The IOC has tweeted this morning about twins that have competed at the Olympics (although they added an Olympic and non-Olympic twin in Gracie Gold and her sister, Carly). This can be found at http://hub.olympic.org/share/news/78

They listed 13 “Olympic” twins. Sorry, but we can do a bit better. Here is the list of the 200 known twins that have competed at the Olympics, broken up by type of twin and then alphabetically by nation.

Fraternal Twin Brothers

• Jesús Centeno (ESP / MOP)

Leopoldo Centeno (ESP / MOP)

• Phil Mahre (USA / ASK)

Steve Mahre (USA / ASK)

The Mahre Twins
Fraternal Twin Siblings (sister listed first)

• Carolina Birkner (ARG / ASK)

Ignacio Birkner (ARG / ASK)

• Antonia Becherer (FRG / FSK)

Ferdinand Becherer (FRG / FSK)

• Karin Künzle (SUI / FSK)

Christian Künzle (SUI / FSK)

• Anita Zarnowiecki (SWE / SWI)

Bernt Zarnowiecki (SWE / SWI)

 

Fraternal Twin Sisters

• Katrine Lunde Haraldsen (NOR / HAN)

Kristine Lunde-Borgersen (NOR / HAN)

• Vida Ryan (RSA / HOK)

Vidette Ryan (RSA / HOK)

 

Identical Twin Brothers

• Alberto Sabbione (ARG / HOK)

Jorge Sabbione (ARG / HOK)

• Remo Sansonetti (AUS / CYC)

Sal Sansonetti (AUS / CYC)

• Geoff Stewart (AUS / ROW)

James Stewart (AUS / ROW)

• John Anderson (AUS / SAI)

Tom Anderson (AUS / SAI)

• Jules Crickx (BEL / ROW)

Julien Crickx (BEL / ROW)

• Kevin Borlée (BEL / ATH)

Jonathan Borlée (BEL / ATH)

The Borlee Twins

• Aluísio Marsili (BRA / WAP)

Arnaldo Marsili (BRA / WAP)

• Axel Preben-Schmidt (BRA / SAI)

Erik Preben-Schmidt (BRA / SAI)

• Khristo Etropolski (BUL / FEN)

Vasil Etropolski (BUL / FEN)

• Plamen Petkov (BUL / GYM)

Rumen Petkov (BUL / GYM)

• Georgi Bratoev (BUL / VOL)

Valentin Bratoev (BUL / VOL)

• Colin Morgan (CAN / JUD)

Keith Morgan (CAN / JUD)

• Mark Evans (CAN / ROW)

Mike Evans (CAN / ROW)

• Robert Hay (CAN / ROW)

Strathy Hay (CAN / ROW)

• Marcel Tremblay (CAN / SSK)

Robert Tremblay (CAN / SSK)

• Matt Hindle (CAN / BOB)

Ben Hindle (CAN / BOB)

• Ricardo Roach (CHI / ATH)

Rodrigo Roach (CHI / ATH)

• Yerko Araya (CHI / ATH)

Edward Araya (CHI / ATH)

• Li Dashuang (CHN / GYM)

Li Xiaoshuang (CHN / GYM)

• Neven Žugaj (CRO / WRE)

Nenad Žugaj (CRO / WRE)

• Petr Štercl (CZE / CAN)

Pavel Štercl (CZE / CAN)

• Jan Vetešník (CZE / ROW)

Ondřej Vetešník (CZE / ROW)

• Kaj Frederiksen (DEN / BOX)

Viggo Frederiksen (DEN / BOX)

• Håkan Nyblom (DEN / WRE)

Anders Nyblom (DEN / WRE)

• Toomas Tõniste (EST / SAI)

Tõnu Tõniste (EST / SAI)

• Sergey Pleshakov (EUN / HOK)

Vladimir Pleshakov (EUN / HOK)

• Yury Pimenov (EUN / ROW)

Nikolay Pimenov (EUN / ROW)

• Jarmo Övermark (FIN / WRE)

Kari Övermark (FIN / WRE)

• Claude Hauet (FRA / HOK)

Jean Hauet (FRA / HOK)

• Charles Imbault (FRA / HOK)

Paul Imbault (FRA / HOK)

• Edmond Faure (FRA / WRE)

Maurice Faure (FRA / WRE)

• Pascal Barré (FRA / ATH)

Patrick Barré (FRA / ATH)

• Jacques Vernier (FRA / ATH)

Jean Vernier (FRA / ATH)

• François Rozenthal (FRA / ICH)

Maurice Rozenthal (FRA / ICH)

• Jean-Jacques Rebière (FRA / CYC)

Jean-Marc Rebière (FRA / CYC)

• Matthias Seack (FRG / CAN)

Oliver Seack (FRG / CAN)

• Michael Roth (FRG / HAN)

Ulrich Roth (FRG / HAN)

• Günter Kilian (FRG / WAP)

Horst Kilian (FRG / WAP)

• John Howard (FSM / ATH)

Jack Howard (FSM / ATH)

• Paul Ceesay (GAM / ATH)

Peter Ceesay (GAM / ATH)

• Stanley McMeekan (GBR / BAS)

