OK, we know that Michael Phelps has won the most Olympic medals, with 22, and the most Olympic gold medals, with 18. But what about silver and bronze medals – who has the most of the other podium medals?

For silver medals the list of all those with 5 or more is as follows:

[table]

Silvers,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

6,Aleksandr Dityatin,M,S,URS,GYM

6,Mikhail Voronin,M,S,URS,GYM

6,Shirley Babashoff,F,S,USA,SWI

5,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM

5,Nikolay Andrianov,M,S,URS,GYM

5,Edoardo Mangiarotti,M,S,ITA,FEN

5,Raisa Smetanina,F,W,EUN/URS,CCS

5,Aleksandr Popov,M,S,EUN/RUS,SWI

5,Raisa Smetanina,F,W,URS,CCS

5,Zoltán von Halmay,M,S,HUN,SWI

5,Leisel Jones,F,S,AUS,SWI

5,Anky van Grunsven,F,S,NED,EQU

5,Yury Titov,M,S,URS,GYM

5,Katalin Kovács,F,S,HUN,CAN

5,Mariya Horokhovska,F,S,URS,GYM

5,Gustavo Marzi,M,S,ITA,FEN

5,Andrea Ehrig-Schöne-Mitscherlich,F,W,GDR,SSK

5,Dagmar Hase,F,S,GER,SWI

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

5,Viktor Lisitsky,M,S,URS,GYM

[/table]

How about individual silver medals? Who has the most of those? Here are all those who have won 4 or more individual silver medals?

[table]

IndSilvers,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

5,Larysa Latynina,F,S,URS,GYM

5,Aleksandr Dityatin,M,S,URS,GYM

5,Shirley Babashoff,F,S,USA,SWI

5,Andrea Ehrig-Schöne-Mitscherlich,F,W,GDR,SSK

4,Raisa Smetanina,F,W,EUN/URS,CCS

4,Raisa Smetanina,F,W,URS,CCS

4,Zoltán von Halmay,M,S,HUN,SWI

4,Mikhail Voronin,M,S,URS,GYM

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

4,Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann-Kleemann,F,W,GER,SSK

4,Mariya Horokhovska,F,S,URS,GYM

4,Kirsty Coventry,F,S,ZIM,SWI

4,Kateřina Neumannová,F,W,CZE,CCS

4,Hryhoriy Misiutin,M,S,EUN/UKR,GYM

4,David Cal,M,S,ESP,CAN

4,Hryhoriy Misiutin,M,S,EUN,GYM

4,Frankie Fredericks,M,S,NAM,ATH

4,Ivica Kostelić,M,W,CRO,ASK

[/table]

What about those who have won silver medals but no other Olympic medal? All they won were silver medals. Somewhat surprisingly, 10 Olympians have won 4 or more silvers, but no other Olympic medals. And here they are:

[table]

Silvers,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

5,Viktor Lisitsky,M,S,URS,GYM

4,Frankie Fredericks,M,S,NAM,ATH

4,Ivica Kostelić,M,W,CRO,ASK

4,Tsuyoshi Yamanaka,M,S,JPN,SWI

4,Hilkka Riihivuori-Kuntola,F,W,FIN,CCS

4,Vincenzo Pinton,M,S,ITA,FEN

4,Ian Stark,M,S,GBR,EQU

4,Frank Wiegand,M,S,GDR/GER,SWI

4,Kara Lynn Joyce,F,S,USA,SWI

4,Renzo Nostini,M,S,ITA,FEN

[/table]

What about those athletes who only won individual silver medals – no team medals, no golds, no bronzes? We got that list too – here it is:

[table]

