered the average age noticeably. Currently, the average age is set to drop below 60 for the first time since 1958. A further drop is to be expected, as still 29 members over 70 are in the IOC, but that number is decreasing. By adopting recommendation 37, it is possible that the average age goes back up again, which hopefully is not a goal of the IOC 2020 plans.
João Havelange was one of the all-time oldest IOC members when he resigned in 2011 at age 95.
Looking at gender equality, which the IOC hopes to achieve in female participation and through mixed events, the IOC still has some way to go to achieve gender equality among its members. It wasn’t until 1981 that the first women joined the IOC. Since then, the number of women has risen slowly, and currently they make up less than a quarter of its members. Of these, a significant percentage are athlete members, which are typically only a member for one or two Olympiads.
The percentage of female IOC members since 1981.
So, besides stimulating female athletes, the IOC would do well to also stimulate women taking up administrative positions in sports. Or will that have to wait for Agenda 2030?
Last week, the IOC announced it had provisionally recognized the NOC of Kosovo, making it possible for the breakaway nation to compete in Rio 2016. Kosovo is now one of three nations not broadly recognized by UN-members to be affiliated with the IOC, after the Republic of China (which is a member under the name of Chinese Taipei) and Palestine (which is a UN-observer since 2012).
Despite its status, Kosovo already has some Olympic history, as do various other un-recognized states in the world. We’ll explore that history below. To determine this countries on this list, we have re-used the criteria as used in the Wikipedia article “List of states with limited recognition“. These criteria hold that the country should either be recognized by at least one UN member state, or it should meet the definition of statehood formed in the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States.
Abkhazia
Officially, Abkhazia is the north-western tip of Georgia. In practice, the republic seceded after a brief war in the early 1990s. In the wake of the South Ossetia War during the Beijing Olympics, Russia formally recognized Abkhazia. In addition to Russia, only Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru have recognized the Caucasian nation.
Several Abkhazians have competed in the Olympics. The most famous is three-time triple jump champion Viktor Saneyev, who was born in Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia. Saneyev won Olympic gold in 1968, 1972 and 1976, ending his Olympic career with a silver in Moscow 1980. At those same Olympics, another Sukhumi-born athlete won gold: volleyball player Vladimir Dorokhov. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, several Abkhaz-born competitors have represented Georgia, Russia and Ukraine.
Marika Pertakhiya was the only competitor of Abkhaz descent competing in Sochi, just kilometers from the Abkhaz border.
The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics opened in Fisht Stadium, just a few kilometers from the Russian-Abkhaz border. Abkhazia was not allowed to compete, but one Abkhaz-born athlete competed: freestyle skier Marika Pertakhiya. This even caused a minor incident, as the Sochi official site originally listed her place of birth as Gali, Republic of Abkhazia, Russia – which was corrected to Gali, Republic of Abkhazia, Georgia after complaints of the Georgian Olympic Committee.
Kosovo
Kosovo is populated largely by people of Albanian descent. They have attempted to gain independence since the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1992. The conflict with Serbia came to a head in 1999, when NATO intervened and the area eventually came under United Nations administration. The Republic of Kosovo declared its independence of Serbia in 2008, which has met with broad but far from universal recognition.
Kelmendi, judo world champion, is Kosovo’s best known athlete.
A group of IFs has recognized Kosovo (archery, judo, sailing, table tennis and modern pentathlon), while others have granted provisional or associate membership. This has led to the IOC recognizing the Kosovan NOC. Previously, the IOC declined Kosovan athletes the right to compete as Individual Olympic Athletes under the Olympic Flag. At the London 2012 Olympics, this forced judoka Maljinda Kelmendi to represent Albania. In 2013, she won the world title as a Kosovan.
Prior to Kelmendi, several Kosovars had already competed at the Olympics. For example, the football team that won the gold medal in 1960 featured three players born in what is now Kosovo (Milutin Šoškić, Vladimir Durković and Fahrudin Jusufi). Boxer Aziz Salihu won a bronze in Los Angeles 1984. Two Kosovo-born athletes who fled the country have also won bronze medals, both for Germany: Luan Krasniqi (boxing) and Lira Bajramaj (football).
Nagorno-Karabakh
De jure part of Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh is a region of which 95% of the population is ethnically Armenian. This has frequently led to disputes, culminating in a declaration of independence in 1991. A three year war followed, which ended with a cease-fire that left Nagorno-Karabakh effectively independent but unrecognized by the international community.
Kifayət Qasımova, the most recent Olympian from Nagorno-Karabach.
While Nagorno-Karabakh has national football team – it’s first match was a 1-1 draw with Abkhazia – there are few international sporting achievements to be mentioned. We’ve been able to trace two Olympians who were born in the area that is claimed as part of Nagorno-Karabakh. Wrestler Nelson Davydian won a silver medal in 1976, although he moved out of Nagorno Karabach to Chechnya (and later Ukraine) as a child. Kifayət Qasımova, a judoka at the 2008 and 2012 Games, was also born in what is now Nagorno-Karabach controlled territory.
Northern Cyprus
Cyprus became independent from the United Kingdom in 1960, but after a coup attempt in 1974 by the Greek junta, Turkey invaded the island in order to protect the Turkish-Cypriot citizens. It captured the northern third of the island, and in 1975 the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was officially proclaimed. Only recognized internationally by Turkey, the nation is heavily dependent on Turkey.