Sydney McMeekan (GBR / BAS)

• Jack Wardrop (GBR / SWI)

Bert Wardrop (GBR / SWI)

• Adrian Jardine (GBR / SAI)

Stuart Jardine (GBR / SAI)

• Christopher Chavasse (GBR / ATH)

Noel Chavasse (GBR / ATH)

• Denis Murray (GBR / ATH)

Jack Murray (GBR / ATH)

• Ullrich Dießner (GDR / ROW)

Walter Dießner (GDR / ROW)

• Bernd Landvoigt (GDR / ROW)

Jörg Landvoigt (GDR / ROW)

• Jörg Freimuth (GDR / ATH)

Uwe Freimuth (GDR / ATH)

• Hans Thomson (GER / FEN)

Julius Thomson (GER / FEN)

• Erich Wied (GER / GYM)

Theo Wied (GER / GYM)

• Bengt Zikarsky (GER / SWI)

Björn Zikarsky (FRG / SWI)

• Holger Blume (GER / ATH)

Marc Blume (GER / ATH)

• Markus Dieckmann (GER / BVO)

Christoph Dieckmann (GER / BVO)

• Jochen Kühner (GER / ROW)

Martin Kühner (GER / ROW)

• Nikos Gointoulas (GRE / ROW)

Apostolos Gointoulas (GRE / ROW)

• Kwong Choi Chow (HKG / CYC)

Kwong Man Chow (HKG / CYC)

• György Szebeny (HUN / ROW)

Miklós Szebeny (HUN / ROW)

• Szabolcs Detre (HUN / SAI)

Zsolt Detre (HUN / SAI)

• András Gergely (HUN / ICH)

László Gergely (HUN / ICH)

• Albert Sutanto (INA / SWI)

Felix Sutanto (INA / SWI)

• Haukur Clausen (ISL / ATH)

Örn Clausen (ISL / ATH)

• Kraig Singleton (ISV / SWI)

Kristan Singleton (ISV / SWI)

• Francesco Giovanelli (ITA / SAI)

Guido Giovanelli (ITA / SAI)

• Giuliano Oberti (ITA / SAI)

Massimo Oberti (ITA / SAI)

• Giorgio Damilano (ITA / ATH)

Maurizio Damilano (ITA / ATH)

• Antonio Selvaggio (ITA / ATH)

Piero Selvaggio (ITA / ATH)

• Lorenzo Giacomo Bodini (ITA / SAI)

Marco Bruno Bodini (ITA / SAI)

• Mal Spence (JAM / ATH)

Mel Spence (JAM / ATH)

• Saburo Sato (JPN / SAI)

Tsutomu Sato (JPN / SAI)

• Shigeru So (JPN / ATH)

Takeshi So (JPN / ATH)

• Kenji Ogiwara (JPN / NCO)

Tsugiharu Ogiwara (JPN / NCO)

• Masaichi Kinoshita (JPN / BIA)

Shoichi Kinoshita (JPN / BIA)

• Kenichi Yumoto (JPN / WRE)

Shinichi Yumoto (JPN / WRE)

• Kipkoech Cheruiyot (KEN / ATH)

Charles Cheruiyot (KEN / ATH)

• Kšištof Lavrinovič (LTU / BAS)

Darjuš Lavrinovič (LTU / BAS)

• Darius Škarnulis (LTU / ATH)

Donatas Škarnulis (LTU / ATH)

• Mauricio de la Lama (MEX / SAI)

Víctor de la Lama (MEX / SAI)

• Babsie Podestá (MLT / WAP)

Wilfred Podestá (MLT / WAP)

• Jan Snijders (NED / JUD)

Peter Snijders (NED / JUD)

• Ben Kouwenhoven (NED / SAI)

Jan Kouwenhoven (NED / SAI)

• Erik Vollebregt (NED / SAI)

Sjoerd Vollebregt (NED / SAI)

• Tycho Muda (NED / ROW)

Vincent Muda (NED / ROW)

• Ibo Oziti (NGR / WRE)

Joe Oziti (NGR / WRE)

• Davidson Ezinwa (NGR / ATH)

Osmond Ezinwa (NGR / ATH)

• Erling Maartmann (NOR / FTB)

Rolf Maartmann (NOR / FTB)

• Grzegorz Skrzecz (POL / BOX)

Paweł Skrzecz (POL / BOX)

• Henryk Trzciński (POL / ROW)

Mariusz Trzciński (POL / ROW)

• Józef Lipień (POL / WRE)

Kazimierz Lipień (POL / WRE)

• Dionísio Castro (POR / ATH)

Domingos Castro (POR / ATH)

• Pedro Miguel Curvelo (POR / ATH)

Paulo Miguel Curvelo (POR / ATH)

• João Vieira (POR / ATH)

Sérgio Vieira (POR / ATH)

• McWilliams Arroyo (PUR / BOX)

McJoe Arroyo (PUR / BOX)

• Geza Szabo (ROU / ICH)

Iuliu Szabo (ROU / ICH)

• Dmitry Dubrovsky (RUS / NCO)

Stanislav Dubrovsky (RUS / NCO)