IndSilvers,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

4,Frankie Fredericks,M,S,NAM,ATH

4,Ivica Kostelić,M,W,CRO,ASK

3,Viktor Lisitsky,M,S,URS,GYM

3,Tsuyoshi Yamanaka,M,S,JPN,SWI

3,Raelene Boyle,F,S,AUS,ATH

3,Thor Henning,M,S,SWE,SWI

3,Peter-Michael Kolbe,M,S,FRG,ROW

3,Tim McKee,M,S,USA,SWI

3,Leah Poulos-Mueller,F,W,USA,SSK

3,Robert Pražák,M,S,TCH,GYM

3,Tan Liangde,M,S,CHN,DIV

3,Aleksandar Tomov,M,S,BUL,WRE

3,Ernie Webb,M,S,GBR,ATH

[/table]

OK, that’s it for silver medal trivia. What about bronze medals? Who has the most of them? Here is that list:

[table]

Bronzes,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

6,Aleksey Nemov,M,S,RUS,GYM

6,Franziska van Almsick,F,S,GER,SWI

6,Heikki Savolainen,M,S,FIN,GYM

6,Merlene Ottey-Page,F,S,JAM,ATH

6,Harri Kirvesniemi,M,W,FIN,CCS

5,Natalie Coughlin,F,S,USA,SWI

5,Stefania Belmondo,F,W,ITA,CCS

5,Daniel Revenu,M,S,FRA,FEN

5,Phil Edwards,M,S,CAN,ATH

5,Antje Buschschulte,F,S,GER,SWI

5,Arie de Jong,M,S,NED,FEN

[/table]

And here is the list of those winning the most individual bronze medals:

[table]

IndBronzes,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

5,Aleksey Nemov,M,S,RUS,GYM

5,Merlene Ottey-Page,F,S,JAM,ATH

4,Takashi Ono,M,S,JPN,GYM

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

4,Dmitry Sautin,M,S,EUN/RUS,DIV

4,Yelena Välbe,F,W,EUN/RUS,CCS

4,Anja Pärson,F,W,SWE,ASK

4,Roald Larsen,M,W,NOR,SSK

4,Yelena Välbe,F,W,EUN,CCS

4,William Merz,M,S,USA,GYM

4,Vitaly Shcherbo,M,S,BLR,GYM

[/table]

Finally, who has won the most bronze medals, and the most individual bronze medals, while winning no other Olympic medals? Following are those two lists:

[table]

Bronzes,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

6,Harri Kirvesniemi,M,W,FIN,CCS

5,Phil Edwards,M,S,CAN,ATH

5,Antje Buschschulte,F,S,GER,SWI

5,Arie de Jong,M,S,NED,FEN

4,Vitaly Shcherbo,M,S,BLR,GYM

4,Jetze Doorman,M,S,NED,FEN

4,Robert Dover,M,S,USA,EQU

[/table]

Now for the list of the most individual bronze medals, with no team medals, no gold medals, and no silver medals.

[table]

IndBronzes,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport

4,Yelena Välbe,F,W,EUN/RUS,CCS

3,Angel Martino,F,S,USA,SWI

3,Stan Rowley,M,S,AUS,ATH

3,George Breen,M,S,USA,SWI

4,Vitaly Shcherbo,M,S,BLR,GYM

3,Hugues Duboscq,M,S,FRA,SWI

3,Curtis Myden,M,S,CAN,SWI

3,Amarilys Savón,F,S,CUB,JUD

3,Sheng Zetian,M,S,CHN,WRE

3,Hans van Helden,M,W,NED,SSK

3,Arnold Vanderlijde,M,S,NED,BOX

3,Gabi Zange-Schönbrunn,F,W,GDR,SSK

3,Marian Zieliński,M,S,POL,WLT

[/table]

So with these lists, and probably about $4.50, you can get a nice coffee at Starbucks.

Nick Zaccardi, NBC Olympics maven, posited that if Fiji gets 50+ athletes qualified for the 2016 Olympics, that it might be the most ever for a nation with less than 1,000,000 population. I tweeted recently that it would be and that no such current nation had had more than 40 competitors at a single Olympics. Unfortunately, I did not go back far enough checking those stats, and it has happened before.

Luxembourg is the only nation with < 10⁶ population (as of 2015) that has had 40 or more competitors at a single Olympics, and they have done it several times, with a high of 52 in 1960. They also had 47 in 1928, 45 in 1948, and 44 three times – 1936, 1948, and 1952.