Meliz Redif (right) is the first Northern Cypriot Olympian.
The state has a National Olympic Committee, but it is not recognized by the IOC. Cyprus itself did not compete in the Olympics until 1980, but various Cypriot competitors have worn Greek colors since 1896. Some of these came from what is now Northern Cyprus, such as Famagusta, but these were all Greek-Cypriots. In 2012, the first Turkish-Cypriot athlete competed at the Olympics, unsurprisingly representing Turkey. Meliz Redif was a member of the Turkish 4×400 m relay team that was eliminated in the semi-finals. A more famous Olympian with ties to Northern Cyprus is British javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread. A medallist in 1984 and 1988, she was born to a Greek-Cypriot mother and a Turkish-Cypriot father.
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
An insurgence in the Spanish colony of Western (or Spanish) Sahara saw Spain forced to withdraw from the territory in 1976. Despite a judgment from the International Court of Justice, Spain had agreed to cede parts of the land to both Morocco and Mauritania. Independence fighters of the Polisario movement declared independence and managed to oust the Mauritanians. A cease-fire between the Moroccos and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic holds since 1991, but the plan to hold a referendum on independence has not been executed.
Blind Paralympic swimmer Enhamed Enhamed, the most successful athlete from Sahrawi.
While Sahrawi does have an unrecognised national football team, we are unaware of an Olympic committee, or of any Olympic athletes with a Sahrawi background. Runner Salah Ameidan was a part of the Moroccan team until he unfurled the outlawed Sahrawi flag at a race in France. He hopes to represent his nation in Rio de Janeiro, but chances that he will succeed are small. At the 2008 Paralympics, the blind swimmer Enhamed Enhamed, who is of Sahrawi descent but was born in Spain, won four gold medals.
Somaliland
The northern part of Somalia, Somaliland declared independence when the central government in Somalia collapsed in 1991. While the separatist government has firm control over its territory, it remains unrecognized by the international community. The provisional Somaliland National Olympic Committee, founded in late 2013, shares that fate.
Abdi Bile won the 1,500 m in the 1987 World Championships.
Records on the origins of athletes from Somalia are very much incomplete, but we are aware of at least one competitor born in the territory of Somaliland. The 1987 World Champion over 1,500 m track, Abdi Bile, was born in Las Anod. In 1996 he placed 6th in the Olympic final. The family of two-time Olympic champion in track running, Mo Farah, also hails from Somaliland, and Farah has celebrated some of his victories by carrying a Somaliland flag.
South Ossetia
The situation in South Ossetia is quite similar to that in Abkhazia. South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia in 1991. A war ensued, which was ended by a ceasefire the following year. The conflict flared up in 2004 and 2008, with Russia supporting Ossetian forces on the latter occasion. Like Abkhazia, only Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru recognize the mountainous state.
Although competing for the Unified Team and Greece, Akakios Kakiasvili is the most successful athlete out of South Ossetia.
South Ossetia excels in sports requiring physical strength. Its first native we’ve traced at the Olympics is wrestler Alimbeg Bestayev, who won a bronze for the Soviet Union in 1956; he was later joined by wrestling medalists Besik Kudukhov (Russia) and Gennady Laliyev (Kazakhstan). Shota Chochishvili (USSR) won a gold medal in judo in 1972. The top Olympian born in South Ossetia, however, is Georgian-Greek weightlifter weightlifter Akakios Kakiasvili, a three-time Olympic champion (for the Unified Team and Greece).
Transnistria
Transnistria, a sliver of land east of the Dniestr river, seceded from Moldova during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. A brief 1992 war saw Soviet troops support the Transnistrians, and a ceasefire was signed, de facto granting Transnistria self-control.
Quite a few Olympians hail from what is now Transnistria, chiefly from its capital city Tiraspol. The first of them was volleyball player Valentyna Myshak, who won silver with the USSR. The most successful is Larisa Aleksandrova-Popova, a rower, claiming gold an silver in rowing. Transnistrians have represented several countries since 1992, mostly Moldova. So far, one athlete has been born in “independent” Transnistria: backstroke swimmer Dănilă Artiomov, who competed in London.
The best performing countries, such as the US, the major European nations and, in recent decades, China, earn medals in a large variety of sports. Other countries, however are very dependent on a single sport to earn their medals.
Hanni Wenzel is the most successful Olympic athlete from Liechtenstein.
In all, 41 nations have only won medals in a single sport. In 27 of these cases, this is not a very interesting finding, as these are countries which have only ever won a single Olympic medal. Looking at the remaining 14 nations with at least two medals, Ethiopia clearly stands out. The nation’s long distance runners have racked up a total of 45 Olympic medals. Apart from the track, Ethiopia’s best Olympic result is a quarter-final spot (=5th place) for boxer Chanyalew Haile in 1972. Second in line, with 9 medals, is Liechtenstein, which has won all of its medals in alpine skiing. The tiny Alpine nation is also the only country to have only medaled in the Winter Olympics.
Frankie Fredericks has won all four of Namibia’s Olympic medals.
The rest of the nations in the list have largely depended on a single athlete to win their medals. For example, Namibian sprinter Frankie Fredericks won four silver medals in the 1990s.