• Predrag Filipović (SCG / ATH)

Nenad Filipović (SRB / ATH)

• Jože Poklukar (SLO / BIA)

Matjaž Poklukar (SLO / BIA)

• Roland Stocker (SUI / ROW)

Peter Stocker (SUI / ROW)

• Mikuláš Konopka (SVK / ATH)

Miloslav Konopka (SVK / ATH)

• Pavol Hochschorner (SVK / CAN)

Peter Hochschorner (SVK / CAN)

The Hochschorners

• Eric Carlberg (SWE / FEN-MOP-SHO)

Vilhelm Carlberg (SWE / SHO)

• Arne Borg (SWE / SWI)

Åke Borg (SWE / SWI)

• Erik Söderlund (SWE / ATH)

Åke Söderlund (SWE / ATH)

• Arvid Sjöqvist (SWE / SAI)

Fritz Sjöqvist (SWE / SAI)

• Christer Abrahamsson (SWE / ICH)

Thommy Abrahamsson (SWE / ICH)

• Mattias Eriksson (SWE / ARC)

Niklas Eriksson (SWE / ARC)

• Hans Andersson-Tvilling (SWE / ICH)

Stig Andersson-Tvilling (SWE / ICH)

• Daniel Sedin (SWE / ICH)

Henrik Sedin (SWE / ICH)

• František Tikal (TCH / ICH)

Steve Tikal (AUS / ICH)

• Panus Ariyamongkol (THA / ATH)

Surapong Ariyamongkol (THA / ATH)

• Chih Chin-Long (TPE / TTN)

Chih Chin-Shui (TPE / TTN)

• Adil Atan (TUR / WRE)

İrfan Atan (TUR / WRE)

• Nihattin Koca (TUR / CCS)

Saim Koca (TUR / CCS)

• Jagdish Singh Kapoor (UGA / HOK)

Upkar Singh Kapoor (UGA / HOK)

• Valeriy Sydorenko (UKR / BOX)

Volodymyr Sydorenko (UKR / BOX)

• Anatoly Beloglazov (URS / WRE)

Sergey Beloglazov (URS / WRE)

• Boris Mayorov (URS / ICH)

Yevgeny Mayorov (URS / ICH)

• Randy Dean (USA / HAN)

Robert Dean (USA / HAN)

• Eugene Clark (USA / ROW)

Thomas Clark (USA / ROW)

• Art McKinlay (USA / ROW)

John McKinlay (USA / ROW)

• Ed Banach (USA / WRE)

Lou Banach (USA / WRE)

• Dave Hazewinkel (USA / WRE)

Jim Hazewinkel (USA / WRE)

• Dennis Koslowski (USA / WRE)

Duane Koslowski (USA / WRE)

• Jim Scherr (USA / WRE)

Bill Scherr (USA / WRE)

• Sumner White (USA / SAI)

Ed White (USA / SAI)

• Alvin Harrison (USA / ATH)

Calvin Harrison (USA / ATH)

• Morgan Hamm (USA / GYM)

Paul Hamm (USA / GYM)

The Hamm twins

• Darrin Steele (USA / BOB)

Dan Steele (USA / BOB)

• Tom Brands (USA / WRE)

Terry Brands (USA / WRE)

• Bob Bryan (USA / TEN)

Mike Bryan (USA / TEN)

• Brett Camerota (USA / NCO)

Eric Camerota (USA / NCO)

• Tyler Winklevoss (USA / ROW)

Cameron Winklevoss (USA / ROW)

• Javier Molina (USA / BOX)

Oscar Molina (MEX / BOX)

• Ross James (USA / ROW)

Grant James (USA / ROW)

• Vladimir Shayslamov (UZB / CAN)

Sergey Shayslamov (UZB / CAN)

• Zlatko Vujović (YUG / FTB)

Zoran Vujović (YUG / FTB)

• Nenad Miloš (YUG / SWI)

Predrag Miloš (YUG / SWI)

 

Identical Twin Sisters

• Etel Sánchez (ARG / SYN)

Sofía Sánchez (ARG / SYN)

• Patricia Lorenz (AUT / HOK)

Regina Lorenz (AUT / HOK)

• Paula Lewin (BER / SAI)

Peta Lewin (BER / SAI)

• Veronika Pavlovich (BLR / TTN)

Viktoriya Pavlovich (BLR / TTN)

• Nataliya Zyatikova (BLR / CCS)

Vera Zyatikova (BLR / CCS)

• Carolina Moraes (BRA / SYN)

Isabela Moraes (BRA / SYN)

• Galina Tancheva (BUL / RGY)

Vladislava Tancheva (BUL / RGY)

• Penny Vilagos (CAN / SYN)

Vicky Vilagos (CAN / SYN)

• Sharon Firth (CAN / CCS)

Shirley Firth (CAN / CCS)

• Rhoda Wurtele-Eaves (CAN / ASK)

Rhona Wurtele (CAN / ASK)

• Julie Sutton-Skinner (CAN / CUR)

Jodie Sutton (CAN / CUR)

• Huang Ting (CHN / RGY)

Huang Ying (CHN / RGY)

• Li Duihong (CHN / SHO)