The first such nation to compete at the Olympics was again Luxembourg, in 1900, although this was not known for over 80 years. Michel Théato, winner of the 1900 marathon, was always considered French until French athletics historian Alain Bouillé discovered in the early 1980s that he was actually a Luxembourgeois national. In 1908 and 1912 Iceland competed, although it was a Danish territory in both those years. From 1920-28 Luxembourg and Monaco competed, along with Malta in 1928. It was not until 1936 that six such small nations competed – Bermuda, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, and Monaco. In 2012, fully 43 such small nations competed at London.

Through 2012, such small nations have competed 398 times at the Summer Olympics – we did not check Winter Olympics for this stat. This has been done in all by 43 nations, although Guyana (British Guiana), Belize (British Honduras), and Samoa (Western Samoa), competed under two different names in various years.

The following list is inclusive of all nations who have competed at the Olympics, with 10 or more competitors, both men and women, at a single Summer Olympics, and currently have a population under a million. I did not try to go back and check populations at the time of their Olympic participation – sorry, but that would be a huge effort. This also eliminates a few small nations that no longer exist as nations, notably Netherlands Antilles and Newfoundland, both of which have competed at the Olympics, but never with very many athletes.

[table]

Nation,3LA,Year,###

Luxembourg,LUX,1960,52

Luxembourg,LUX,1928,47

Luxembourg,LUX,1948,45

Luxembourg,LUX,1924,44

Luxembourg,LUX,1936,44

Luxembourg,LUX,1952,44

Montenegro,MNE,2012,33

Iceland,ISL,1988,32

Iceland,ISL,1984,30

U.S. Virgin Islands,ISV,1984,29

Iceland,ISL,1992,27

Iceland,ISL,2008,27

Iceland,ISL,2012,27

Iceland,ISL,2004,26

The Bahamas,BAH,1996,26

Iceland,ISL,1972,25

Luxembourg,LUX,1920,25

The Bahamas,BAH,2000,25

The Bahamas,BAH,2008,25

U.S. Virgin Islands,ISV,1992,25

Fiji,FIJ,1988,23

Cyprus,CYP,2000,22

Guam,GUM,1992,22

The Bahamas,BAH,1984,22

The Bahamas,BAH,2004,22

U.S. Virgin Islands,ISV,1988,22

Luxembourg,LUX,1912,21

The Bahamas,BAH,2012,21

U.S. Virgin Islands,ISV,1976,21

Bermuda,BER,1992,20

Cyprus,CYP,2004,20

The Bahamas,BAH,1972,20

Guam,GUM,1988,19

Iceland,ISL,1948,19

Montenegro,MNE,2008,19

San Marino,SMR,1984,19

Barbados,BAR,2000,18

Fiji,FIJ,1992,18

Iceland,ISL,2000,18

Barbados,BAR,1988,17

Barbados,BAR,1992,17

Cyprus,CYP,1992,17

Cyprus,CYP,1996,17

Cyprus,CYP,2008,17

Fiji,FIJ,1996,17

San Marino,SMR,1992,17

Barbados,BAR,1984,16

Bermuda,BER,1976,16

San Marino,SMR,1980,16

The Bahamas,BAH,1968,16

The Bahamas,BAH,1988,16

U.S. Virgin Islands,ISV,1972,16

Antigua and Barbuda,ANT,1988,15

Antigua and Barbuda,ANT,1984,14

Cyprus,CYP,1980,14

Fiji,FIJ,1984,14

The Bahamas,BAH,1992,14

Antigua and Barbuda,ANT,1992,13

Antigua and Barbuda,ANT,1996,13

Barbados,BAR,1972,13

Barbados,BAR,1996,13

Cyprus,CYP,2012,13

Iceland,ISL,1976,13

Luxembourg,LUX,2008,13

The Bahamas,BAH,1960,13

Bermuda,BER,1948,12

Bermuda,BER,1984,12

Bermuda,BER,1988,12

Iceland,ISL,1936,12

Liechtenstein,LIE,1988,12

Luxembourg,LUX,1964,12

U.S. Virgin Islands,ISV,1996,12

Barbados,BAR,1976,11

Belize,BIZ,1984,11

Luxembourg,LUX,1956,11

Luxembourg,LUX,1972,11

Malta,MLT,1936,11