If we expand our view slightly, we could look at the percentage of medals won by a nation in a single sport. Ignoring the 41 nations already mentioned, we get two more track and field giants at the top. Sprint island Jamaica has only ever won a single medal outside athletics, by David Weller in track cycling. Kenya, a long distance running nation like Ethiopia, has won seven medals in boxing.
One of Kenya’s first long distance stars was Kipchoge Keino.
The only nations that have won more than 100 medals which owe more than a third of their medals to a single sport are Australia, which has earned 37.6% of their medals in the swimming pool, and Austria, which collected 114 medals (35.2%) in alpine skiing.
From 1928 through 1992, a gymnast was always among the top 3 athletes with the most medals at the Olympics. On 10 of those 15 occassions, the gymnast was ranked first. Since then, only one gymnast has reached the top 3, Zou Kai in 2008.
One might argue that this is due increased competition from athletes in other sports (which may be the case), but the number medals gymnasts are winning is also decreasing. At the last three Olympic Games, the top gymnast earned a total of three medals, while the average between 1928 and 2000 was between five and six medals.
Below are the highest ranking gymnasts at each Olympics since 1924, when individual apparatus events were introduced.
Why is this happening? We suspect that the reason is the increasing degree of specialization for the individual apparatus events. Of the six male gold medallists in London 2012, two (Arthur Zanetti-Rings and Krisztián Berki-Pommelled Horse) only competed in their specialism. None of the other four athletes competed in the individual all-around, with only Zou Kai reaching a second apparatus final – in which he won a bronze medal, too. Things were a bit different among women, though, as Aly Raisman, Aliya Mustafina and Sandra Izbașa reached one additional final (Raisman and Mustafina winning bronze).
If we expand our view a bit, specialization does appear to be a trend. At each Olympics, there are ten apparatus events (six for men, four for women), with at least three medals awarded in each event (in case of ties, more than three athletes per event may receive medals). If we look at the number of gymnasts dividing those medal, that number gradually increasing. For decades, around 11 gymnasts divided the men’s medals, while for the last three Games that number is 16. The lowest number came in 1980, when only eight men divided the medals, with Aleksandr Dityatin taking a medal on each apparatus. Among women the number of distinct medallists has increased from 7 to 10, as shown in the chart below.
Not just the apparatus gymnasts are specialists – the all-around gymnasts are also becoming specialists. From 1924 through 1992, the men’s winner of the individual all-around always won at least one additional gold medal on an apparatus. Since then, the all-around winner “merely” added a single silver medal, save for Aleksey Nemov in 2000. In the women’s field the all-around winner had already been less successful historically, but 2012 marked the first time the winner (Gabby Douglas) did not win any apparatus medal at all. These trends are visible in the below charts.
With the Gay Games starting next week, and five-time Olympic Champion Ian Thorpe coming out in an interview, we were curious how many LGBT Olympians there are. While about 2-3% of people identify themselves as homosexual (per this study), Olympic athletes who have are publicly declared this – either before or after their Olympic career – are much rarer than that.
With over 10,000 athletes competing at the Summer Olympics every four years, one could expect around 250 athletes to be lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT), assuming the figures of the general population also hold for Olympic athletes. However, at this point we have only identified 170 LGBT Olympians in total competing since 1896.
Approach
Of course, we are quite certain this number is wrong. Unlike, for example, birth dates or an athlete’s height, sexual preferences are not recorded for any of the competitors. That means that for our figures, we are dependent on athletes publicly “coming out” about their sexuality. And of course, many LGBT athletes will not come out in public, for various good reasons. First of all, disclosing information about your personal life is something many people avoid, homosexual or not. Furthermore, many athletes compete as youngsters, who may still be discovering their sexuality, or may focus on their sport as they train to achieve their Olympic goals.
On a darker note, many LGBT athletes may decide to keep their sexual orientation a secret. In many countries, homosexuality is still taboo – or even considered a criminal offense. Even if it has been accepted by the general public, the athlete in question may not feel comfortable coming out to their families or friends. And, finally, the sports world does have a reputation for being “anti-gay”. Especially in male-dominated sports, competitors may be afraid for homophobia or awkward situations in the locker room. Fortunately, this is slowly changing, as evidenced by coming-outs in male sports like basketball, rugby and football (both kinds).
So, how did we compose our list? We’ve used two main sources for this:
The athlete needs to have actually competed in the Olympics (excluding alternates, non-starters and Paralympians)
Given the sensitivity of the topic, there needs to be clear evidence the athlete was LGBT, such as an interview with the athlete, a known partner, etc.
A number of athletes from the above sources have been excluded for not meeting one of the two inclusion criteria, notably several athletes who were often rumored to be gay without any form of confirmation. Of course, we have almost certainly made errors here (either by including or excluding people), and we apologize upfront for those.
The first known LGBT Olympian, who competed in the 1928 Olympics, was German track athlete Otto Peltzer, later convicted for homosexual acts on several occasions. Since then, the numbers have gradually risen, with 47 known LGBT competitors at the Sydney 2000 Olympics as the highest number to date. Do note that the numbers for more recent Olympics are most likely to rise, as many athletes – like Thorpe – still come out after their competitive career.
Number of LGBT Summer Olympians
The rise in LGBT participation started in the 1980s, which coincides with the organization of the first Gay Games. Initiated by Olympic decathlete Tom Waddell, the Gay Games were founded as the Gay Olympic Games, but the USOC, in protection of the “Olympic” trademark, forced Waddell to change the name shortly before the first edition in 1982, held in San Francisco. The 9th edition is due to open on August 9, in Cleveland, with an estimated 10,000 athletes competing. Waddell, who himself won a gold medal at the 1986 Gay Games, sadly died of AIDS in 1987.