Li Shuanghong (CHN / SHO)

• Shen Guoqin (CHN / SSK)

Shen Zhenshu (CHN / SSK)

• Zhang Yu (CHN / BAS)

Zhang Wei (CHN / BAS)

• Jiang Tingting (CHN / SYN)

Jiang Wenwen (CHN / SYN)

• Ana Zaninović (CRO / TKW)

Lucija Zaninović (CRO / TKW)

• Heba Abdel Gawad (EGY / SYN)

Sara Abdel Gawad (EGY / SYN)

• Isabel Checa (ESP / ATH)

Dolores Checa (ESP / ATH)

• Dorota Tlałka-Mogore (FRA / ASK)

Małgorzata Tlałka-Mogore (FRA / ASK)

• Béatrice Mouthon (FRA / TRI)

Isabelle Mouthon-Michellys (FRA / TRI)

• Ann Osgerby (GBR / SWI)

Janet Osgerby (GBR / SWI)

• Susan Tooby (GBR / ATH)

Angela Tooby (GBR / ATH)

• Anja Pyritz (GER / ROW)

Dana Pyritz (GER / ROW)

• Birgit Rockmeier (GER / ATH)

Gabi Rockmeier (GER / ATH)

• Kerstin Kowalski-El-Qalqili (GER / ROW)

Manja Kowalski (GER / ROW)

• Antoinette Gauthier (HAI / ATH)

Rose-Marie Gauthier (HAI / ATH)

• Ágnes Miskó (HUN / GYM)

Zsuzsa Miskó (HUN / GYM)

• Éva Biszku (HUN / VOL)

Zsuzsa Biszku (HUN / VOL)

• Katalin Bácsics (HUN / SAI)

Krisztina Bácsics (HUN / SAI)

• Ayman Kozhakhmetova (KAZ / ATH)

Sholpan Kozhakhmetova (KAZ / ATH)

• Helen Ritter (LIE / ATH)

Maria Ritter (LIE / ATH)

• Rasa Polikevičiūtė (LTU / CYC)

Jolanta Polikevičiūtė (LTU / CYC)

• Marianne Muis (NED / SWI)

Mildred Muis (NED / SWI)

• Melanie de Lange (NED / STK)

Maureen de Lange (NED / STK)

• Bianca van der Velden (NED / SYN)

Sonja van der Velden (NED / SYN)

• Anne Nymark Andersen (NOR / FTB)

Nina Nymark Andersen (NOR / FTB)

• Georgina Evers-Swindell (NZL / ROW)

Caroline Evers-Swindell (NZL / ROW)

The Evers-Swindell Twins

• Margaret de Jesús (PUR / ATH)

Madeline de Jesús (PUR / ATH)

• Alenka Orel (SLO / SAI)

Janja Orel (SLO / SAI)

• Stefanie Marty (SUI / ICH)

Julia Marty (SUI / ICH)

• Laura Benz (SUI / ICH)

Sara Benz (SUI / ICH)

• Lívia Allárová (SVK / SYN)

Lucia Allárová (SVK / SYN)

• Dana Velďáková (SVK / ATH)

Jana Velďáková (SVK / ATH)

• Christina Gustafsson (SWE / SHO)

Margareta Gustafsson (SWE / SHO)

• Catarina Eklund (SWE / BIA)

Christina Eklund (SWE / BIA)

• Jenny Kallur (SWE / ATH)

Susanna Kallur (SWE / ATH)

• Hsieh Shu-Ting (TPE / SWI)

Hsieh Shu-Tzu (TPE / SWI)

• Gözde Kırdar (TUR / VOL)

Özge Kırdar (TUR / VOL)

• Valj Semerenko (UKR / BIA)

Vita Semerenko (UKR / BIA)

• Tami Jameson (USA / HAN)

Toni Jameson (USA / HAN)

• Betsy McCagg (USA / ROW)

Mary McCagg (USA / ROW)

• Karen Josephson (USA / SYN)

Sarah Josephson (USA / SYN)

• Tracy Barnes (USA / BIA)

Lanny Barnes (USA / BIA)

• Jocelyne Lamoureux (USA / ICH)

Monique Lamoureux (USA / ICH)

• Sandy Chick (ZIM / HOK)

Sonia Robertson (ZIM / HOK)

So, let’s look at this list of the 200 known twins a bit more. 166 of them competed in the Summer Olympics and 34 in the Winter Olympics. There has yet to be a mixed twin set at the Olympics, i.e., one competing in the Summer and one competing in the Winter Olympics.

There have been 2 sets of fraternal twin brothers and 2 sets of fraternal twin sisters, along with 4 sets of fraternal twin siblings (sister/brother).

All the twins have competed in the same sport – only the Swedish Carlberg twin brothers (Eric / Vilhelm) come close to breaking this rule. Vilhelm competed in shooting, while Erich competed in three sports – fencing, shooting, and modern pentathlon.

Oddly, there have been four sets of twins competing for different nations. Two don’t really count because they are so politically related – Bengt and Björn Zikarsky in swimming competed for Germany, and West Germany, respectively; while Predrag and Nenad Filipović in athletics competed for Serbia & Montenegro and Serbia, respectively.