Monaco,MON,1960,11

Samoa,SAM,1988,11

San Marino,SMR,1988,11

Seychelles,SEY,1980,11

Seychelles,SEY,1992,11

The Bahamas,BAH,1964,11

The Bahamas,BAH,1976,11

Antigua and Barbuda,ANT,1976,10

Barbados,BAR,2004,10

Belize,BIZ,1988,10

Belize,BIZ,1992,10

Bermuda,BER,2004,10

Cayman Islands,CAY,1992,10

Cyprus,CYP,1984,10

Guyana,GUY,1984,10

Luxembourg,LUX,2004,10

Malta,MLT,1960,10

San Marino,SMR,1976,10

St. Kitts & Nevis,SKN,1996,10

[/table]

Many people celebrate their birthday. What better way to celebrate it than to win an Olympic medal on one’s birthday? And this has happened at the Olympics, in fact, 86 athletes have done it 90 times.

Only one athlete has won 3 Olympic medals on his/her birthday and that was French archer Eugène Richez, who won 2 silvers and a bronze in team target archery events at the 1900 Olympics. Those Olympics were so unusual, and the archery events were especially so, so let’s look at the 2 athletes who have won 2 medals on his/her birthday.

The first was Sidney Merlin, a British shooter who won a gold and bronze medal in 2 trap shooting events at the 1906 Olympics and, again, the 1906 Olympics are somewhat controversial.

So that leaves only German equestrian Michael Jung who won 2 gold medals on 31 July 2012 in eventing, the day he turned 30-years-old. Jung is the only Olympian to have won 2 gold medals on his/her birthday – a fact that seemed to escape most of the world’s media in London, including our OlympStats group, to be fair.

How many athletes have won gold medals on their birthday, the ultimate celebration? That has been done 32 times, by 31 Olympians, with Jung winning 2 in 2012. That has been done 6 times at the Winter Olympics, and 26 times at the Summer Games. Seven women have won an Olympic gold medal on their birthday, two at the Winter Olympics – Madeleine Chamot-Berthod (SUI) in downhill skiing at the 1956 Cortina Olympics, and Cathrine Lindahl (SWE) in 2010 curling.

So Lindahl won her gold medal in a team event. How often have Olympians won medals or gold medals in individual events, probably the uber-ultimate birthday present? That has been done 29 times, by 28 athletes, with Merlin winning two in 1906 on his 26 April birthday.

Winning an individual gold medal on your birthday is fairly rare, done only 13 times by 13 Olympians. The only woman to have done it is Chamot-Berthod at the 1956 Winter Olympics – no woman has done it at the Summer Olympics. Only 4 Winter Olympians have pulled this off while it has been done 9 times at the Summer Olympics.

The youngest birthday medalist was Mariya Filatova, actually a gold medalist in the 1976 gymnastics team all-around, on her 15^th birthday. The oldest was Richez, who was 56-years-old when he won his 3 medals in 1900 archery on 5 August. Again, discounting him, the next oldest was Merlin in 1906, who was 50-years-old, so we’ll look further, and find that William Dod was 41-years-old in 1908 when he won a gold medal on his birthday (18 July) in Double York Round archery. The oldest female to pull this off was Lindahl in curling, who was 40-years-old on 26 February 2010. The youngest man was Jamaican Greg Meghoo, a silver medalist in the 4×100 relay, when he turned 19 on 11 August 1984.

Not easy to do and if you want to do this, in addition to being a great athlete, you better hope to have been born in February, July, or August anymore.