The first LGBT Winter Olympian was U.S. figure skater Ronnie Robertson, known for his relationship with actor Tab Hunter. Like at the Summer Olympics, the number has steadily risen, with a peak of 14 in 2006 and 2010.
Number of LGBT Winter Olympians
One finding worth noting is that almost two thirds of the known LGBT Olympians are women (110 out of 170), which is remarkable given the fact that more men than women compete in the Olympics (certainly historically speaking). We do not know why this is. Homosexuality might be more accepted among women (or women athletes) then among men. Or maybe the stereotypical, more masculine, lesbian woman is more likely to to be drawn to sports than the stereotypical more feminine gay man? Or perhaps our sources were more likely to include lesbian athletes?
So, which sports have drawn the most LGBT athletes? Perhaps surprisingly, this is football (that’s soccer to you Americans) with 23 – of which only two men. Two major participant sports, athletics and swimming both have 14 LGBT athletes, while figure skating (perhaps not a surprise) is the most popular winter sport with 13.
It may not be a shock to anybody that virtually all of the LGBT competitors come from Western Europe, North America or Oceania. With 41, the US has the most known LGBT competitors, which is in line with the fact that the United States have by far the largest collection of Olympians within its borders (9000+). Canada has 19, followed by Germany and Netherlands (both 16). Outside of the earlier mentioned zones, there are three Brazilians, one Dominican, one Israeli, a Puerto Rican, five South Africans and a Tongan.
Olympic Successes
Out of the 170 LGBT athletes, 43 have won one or more gold medals. Most successful is the earlier mentioned Ian Thorpe, who claimed five golds, three silvers and a bronze. He is followed by Dutch speed skater Ireen Wüst, who has almost the same tally, but with 4 golds. Famed US diver Greg Louganis also earned four golds, as did Canadian hockey player Jayna Hefford. In total, 93 of the 170 athletes on our list have medaled at least once.
A small group of athletes deserves special mention here. These are athletes that were either born with both male and female characteristics (intersexual) or who chose to change their gender through surgery (transgender).
High jumper Dora Ratjen, an intersexual, was (incorrectly) exposed as a man and stripped of her titles. Contemporary sprinter Stanisława Walasiewicz was shot by muggers, revealing her intersexual characteristics decades after her athletic successes. She had coached fellow Polish sprinter Ewa Kłobukowska, who in 1966 failed the then new “sex test”. These tests were always controversial (later editions of the test would have accepted Kłobukowska, for example), and were eventually abolished. This paved the way for Brazilian judoka Edinanci da Silva to compete in women’s judo at four consecutive Olympics.
Sydney 2000 participant Yvonne Buschbaum is the only transgender Olympian known thusfar. After her participation, the pole vaulter underwent surgery, and is now known as Balian Buschbaum.
The full list
Below is a year-by-year list of competitors, starting in 1928 and ending in 2014. As noted before, we do apologize for any incorrect information in this table – please leave a comment if you have a correction. We have tried to be very careful to be certain the athletes are out, as we do not wish to cause any problems for athletes related to their sexuality, and fully respect their privacy.