However, ice hockey players František and Zdeněk “Steve” Tikal competed for Czechoslovakia and Australia respectively, and actually played against each other once in 1960, with Czechoslovakia winning, 18-1. And there is the case of Mexican twin brothers, Javier and Oscar Molina, who boxed for the United States and Mexico, respectively, Javier competing in 2008 and Oscar in 2012.

The Women’s World Cup is underway, with the first round of games having been played on Saturday, 6 June. The two biggest tournaments for women are the World Cup and the Olympics. To date, 19 women have played on winning teams at both  tournaments, as follows:

Women’s Olympic / WC Doubles

• Mary Harvey (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1991 WC)
• Michelle Akers (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1991/1999 WC)
• Brandi Chastain (USA) (1996/2004 Olympics, 1991/1999 WC)
• Julie Foudy (USA) (1996/2004 Olympics, 1991/1999 WC)
• Mia Hamm (USA) (1996/2004 Olympics, 1991/1999 WC)
• Kristine Lilly (USA) (1996/2004 Olympics, 1991/1999 WC)
• Joy Fawcett (USA) (1996/2000/2004 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Shannon MacMillan (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Tiffeny Milbrett (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Carla Overbeck (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Cindy Parlow (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Tiffany Roberts (USA) (1996/2004 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Briana Scurry (USA) (1996/2004 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Tisha Venturini (USA) (1996 Olympics, 1999 WC)
• Bente Nordby (NOR) (1995 WC, 2000 Olympics)
• Gro Espeseth (NOR) (1995 WC, 2000 Olympics)
• Hege Riise (NOR) (1995 WC, 2000 Olympics)
• Marianne Pettersen (NOR) (1995 WC, 2000 Olympics)

OK, its pretty USA-heavy, with 14 USA players, and 4 Norwegians. That is because the US has won 4 of the 5 Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004-12), with Norway winning in 2000.

Can anybody match this in 2015? Actually, yes, and oddly there are 18 possible World Cup / Olympic doublers playing at the 2015 Women’s World Cup. This is even more USA-top  heavy with 17 of them playing for the US this year. The lone Norwegian is Solveig Gulbrandsen, who was on the 2000 Olympic champions when she was only 19-years-old. Here is the full list of the 18 players who could do it this year:

2015 Possibles

• Abby Wambach (USA) (2004/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Alex Morgan (USA) (2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Amy Rodriguez (USA) (2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Becky Sauerbrunn (USA) (2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Carli Lloyd (USA) (2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Christen Press (USA) (2012 Olympics (DNS), 2015 WC)
• Christie Rampone (USA) (2000/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Heather O’Reilly (USA) (2004/2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Hope Solo (USA) (2004 (DNS)/2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Kelley O’Hara (USA) (2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Lauren Cheney-Holiday (USA) (2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Lori Chalupny (USA) (2008 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Megan Rapinoe (USA) (2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Meghan Klingenberg (USA) (2012 Olympics (DNS), 2015 WC)
• Shannon Boxx (USA) (2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Sydney Leroux (USA) (2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Tobin Heath (USA) (2008/2012 Olympics, 2015 WC)
• Solveig Gulbrandsen (NOR) (2000 Olympics, 2015 WC)

The IOC today approved 6 new events to be held at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Korea. They are as follows:

• Alpine Skiing – mixed team event
• Curling – mixed doubles event
• Snowboarding – Big Air for men / women
• Speed Skating – mass start for men / women

In addition, snowboarding will lose two events – parallel special slalom for men and women.

This will bring the Winter Olympic Program to a total of 102 events, the first time the Winter Olympics have had more than 100 events. The following is how the Program has inflated over the years at the Olympic Winter Games. The biggest changes have occurred in 2002, with the addition of 10 events, and 2014, when 12 events were added.

[table]

Year,Men,Wom,Mix,Total,Men%,Wom%,Mix%

1908,2,1,1,4,50.0%,25.0%,25.0%

1920,2,1,1,4,50.0%,25.0%,25.0%

1924,14,1,1,16,87.5%,6.3%,6.3%

1928,12,1,1,14,85.7%,7.1%,7.1%

1932,12,1,1,14,85.7%,7.1%,7.1%

1936,14,2,1,17,82.4%,11.8%,5.9%

1948,17,4,1,22,77.3%,18.2%,4.5%

1952,16,5,1,22,72.7%,22.7%,4.5%

1956,17,6,1,24,70.8%,25.0%,4.2%

1960,16,10,1,27,59.3%,37.0%,3.7%

1964,20,12,2,34,58.8%,35.3%,5.9%

1968,21,12,2,35,60.0%,34.3%,5.7%

1972,21,12,2,35,60.0%,34.3%,5.7%

1976,22,12,3,37,59.5%,32.4%,8.1%

1980,23,12,3,38,60.5%,31.6%,7.9%

1984,23,13,3,39,59.0%,33.3%,7.7%

1988,27,16,3,46,58.7%,34.8%,6.5%

1992,31,23,3,57,54.4%,40.4%,5.3%

1994,33,25,3,61,54.1%,41.0%,4.9%

1998,36,29,3,68,52.9%,42.6%,4.4%

2002,41,34,3,78,52.6%,43.6%,3.8%

2006,44,37,3,84,52.4%,44.0%,3.6%

2010,45,38,3,86,52.3%,44.2%,3.5%

2014,49,43,6,98,50.0%,43.9%,6.1%

2018,50,44,8,102,49.0%,43.1%,7.8%

Totals,608,394,60,1062,57.3%,37.1%,5.6%

[/table]