Here is the complete list of the 90 birthday medals:

 

• Sidney Merlin (M / GBR / Summer) (1906 Shooting; Trap, Double Shot, 14 metres) (Gold / Individual) (*26 April 1856; 50-years-old)
• William Dod (M / GBR / Summer) (1908 Archery; Double York Round) (Gold / Individual) (*18 July 1867; 41-years-old)
• Henri Anspach (M / BEL / Summer) (1912 Fencing; Épée, Team) (Gold / Team) (*10 July 1882; 30-years-old)
• Erik Herseth (M / NOR / Summer) (1920 Sailing; 10 metres, 1907 Rating) (Gold / Team) (*9 July 1892; 28-years-old)
• Charles Bugbee (M / GBR / Summer) (1920 Water Polo) (Gold / Team) (*29 August 1887; 33-years-old)
• István Barta (M / HUN / Summer) (1932 Water Polo) (Gold / Team) (*13 August 1895; 37-years-old)
• Dieter Arend (M / GER / Summer) (1936 Rowing; Coxed Pairs) (Gold / Team) (*14 August 1914; 22-years-old)
• Miklós Sárkány (M / HUN / Summer) (1936 Water Polo) (Gold / Team) (*15 August 1908; 28-years-old)
• Sammy Lee (M / USA / Summer) (1952 Diving; Platform) (Gold / Individual) (*1 August 1920; 32-years-old)
• Madeleine Chamot-Berthod (F / SUI / Winter) (1956 Alpine Skiing; Downhill) (Gold / Individual) (*1 February 1931; 25-years-old)
• Viktor Kosichkin (M / URS / Winter) (1960 Speedskating; 5,000 metres) (Gold / Individual) (*25 February 1938; 22-years-old)
• Vladimir Shmelyov (M / URS / Summer) (1972 Modern Pentathlon; Team) (Gold / Team) (*31 August 1946; 26-years-old)
• Jan Egil Storholt (M / NOR / Winter) (1976 Speedskating; 1,500 metres) (Gold / Individual) (*13 February 1949; 27-years-old)
• Mariya Filatova (F / URS / Summer) (1976 Gymnastics; Team All-Around) (Gold / Team) (*19 July 1961; 15-years-old)
• Yelena Novikova-Belova (F / URS / Summer) (1976 Fencing; Foil, Team) (Gold / Team) (*28 July 1947; 29-years-old)
• Vakht’ang Blagidze (M / URS / Summer) (1980 Wrestling; Flyweight, Greco-Roman (≤52 kg)) (Gold / Individual) (*23 July 1954; 26-years-old)
• Pascal Jolyot (M / FRA / Summer) (1980 Fencing; Foil, Team) (Gold / Team) (*26 July 1958; 22-years-old)
• Angel Herrera (M / CUB / Summer) (1980 Boxing; Lightweight (≤60 kg)) (Gold / Individual) (*2 August 1957; 23-years-old)
• Chris Jacobs (M / USA / Summer) (1988 Swimming; 4 x 100 metres Medley Relay) (Gold / Team) (*25 September 1964; 24-years-old)
• Nazim Hüseynov (M / EUN / Summer) (1992 Judo; Extra-Lightweight (≤60 kg)) (Gold / Individual) (*2 August 1969; 23-years-old)
• Ana Ivis Fernández (F / CUB / Summer) (1996 Volleyball) (Gold / Team) (*3 August 1973; 23-years-old)
• Jon Rauch (M / USA / Summer) (2000 Baseball) (Gold / Team) (*27 September 1978; 22-years-old)
• Guillermo Rigondeaux (M / CUB / Summer) (2000 Boxing; Bantamweight (≤54 kg)) (Gold / Individual) (*30 September 1980; 20-years-old)
• Ruth Riley (F / USA / Summer) (2004 Basketball) (Gold / Team) (*28 August 1979; 25-years-old)
• Per-Johan Axelsson (M / SWE / Winter) (2006 Ice Hockey) (Gold / Team) (*26 February 1975; 31-years-old)
• Mari (F / BRA / Summer) (2008 Volleyball) (Gold / Team) (*23 August 1983; 25-years-old)
• Michael Redd (M / USA / Summer) (2008 Basketball) (Gold / Team) (*24 August 1979; 29-years-old)
• Mo Tae-Beom (M / KOR / Winter) (2010 Speedskating; 500 metres) (Gold / Individual) (*15 February 1989; 21-years-old)
• Cathrine Lindahl (F / SWE / Winter) (2010 Curling) (Gold / Team) (*26 February 1970; 40-years-old)
• Michael Jung (M / GER / Summer) (2012 Equestrian Events; 3-Day Event, Individual) (Gold / Individual) (*31 July 1982; 30-years-old)
• Michael Jung (M / GER / Summer) (2012 Equestrian Events; 3-Day Event, Team) (Gold / Team) (*31 July 1982; 30-years-old)
• Daniele Molmenti (M / ITA / Summer) (2012 Canoeing; Kayak Singles, Slalom) (Gold / Individual) (*1 August 1984; 28-years-old)