[table]
Athlete,Gender,NOC,Sport,Year,Season,Gold,Silver,Bronze
Otto Peltzer,M,GER,ATH,1928,S,,,
Otto Peltzer,M,GER,ATH,1932,S,,,
Stanisława Walasiewicz,F,POL,ATH,1932,S,1,,
Dora Ratjen,F,GER,ATH,1936,S,,,
Stanisława Walasiewicz,F,POL,ATH,1936,S,,1,
Ernst Van Heerden,M,RSA,ART,1948,S,,1,
Kin Hoitsma,M,USA,FEN,1956,S,,,
Susan Gray,F,USA,SWI,1956,S,,,
Ronnie Robertson,M,USA,FSK,1956,W,,1,
Norman Elder,M,CAN,EQU,1960,S,,,
Ewa Kłobukowska,F,POL,ATH,1964,S,1,,1
Marion Lay,F,CAN,SWI,1964,S,,,
Ondrej Nepela,M,TCH,FSK,1964,W,,,
Tom Waddell,M,USA,ATH,1968,S,,,
Norman Elder,M,CAN,EQU,1968,S,,,
Karin Janz,F,GDR,GYM,1968,S,,1,1
Marion Lay,F,CAN,SWI,1968,S,,,1
Ondrej Nepela,M,TCH,FSK,1968,W,,,
Scott Cranham,M,CAN,DIV,1972,S,,,
Karin Janz,F,GDR,GYM,1972,S,2,2,1
Peter Prijdekker,M,NED,SWI,1972,S,,,
Mark Chatfield,M,USA,SWI,1972,S,,,
Toller Cranston,M,CAN,FSK,1972,W,,,
John Curry,M,GBR,FSK,1972,W,,,
Ondrej Nepela,M,TCH,FSK,1972,W,1,,
Gail Marquis,F,USA,BAS,1976,S,,1,
Scott Cranham,M,CAN,DIV,1976,S,,,
Greg Louganis,M,USA,DIV,1976,S,,1,
Olivier Rouyer,M,FRA,FTB,1976,S,,,
Betty Baxter,F,CAN,VOL,1976,S,,,
Toller Cranston,M,CAN,FSK,1976,W,,,1
John Curry,M,GBR,FSK,1976,W,1,,
Randy Gardner,M,USA,FSK,1976,W,,,
Brian Pockar,M,CAN,FSK,1980,W,,,
Sabine Braun,F,FRG,ATH,1984,S,,,
Beate Peters,F,FRG,ATH,1984,S,,,
Greg Louganis,M,USA,DIV,1984,S,2,,
Robert Dover,M,USA,EQU,1984,S,,,
Holly Metcalf,F,USA,ROW,1984,S,1,,
Bruce Hayes,M,USA,SWI,1984,S,1,,
Rob McCall,M,CAN,FSK,1984,W,,,
Brian Orser,M,CAN,FSK,1984,W,,1,
Brian Boitano,M,USA,FSK,1984,W,,,
Edel Therese Høiseth,F,NOR,SSK,1984,W,,,
Brian Marshall,M,CAN,ATH,1988,S,,,
Sabine Braun,F,FRG,ATH,1988,S,,,
Beate Peters,F,FRG,ATH,1988,S,,,
Petra Rossner,F,GDR,CYC,1988,S,,,
Craig Rogerson,M,AUS,DIV,1988,S,,,
Patrick Jeffrey,M,USA,DIV,1988,S,,,
Greg Louganis,M,USA,DIV,1988,S,2,,
Robert Dover,M,USA,EQU,1988,S,,,
Sherry Cassuto,F,USA,ROW,1988,S,,,
Mark Tewksbury,M,CAN,SWI,1988,S,,1,
Dan Veatch,M,USA,SWI,1988,S,,,
Tine Scheuer-Larsen,F,DEN,TEN,1988,S,,,
Rob McCall,M,CAN,FSK,1988,W,,,1
Brian Orser,M,CAN,FSK,1988,W,,1,
Brian Boitano,M,USA,FSK,1988,W,1,,
Edel Therese Høiseth,F,NOR,SSK,1988,W,,,
Sabine Braun,F,GER,ATH,1992,S,,,1
Mark Leduc,M,CAN,BOX,1992,S,,1,
Petra Rossner,F,GER,CYC,1992,S,1,,
Craig Rogerson,M,AUS,DIV,1992,S,,,
Carl Hester,M,GBR,EQU,1992,S,,,
Blyth Tait,M,NZL,EQU,1992,S,,1,1
Robert Dover,M,USA,EQU,1992,S,,,1
Alyson Annan,F,AUS,HOK,1992,S,,,
Carole Thate,F,NED,HOK,1992,S,,,
Irene de Kok,F,NED,JUD,1992,S,,,1
Mark Tewksbury,M,CAN,SWI,1992,S,1,,1
Conchita Martínez,F,ESP,TEN,1992,S,,1,
Gigi Fernandez,F,USA,TEN,1992,S,1,,
Joan Guetschow,F,USA,BIA,1992,W,,,
Edel Therese Høiseth,F,NOR,SSK,1992,W,,,
Geert Blanchart,M,BEL,STK,1992,W,,,
Joan Guetschow,F,USA,BIA,1994,W,,,
Brian Boitano,M,USA,FSK,1994,W,,,
Edel Therese Høiseth,F,NOR,SSK,1994,W,,,
Chris Witty,F,USA,SSK,1994,W,,,
Geert Blanchart,M,BEL,STK,1994,W,,,
Lisa-Marie Vizaniari,F,AUS,ATH,1996,S,,,
Sabine Braun,F,GER,ATH,1996,S,,,
Kajsa Bergqvist,F,SWE,ATH,1996,S,,,
Sheryl Swoopes,F,USA,BAS,1996,S,1,,
Natalie Cook,F,AUS,BVO,1996,S,,,1
Michelle Ferris,F,AUS,CYC,1996,S,,1,
Graeme Obree,M,GBR,CYC,1996,S,,,
Judith Arndt,F,GER,CYC,1996,S,,,1
Patrick Jeffrey,M,USA,DIV,1996,S,,,
David Pichler,M,USA,DIV,1996,S,,,
Blyth Tait,M,NZL,EQU,1996,S,1,,1
Robert Dover,M,USA,EQU,1996,S,,,1
Guenter Seidel,M,USA,EQU,1996,S,,,1
Linda Medalen,F,NOR,FTB,1996,S,,,1
Bente Nordby,F,NOR,FTB,1996,S,,,1
Pia Sundhage,F,SWE,FTB,1996,S,,,