So after 2018, there will have been 1,062 Winter Olympic events, or 1,054, if you wish to include the 1908 and 1920 figure skating and ice hockey as part of the Summer Olympics, and not include them as Winter Olympic events. So one of the 2018 Winter Olympic events will be the 1,000^th event at the Winter Olympics – can’t tell you which one until the schedule comes out, and with weather problems and re-scheduling at the Winter Games, probably not until it actually happens.

By comparison, through 2012, the Summer Olympics will have had 4,856 events (the numbers for 1900 and 1904 are always disputed), including 1906, or 4,782, if you wish to be a purist, and omit 1906, as the IOC does. (The International Society of Olympic Historians [ISOH] considers the 1906 Games as Olympic Games.)

The last time a Summer Olympics had less than 100 events was at St. Louis in 1904, with 95 events. There were 302 events at both the 2008 Beijing and the 2012 London Olympics.

This continues the IOC policy of trying to equalize the program in terms of gender equity. However, because there are more mixed events now (8 in 2018), the men’s and women’s percentages both go down slightly. However, men will be competing in 56.8% of the events on the 2018 Winter Program, and women in 50.9% of the available events, counting the mixed events.

Counting sports and disciplines, there will be no change in 2018 as no new disciplines were added. Here is the breakdown for the various sports-disciplines at the Winter Olympics. Women do not compete in Nordic combined, as the men do. The only other sport in which women have not competed is military patrol, which was on the program in 1924, and is somewhat similar to a biathlon mass start team event. Women also have only one event in bobsledding, unlike the men, who have two; and only one event in ski jumping, while the men have three.

[table]

Year,Men,Women,Mixed,Total

1908,1,1,1,1

1920,2,1,1,2

1924,9,1,1,9

1928,8,1,1,8

1932,7,1,1,7

1936,8,2,1,8

1948,9,2,1,9

1952,8,3,1,8

1956,8,3,1,8

1960,8,4,1,8

1964,10,5,2,10

1968,10,5,2,10

1972,10,5,2,10

1976,10,5,2,10

1980,10,5,2,10

1984,10,5,2,10

1988,10,5,2,10

1992,12,8,2,12

1994,12,8,2,12

1998,14,11,2,14

2002,15,13,2,15

2006,15,13,2,15

2010,15,13,2,15

2014,15,14,3,15

2018,15,14,5,15

Totals,16,14,5,16

[/table]

[table]

Full Name,Max Phillip Emmerich
Born,1 June 1879 in Indianapolis (USA)
Died,29 June 1956 in Indianapolis (USA)
Affiliations, Socialer Turnverein Indianapolis (USA)
Country ,United States
[/table]
[table]
Year-Sport,Event,Place,
1904,Athletics,All-Around, DNF
1904,Gymnastics, Individual All-Around Men , 67th
1904,Gymnastics, Individual All-Around Field Sports, Men, Gold
1904,Gymnastics, Individual All-Around Apparatus Work, 100th
[/table]

From Indianapolis, Max Emmerich competed in two sports at the 1904 Olympics. Besides the gymnastics events he entered the all-around competition in track & field. At that sport, however, his participation lasted only a few seconds; as in the first event – the 100 yard dash – he pulled up lame after only a few yards. Emmerich won the triathlon in the gymnastics program, but it was really a track & field competition. It consisted of the 100 yard dash, long jump, and shot put, and was a part of the 12 event all-around competition.

In 1909 Emmerich, a bank clerk at the Capitol National Bank in Indianapolis, suddenly disappeared. Suspicious bank officials examined his accounts and brought in the Pinkerton Detective Agency when it became apparent that fraudulent transactions had taken place. Emmerich was tracked by a Pinkerton detective to a motel in Jacksonville, Florida, from where he was about to leave for South America, arrested and returned to Indiana. Emmerich, fellow Olympian Harry Prinzler and another conspirator were each sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling $40,000. When released in 1913 he returned to accountancy.

So today FIFA saw the doggy doo-doo hit the rotary cooling instrument at the Baur au Lac Hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, when 14 people were indicted by FBI officials for purported bribery on various FIFA projects.

I think I’ve seen things like this before. And in fact, I wrote a lot about it. Attached is a PDF of the article I wrote on the 1999 Olympic Bribery Scandal for the Journal of Olympic History, which can also be found here – library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/JOH/JOHv8n2/johv8n2f.pdf

Plus ça change, plus ça meme chôse

• Olympic Bribery Scandal

The FIG (Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique) today voted to change the size of men’s and women’s gymnastics teams at the Olympics from 5 to 4, beginning at the 2020 Olympics. This is in keeping with the trend in decreasing the size of gymnastics teams at the Olympics. In general, this has occurred every few years, with rare exceptions (1932, 1996). Since 1924, when the team all-around assumed basically the modern format, here are the allowed number of gymnasts in the team event at the Olympics.