 

• John Svanberg (M / SWE / Summer) (1906 Athletics; Marathon) (Silver / Individual) (*1 May 1881; 25-years-old)
• Nils Thomas (M / NOR / Summer) (1920 Sailing; 8 metres, 1919 Rating) (Silver / Team) (*9 July 1889; 31-years-old)
• Eugène Richez (M / FRA / Summer) (1920 Archery; Target Archery, 33 metres, Team) (Silver / Team) (*5 August 1864; 56-years-old)
• Eugène Richez (M / FRA / Summer) (1920 Archery; Target Archery, 50 metres, Team) (Silver / Team) (*5 August 1864; 56-years-old)
• John Garrison (M / USA / Winter) (1932 Ice Hockey) (Silver / Team) (*13 February 1909; 23-years-old)
• Dante Secchi (M / ITA / Summer) (1936 Rowing; Coxed Eights) (Silver / Team) (*14 August 1910; 26-years-old)
• Eugenio Monti (M / ITA / Winter) (1956 Bobsledding; Two) (Silver / Team) (*28 January 1928; 28-years-old)
• Teresa Ciepły-Wieczorek (F / POL / Summer) (1964 Athletics; 80 metres Hurdles) (Silver / Individual) (*19 October 1937; 27-years-old)
• Manfred Schumann (M / FRG / Winter) (1976 Bobsledding; Two) (Silver / Team) (*7 February 1951; 25-years-old)
• Daniel Morelon (M / FRA / Summer) (1976 Cycling; Sprint) (Silver / Individual) (*24 July 1944; 32-years-old)
• Dave Ottley (M / GBR / Summer) (1984 Athletics; Javelin Throw) (Silver / Individual) (*5 August 1955; 29-years-old)
• Jeong Sun-Bok (F / KOR / Summer) (1984 Handball) (Silver / Team) (*9 August 1960; 24-years-old)
• Greg Meghoo (M / JAM / Summer) (1984 Athletics; 4 x 100 metres Relay) (Silver / Team) (*11 August 1965; 19-years-old)
• Mark Phillips (M / GBR / Summer) (1988 Equestrian Events; 3-Day Event, Team) (Silver / Team) (*22 September 1948; 40-years-old)
• Andreas Keller (M / FRG / Summer) (1988 Hockey) (Silver / Team) (*1 October 1965; 23-years-old)
• Nataliya Shikolenko (F / EUN / Summer) (1992 Athletics; Javelin Throw) (Silver / Individual) (*1 August 1964; 28-years-old)
• Sergey Tarasov (M / RUS / Winter) (1994 Biathlon; 4 x 7.5 kilometres Relay) (Silver / Team) (*15 February 1965; 29-years-old)
• Tommy Moe (M / USA / Winter) (1994 Alpine Skiing; Super G) (Silver / Individual) (*17 February 1970; 24-years-old)
• Peter Leone (M / USA / Summer) (1996 Equestrian Events; Jumping, Team) (Silver / Team) (*1 August 1960; 36-years-old)
• Paolo Tofoli (M / ITA / Summer) (1996 Volleyball) (Silver / Team) (*4 August 1966; 30-years-old)
• George Karrys (M / CAN / Winter) (1998 Curling) (Silver / Team) (*15 February 1967; 31-years-old)
• Yelena Zamolodchikova (F / RUS / Summer) (2000 Gymnastics; Team All-Around) (Silver / Team) (*19 September 1982; 18-years-old)
• Gillian Lindsay (F / GBR / Summer) (2000 Rowing; Quadruple Sculls) (Silver / Team) (*24 September 1973; 27-years-old)
• Miguel Caldés (M / CUB / Summer) (2000 Baseball) (Silver / Team) (*27 September 1970; 30-years-old)
• Kateřina Neumannová (F / CZE / Winter) (2002 Cross-Country Skiing; 5/5 kilometres Pursuit) (Silver / Individual) (*15 February 1973; 29-years-old)
• Irina Lobacheva (F / RUS / Winter) (2002 Figure Skating; Ice Dancing) (Silver / Team) (*18 February 1973; 29-years-old)
• Brendan Hansen (M / USA / Summer) (2004 Swimming; 100 metres Breaststroke) (Silver / Individual) (*15 August 1981; 23-years-old)
• Jens Arne Svartedal (M / NOR / Winter) (2006 Cross-Country Skiing; Team Sprint) (Silver / Team) (*14 February 1976; 30-years-old)
• Park Gyeong-Mo (M / KOR / Summer) (2008 Archery; Individual) (Silver / Individual) (*15 August 1975; 33-years-old)
• Rohanee Cox (F / AUS / Summer) (2008 Basketball) (Silver / Team) (*23 August 1980; 28-years-old)
• Marianne St-Gelais (F / CAN / Winter) (2010 Short-Track Speedskating; 500 metres) (Silver / Individual) (*17 February 1990; 20-years-old)
• Paola Espinosa (F / MEX / Summer) (2012 Diving; Synchronized Platform) (Silver / Team) (*31 July 1986; 26-years-old)
• Lucha Aymar (F / ARG / Summer) (2012 Hockey) (Silver / Team) (*10 August 1977; 35-years-old)