Lena Videkull,F,SWE,FTB,1996,S,,,
Kris Burley,M,CAN,GYM,1996,S,,,
Camilla Andersen,F,DEN,HAN,1996,S,1,,
Alyson Annan,F,AUS,HOK,1996,S,1,,
Carole Thate,F,NED,HOK,1996,S,,,1
Edinanci da Silva,F,BRA,JUD,1996,S,,,
Daniel Kowalski,M,AUS,SWI,1996,S,,1,2
Rennae Stubbs,F,AUS,TEN,1996,S,,,
Conchita Martínez,F,ESP,TEN,1996,S,,,1
Gigi Fernandez,F,USA,TEN,1996,S,1,,
Nancy Drolet,F,CAN,ICH,1998,W,,1,
Jayna Hefford,F,CAN,ICH,1998,W,,1,
Erika Holst,F,SWE,ICH,1998,W,,,
Ylva Lindberg,F,SWE,ICH,1998,W,,,
Stine Brun Kjeldaas,F,NOR,SNB,1998,W,,1,
Marieke Wijsman,F,NED,SSK,1998,W,,,
Edel Therese Høiseth,F,NOR,SSK,1998,W,,,
Chris Witty,F,USA,SSK,1998,W,,1,1
Lisa-Marie Vizaniari,F,AUS,ATH,2000,S,,,
Sabine Braun,F,GER,ATH,2000,S,,,
Yvonne Buschbaum,F,GER,ATH,2000,S,,,
Kajsa Bergqvist,F,SWE,ATH,2000,S,,,1
Peter Häggström,M,SWE,ATH,2000,S,,,
Sheryl Swoopes,F,USA,BAS,2000,S,1,,
Orlando Cruz,M,PUR,BOX,2000,S,,,
Natalie Cook,F,AUS,BVO,2000,S,1,,
Michelle Ferris,F,AUS,CYC,2000,S,,1,
Judith Arndt,F,GER,CYC,2000,S,,,
Petra Rossner,F,GER,CYC,2000,S,,,
Ina-Yoko Teutenberg,F,GER,CYC,2000,S,,,
Chris Witty,F,USA,CYC,2000,S,,,
Mathew Helm,M,AUS,DIV,2000,S,,,
David Pichler,M,USA,DIV,2000,S,,,
Carl Hester,M,GBR,EQU,2000,S,,,
Arjen Teeuwissen,M,NED,EQU,2000,S,,1,
Blyth Tait,M,NZL,EQU,2000,S,,,
Paul O’Brien,M,NZL,EQU,2000,S,,,
Robert Dover,M,USA,EQU,2000,S,,,1
Guenter Seidel,M,USA,EQU,2000,S,,,1
Robert Costello,M,USA,EQU,2000,S,,,
Imke Duplitzer,F,GER,FEN,2000,S,,,
Inka Grings,F,GER,FTB,2000,S,,,1
Steffi Jones,F,GER,FTB,2000,S,,,1
Bente Nordby,F,NOR,FTB,2000,S,1,,
Victoria Svensson,F,SWE,FTB,2000,S,,,
Camilla Andersen,F,DEN,HAN,2000,S,1,,
Lotte Kiærskou,F,DEN,HAN,2000,S,1,,
Mia Hundvin,F,NOR,HAN,2000,S,,,1
Alyson Annan,F,AUS,HOK,2000,S,1,,
Helen Richardson,F,GBR,HOK,2000,S,,,
Kate Walsh,F,GBR,HOK,2000,S,,,
Carole Thate,F,NED,HOK,2000,S,,,1
Marilyn Agliotti,F,RSA,HOK,2000,S,,,
Edinanci da Silva,F,BRA,JUD,2000,S,,,
Lauren Meece,F,USA,JUD,2000,S,,,
Daniel Kowalski,M,AUS,SWI,2000,S,1,,
Ian Thorpe,M,AUS,SWI,2000,S,3,2,
Francilla Agar,F,DMA,SWI,2000,S,,,
Johan Kenkhuis,M,NED,SWI,2000,S,,,1
Rennae Stubbs,F,AUS,TEN,2000,S,,,
Conchita Martínez,F,ESP,TEN,2000,S,,,
Amélie Mauresmo,F,FRA,TEN,2000,S,,,
Eleni Daniilidou,F,GRE,TEN,2000,S,,,
Ji Wallace,M,AUS,TMP,2000,S,,1,
Stacy Sykora,F,USA,VOL,2000,S,,,
Anja Pärson,F,SWE,ASK,2002,W,,1,1
Vibeke Skofterud,F,NOR,CCS,2002,W,,,
Jayna Hefford,F,CAN,ICH,2002,W,1,,
Erika Holst,F,SWE,ICH,2002,W,,,1
Ylva Lindberg,F,SWE,ICH,2002,W,,,1
Stine Brun Kjeldaas,F,NOR,SNB,2002,W,,,
Marieke Wijsman,F,NED,SSK,2002,W,,,
Chris Witty,F,USA,SSK,2002,W,1,,
Rob Newton,M,GBR,ATH,2004,S,,,
Sheryl Swoopes,F,USA,BAS,2004,S,1,,
Natalie Cook,F,AUS,BVO,2004,S,,,
Leigh-Ann Naidoo,F,RSA,BVO,2004,S,,,
Judith Arndt,F,GER,CYC,2004,S,,1,
Mathew Helm,M,AUS,DIV,2004,S,,1,1
Carl Hester,M,GBR,EQU,2004,S,,,
Blyth Tait,M,NZL,EQU,2004,S,,,
Robert Dover,M,USA,EQU,2004,S,,,1
Guenter Seidel,M,USA,EQU,2004,S,,,1
Darren Chiacchia,M,USA,EQU,2004,S,,,1
Imke Duplitzer,F,GER,FEN,2004,S,,1,
Sarah Walsh,F,AUS,FTB,2004,S,,,
Steffi Jones,F,GER,FTB,2004,S,,,1
Victoria Svensson,F,SWE,FTB,2004,S,,,
Abby Wambach,F,USA,FTB,2004,S,1,,
Angela Hucles,F,USA,FTB,2004,S,1,,
Lotte Kiærskou,F,DEN,HAN,2004,S,1,,
Rikke Skov,F,DEN,HAN,2004,S,1,,
Chantal de Bruijn,F,NED,HOK,2004,S,,1,
Edinanci da Silva,F,BRA,JUD,2004,S,,,
Ian Thorpe,M,AUS,SWI,2004,S,2,1,1
Dominik Koll,M,AUT,SWI,2004,S,,,
Johan Kenkhuis,M,NED,SWI,2004,S,,1,
Rennae Stubbs,F,AUS,TEN,2004,S,,,