This is really getting down to a small team, and not sure what the rationale is here. There will be four gymnasts in 2020, all competing on each apparatus, with the best three scores on each apparatus to count.

[table]

year,gender,###

1924,M,8

1928,M,8

1932,M,5

1936,M,8

1948,M,8

1952,M,8

1956,M,6

1960,M,6

1964,M,6

1968,M,6

1972,M,6

1976,M,6

1980,M,6

1984,M,6

1988,M,6

1992,M,6

1996,M,7

2000,M,6

2004,M,6

2008,M,6

2012,M,5

2016,M,5

2020,M,4

,,

1928,F,10

1936,F,8

1948,F,8

1952,F,8

1956,F,6

1960,F,6

1964,F,6

1968,F,6

1972,F,6

1976,F,6

1980,F,6

1984,F,6

1988,F,6

1992,F,6

1996,F,7

2000,F,6

2004,F,6

2008,F,6

2012,F,5

2016,F,5

2020,F,4

[/table]

A hundred years ago this month British Empire and French forces embarked on what became known as the Gallipoli or Dardanelles campaign against the Ottoman Empire with the aim of capturing the capital city of Constantinople (now Istanbul). One of the bloodiest campaigns of World War One, the failure of the Allied Forces brought down the British government and left a lasting legacy particularly in Australia and New Zealand where the date on which the campaign began is now remembered as ANZAC day. Although the exact figures are disputed it’s believed that over 100,000 soldiers were killed during the campaign including approximately 60,000 Turks, 34,000 British and Irish, 10,000 French, 8000 Australians and 2500 New Zealanders as well smaller numbers from Newfoundland and India.

War cemeteries

Amongst the dead where two men who competed at the Olympic Games;
Oswald Carver was the private school educated son of a wealthy Manchester merchant. He studied at Charterhouse School and at Cambridge University where he rowed in 1908 Varsity Boat race. Later that summer Carver was a crew member of the University boat that won the bronze medal at the first London Olympics. A captain in the Royal Engineers he was wounded in the back on the 4th of June 1915 and died three days later. He left a widow and two children.

Paul Kenna was a career soldier who earned the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military honour, for bravery during the Anglo-Sudan War.
“On 2 September 1898, at the Battle of Omdurman, Sudan, when a major of the 21st Lancers was in danger, as his horse had been shot in the charge, Captain Kenna took the major up on his own horse, to a place of safety. After the charge Captain Kenna returned to help Lieutenant De Montmorency who was trying to recover the body of an officer who had been killed”
He also fought in Somalia and in the Boer War before making his Olympic appearance in 1912 in his fiftieth year. In October 1915 Brigadier-General Kenna was touring the front line when he was shot and killed by a sniper.

Paul Kenna

Chris Porter was not technically an Olympian since he was only a non-playing member of the Great Britain football team at the 1908 Olympics but it would be an oversight not to mention him here. The son of a Manchester publican played league football, as an amateur, for Stockport County and Glossop North End and was a free scoring member of the England national amateur team.
Porter served as a private with the 6th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment but was sadly killed in action during the Gallipoli Campaign in June 1915.

The events of the Gallipoli Campaign particularly resound in Australia as this was the first time Australian troops had ever suffered large losses. Although a number of prominent Australian sportsmen lost their lives during the campaign, no Australian Olympian perished in the conflict.
Claude Ross, who competed at 400m in the Stockholm Olympics, survived only to be killed later in the war whilst serving in France. Rower Keith Heritage was amongst the first to land and last to leave the peninsular but he too met his fate whilst serving on the Western Front.

Wilfred Kent-Hughes was wounded at Gallipoli but recovered to claim a place in the Australian team in the 400m hurdles. Although a Member of Parliament at time, he served as an officer in the Australian Army in WW2 and was a prisoner of war in Singapore. He was to become the chairman of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Committee.

Olympic rugby champions Sydney Middleton and Tom Richards, swimmer Frank Schryver and athlete turned actor Joseph Lynch also served in the Dardanelles.

The World Table Tennis Championships are getting underway on April 26 in Suzhou (China). World Championships in the sport were first held in 1926, but it took until 1988 for the sport to make it to the Olympics. From the first Games at Seoul, the sport has been dominated by China.

Deng Yaping, who won back-to-back singles and doubles titles in 1992-1996.

This is of course not a secret: you just have to look at the medal tables. Of the 88 Olympic medals awarded in this sport, 47 have been won by China (53%), but with 24 of the 28 gold medals (86%) going to the People’s Republic.

China’s dominance is so large that also the IOC and the ITTF (the IF for table tennis) have taken notice. In 2008, the men’s and women’s doubles events were discontinued in favor of team events. This change ensures that China can win at most one medal in those events. To date, however, China has won all four team golds awarded at the Olympics. In 2012, further regulations were introduced to limit the amount of Chinese medals. After China sweeping all six singles medals in Beijing, the athlete quotum per nation was reduced to two, ensuring at least one non-Chinese medal in each singles event. In London, the Chinese table tennis players achieved a maximum score, occupying both finals.