Conchita Martínez,F,ESP,TEN,2004,S,,1,
Amélie Mauresmo,F,FRA,TEN,2004,S,,1,
Eleni Daniilidou,F,GRE,TEN,2004,S,,,
Lisa Raymond,F,USA,TEN,2004,S,,,
Martina Navratilova,F,USA,TEN,2004,S,,,
Stacy Sykora,F,USA,VOL,2004,S,,,
Anja Pärson,F,SWE,ASK,2006,W,1,,2
Jeff Buttle,M,CAN,FSK,2006,W,,,1
Johnny Weir,M,USA,FSK,2006,W,,,
Matt Savoie,M,USA,FSK,2006,W,,,
Ryan O’Meara,M,USA,FSK,2006,W,,,
Jayna Hefford,F,CAN,ICH,2006,W,1,,
Charlie Labonté,F,CAN,ICH,2006,W,1,,
Erika Holst,F,SWE,ICH,2006,W,,1,
Ylva Lindberg,F,SWE,ICH,2006,W,,1,
Kathleen Kauth,F,USA,ICH,2006,W,,,1
Caitlin Cahow,F,USA,ICH,2006,W,,,1
Cheryl Maas,F,NED,SNB,2006,W,,,
Ireen Wüst,F,NED,SSK,2006,W,1,,1
Chris Witty,F,USA,SSK,2006,W,,,
Seimone Augustus,F,USA,BAS,2008,S,1,,
Natalie Cook,F,AUS,BVO,2008,S,,,
Larissa,F,BRA,BVO,2008,S,,,
Judith Arndt,F,GER,CYC,2008,S,,,
Mathew Helm,M,AUS,DIV,2008,S,,,
Matt Mitcham,M,AUS,DIV,2008,S,1,,
Tom Daley,M,GBR,DIV,2008,S,,,
Hans Peter Minderhoud,M,NED,EQU,2008,S,,1,
Imke Duplitzer,F,GER,FEN,2008,S,,,
Nadine Angerer,F,GER,FTB,2008,S,,,1
Linda Bresonik,F,GER,FTB,2008,S,,,1
Isabell Herlovsen,F,NOR,FTB,2008,S,,,
Victoria Svensson,F,SWE,FTB,2008,S,,,
Hedvig Lindahl,F,SWE,FTB,2008,S,,,
Caroline Seger,F,SWE,FTB,2008,S,,,
Nilla Fischer,F,SWE,FTB,2008,S,,,
Jessica Landström,F,SWE,FTB,2008,S,,,
Robbie Rogers,M,USA,FTB,2008,S,,,
Angela Hucles,F,USA,FTB,2008,S,1,,
Tasha Kai,F,USA,FTB,2008,S,1,,
Alexandra Lacrabère,F,FRA,HAN,2008,S,,,
Nina Wörz,F,GER,HAN,2008,S,,,
Katja Nyberg,F,NOR,HAN,2008,S,1,,
Gro Hammerseng,F,NOR,HAN,2008,S,1,,
Helen Richardson,F,GBR,HOK,2008,S,,,
Kate Walsh,F,GBR,HOK,2008,S,,,
Beth Storry,F,GBR,HOK,2008,S,,,
Marilyn Agliotti,F,NED,HOK,2008,S,1,,
Maartje Paumen,F,NED,HOK,2008,S,1,,
Edinanci da Silva,F,BRA,JUD,2008,S,,,
Vicky Galindo,F,USA,SOF,2008,S,,1,
Lauren Lappin,F,USA,SOF,2008,S,,1,
Dominik Koll,M,AUT,SWI,2008,S,,,
Rennae Stubbs,F,AUS,TEN,2008,S,,,
Casey Dellacqua,F,AUS,TEN,2008,S,,,
Eleni Daniilidou,F,GRE,TEN,2008,S,,,
Tzipora Obziler,F,ISR,TEN,2008,S,,,
Jess Harrison,F,FRA,TRI,2008,S,,,
Carole Péon,F,FRA,TRI,2008,S,,,
Stacy Sykora,F,USA,VOL,2008,S,,1,
Anja Pärson,F,SWE,ASK,2010,W,,,1
Vibeke Skofterud,F,NOR,CCS,2010,W,1,,
Barbara Jezeršek,F,SLO,CCS,2010,W,,,
Johnny Weir,M,USA,FSK,2010,W,,,
Jayna Hefford,F,CAN,ICH,2010,W,1,,
Sarah Vaillancourt,F,CAN,ICH,2010,W,1,,
Charlie Labonté,F,CAN,ICH,2010,W,1,,
Erika Holst,F,SWE,ICH,2010,W,,,
Caitlin Cahow,F,USA,ICH,2010,W,,1,
Callan Chythlook-Sifsof,F,USA,SNB,2010,W,,,
Anastasia Bucsis,F,CAN,SSK,2010,W,,,
Ireen Wüst,F,NED,SSK,2010,W,1,,
Sanne van Kerkhof,F,NED,STK,2010,W,,,
Blake Skjellerup,M,NZL,STK,2010,W,,,
Karen Hultzer,F,RSA,ARC,2012,S,,,
Nadine Müller,F,GER,ATH,2012,S,,,
Seimone Augustus,F,USA,BAS,2012,S,1,,
Nicola Adams,F,GBR,BOX,2012,S,1,,
Natalie Cook,F,AUS,BVO,2012,S,,,
Larissa,F,BRA,BVO,2012,S,,,1
Judith Arndt,F,GER,CYC,2012,S,,1,
Ina-Yoko Teutenberg,F,GER,CYC,2012,S,,,
Matt Mitcham,M,AUS,DIV,2012,S,,,
Tom Daley,M,GBR,DIV,2012,S,,,1
Carl Hester,M,GBR,EQU,2012,S,1,,
Edward Gal,M,NED,EQU,2012,S,,,1
Imke Duplitzer,F,GER,FEN,2012,S,,,
Casey Stoney,F,GBR,FTB,2012,S,,,
Portia Modise,F,RSA,FTB,2012,S,,,
Hedvig Lindahl,F,SWE,FTB,2012,S,,,
Caroline Seger,F,SWE,FTB,2012,S,,,
Nilla Fischer,F,SWE,FTB,2012,S,,,
Abby Wambach,F,USA,FTB,2012,S,1,,
Megan Rapinoe,F,USA,FTB,2012,S,1,,
Mayssa Pessoa,F,BRA,HAN,2012,S,,,
Rikke Skov,F,DEN,HAN,2012,S,,,
Alexandra Lacrabère,F,FRA,HAN,2012,S,,,
Helen Richardson,F,GBR,HOK,2012,S,,,1
Kate Walsh,F,GBR,HOK,2012,S,,,1
Beth Storry,F,GBR,HOK,2012,S,,,1
Marilyn Agliotti,F,NED,HOK,2012,S,1,,
Maartje Paumen,F,NED,HOK,2012,S,1,,
Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel,F,NED,HOK,2012,S,1,,
Kim Lammers,F,NED,HOK,2012,S,1,,
Ari-Pekka Liukkonen,M,FIN,SWI,2012,S,,,
Amini Fonua,M,TGA,SWI,2012,S,,,
Casey Dellacqua,F,AUS,TEN,2012,S,,,
Lisa Raymond,F,USA,TEN,2012,S,,,1
Jess Harrison,F,FRA,TRI,2012,S,,,
Carole Péon,F,FRA,TRI,2012,S,,,
Barbara Jezeršek,F,SLO,CCS,2014,W,,,
Jayna Hefford,F,CAN,ICH,2014,W,1,,
Sarah Vaillancourt,F,CAN,ICH,2014,W,1,,
Charlie Labonté,F,CAN,ICH,2014,W,1,,
John Fennell,M,CAN,LUG,2014,W,,,
Daniela Iraschko-Stolz,F,AUT,SKJ,2014,W,,1,
Belle Brockhoff,F,AUS,SNB,2014,W,,,
Cheryl Maas,F,NED,SNB,2014,W,,,
Anastasia Bucsis,F,CAN,SSK,2014,W,,,
Ireen Wüst,F,NED,SSK,2014,W,2,3,
Sanne van Kerkhof,F,NED,STK,2014,W,,,
[/table]
At the Summer Olympics, the IOC requires representatives from every continent in each sport. Even in team sports, where only between 8 and 16 teams can take part, there’s always a team from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America represented – although in some cases the two Americas are considered a single continent (this depends on the federation that governs the sport). At the Winter Olympics though, having all six continents compete in the same competition is quite rare.
This is not very surprising. After all, winter sports are originally – and still mostly – a thing for the rich and white, preferably from nations that have snow. This was adequately reflected by the list of participants in the inaugural Winter Olympics: North America and Europe were the only continents represented. South America (Argentina) and Asia (Japan) joined the Winter Olympics in 1928. Oceania became the fifth continent in 1936 (Australia) and South Africa was the first African nation in 1960.
The first time competitors from all six continents lined up at the start for the same Winter Olympic event was in 1968. In the men’s giant slalom, 101 skiers from 33 nations took part, including 4 Moroccans providing the “rare” African Winter Olympians. The slalom, held some days later, also saw all continents represented.
Since 1968, there have regularly been alpine skiing events with all six continents represented: in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010. With the exception of 1992, all of them were men’s events. In Albertville, the women also had three events with all continents, Oceania being the least represented continent (through Australia’s Zali Steggall).
The Albertville Games also marked the first time when a different sport than alpine skiing had the honor of six continents at the start. In two men’s cross country skiing events (the 10 km and the pursuit), this also happened. In Vancouver, the men’s 15 km was similarly universal.
In Sochi the list of sports with universal representation will not expand. Most likely, there will be some alpine skiing and cross country skiing events in which all six continents are represented (event start lists are not yet available, so we cannot be certain yet). It is not strange that this only happens for those two sports: they are the only winter sports for which any country can qualify a competitor (although they’re subject to some qualifying demands). It’s possible that in the future figure skating may join the list of competitors. South America is represented in that sport for the first time since 1908, and South Africa (previously already represented) did competed in the 2012 Worlds.