The vast amount of Chinese talent competing for an ever smaller chance to compete in the Olympics has driven many Chinese players abroad. Even three of the thirty-six Chinese players that did manage to represent their motherland at the Olympics have competed for another nation. Wei Qingguang, 1988 gold medalist, returned to the 2000 Games as Seiko Iseki (Japan). Another 1988 champion, Chen Jing, represented ‘the other China’, Chinese Taipei in 1996-2000, while Barcelona silver medalist Jun Gao competed under the US flag three times.

Jun Gao (previously competing for China) is playing for the US here against Xue Wu, another native Chinese who represents the Dominican Republic

However, there are just the tip of the iceberg. Of the 666 (!) Olympic table tennis competitors, there are 630 that have never represented the People’s Republic of China. However, at least 91(*) of them have been born in China. Combined with the Chinese competitors, this means that about a fifth of all table tennis Olympians are Chinese!

These 91 Chinese competitors represented 24 different nations, mostly these five:

[table]

Nation, Competitors

Hong Kong,11

Canada,10

Singapore, 9

Australia,8

United States,7

[/table]

The Singaporese table tennis team that won silver in Beijing 2008 consisted entirely of naturalized Chinese players

Hong Kong is not a surprising entry on the list, considering it is a Special Administrative Region of China, but with its own delegation at the Olympics. Singapore has a large community of ethnic Chinese, and has set up the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme to grow the pool of national athletes. Three Chinese-born women made up the team that won silver for Singapore in 2008, the city state’s greatest Olympic achievement (the country had won one earlier silver medal back in 1956). Canada, the US and Australia have of course been popular emigration destinations for Chinese, and some of the “Chinese” Olympians from these nations moved there at a young age or to marry, and not just to gain different passport and compete internationally.

(*) The actual number could be even bigger than 91. For a large number of table tennis competitors, we don’t have birth data, and this includes 11 Hong Kong players, but also some other possible Chinese, such as the Swiss player Dai-Yong Tu.

With the NCAA basketball final tonite in the United States (which Duke will quite obviously win [disclaimer – yes, I went to Duke]), this is one of the three major basketball titles that US basketballers can win. Technically, any player could win, especially that foreign players are now much more common both in the NBA and in college basketball, but historically this has been mostly limited to American players.

How many players have managed to win the Triple Crown – winning a title at the NCAA level, in the NBA, and an Olympic gold medal? Well, its only 7 players and it hasn’t happened now in quite awhile, possibly because the top players don’t stay in college as long. Here is the list:

[table]

Name,Olympics,NCAA,NBA

Clyde Lovelette,1952, Univ. of Kansas-1952,Lakers-1954/Celtics-1963-64

Bill Russell,1956,Univ. of San Francisco-1955-56,Celtics-1957/59-66/1968-69

K.C. Jones,1956,Univ. of San Francisco-1955-56,Celtics-1959-66

Jerry Lucas,1960,Ohio State Univ.-1960,Knicks-1973

Quinn Buckner,1976,Indiana Univ.-1976,Celtics-1984

Michael Jordan,1984/92,UNC-1982,Bulls-1991-93/96-98

Magic Johnson,1992,Michigan State Univ.-1979,Lakers-1980/82/85/87-88

[/table]

Of note, Clyde Lovelette won an NBA title with the Lakers when they were the Minneapolis Lakers.

Its now been 23 years since Magic and Michael Jordan were on the Dream Team in 1992 and Magic completed his Triple Crown – Michael had already done that in 1991 when he led the Chicago Bulls to the NBA title.

Evelyn Furtsch, gold medalist in the 4×100 metre relay with the United States team at the 1932 Olympics, died in her sleep in Santa Ana, California on 5 March 2015. She was 100-years-old, only a few weeks short of her 101^st birthday (17 April). In our post (by Paul Tchir) a few days ago on oldest living Olympians, Furtsch was described as the oldest living gold medalist in track & field athletics, while in fact she had passed away a few weeks before we wrote that. The news has only just reached us.

There are still six remaining Olympic centenarians (see https://olympstats.com/2015/03/23/oldest-living-olympians-part-2/). The oldest living track & field Olympian remains Simone Schaller (USA-1932/1936), born 22 August 1912, and now over 102-years-old.

The oldest living female track & field Olympic gold medalist now becomes Dana Zátopková, Czech javelin thrower who won the 1952 Olympic title, who will turn 93-years-old on 19 September of this year, and is three days older than Esther Brand, who won the high jupm that year in Helsinki. The oldest living track & field gold medalist, however, is Cliff Bourland, who won gold in the 4×400 relay at the 1948 Olympics. Bourland was born 1 January 1921, and is now over 94-years-old. We believe the oldest living female gold medalist in any sport  is Finnish cross-country skiier Lydia Wideman, who won gold in the 10 km race at the 1952 Oslo Winter Olympics, and was born on 17 May 1920.

Rest in peace to Evelyn Furtsch, a pioneer in women’s sports in the United States, and our sympathies to her family.