 

• Sidney Merlin (M / GBR / Summer) (1906 Shooting; Trap, Single Shot, 16 metres) (Bronze / Individual) (*26 April 1856; 50-years-old)
• Charles Vigurs (M / GBR / Summer) (1912 Gymnastics; Team All-Around, European System) (Bronze / Team) (*11 July 1888; 24-years-old)
• Eugène Richez (M / FRA / Summer) (1920 Archery; Target Archery, 28 metres, Team) (Bronze / Team) (*5 August 1864; 56-years-old)
• Freddie McEvoy (M / GBR / Winter) (1936 Bobsledding; Four) (Bronze / Team) (*12 February 1907; 29-years-old)
• Göpf Kottmann (M / SUI / Summer) (1964 Rowing; Single Sculls) (Bronze / Individual) (*15 October 1932; 32-years-old)
• Viktor Borshch (M / URS / Summer) (1972 Volleyball) (Bronze / Team) (*9 September 1948; 24-years-old)
• Silvia Chivás (F / CUB / Summer) (1972 Athletics; 4 x 100 metres Relay) (Bronze / Team) (*10 September 1954; 18-years-old)
• Henry Glaß (M / GDR / Winter) (1976 Ski Jumping; Large Hill, Individual) (Bronze / Individual) (*15 February 1953; 23-years-old)
• Valery Dolinin (M / URS / Summer) (1976 Rowing; Coxless Fours) (Bronze / Team) (*25 July 1953; 23-years-old)
• Pertti Teurajärvi (M / FIN / Winter) (1980 Cross-Country Skiing; 4 x 10 kilometres Relay) (Bronze / Team) (*20 February 1951; 29-years-old)
• László Kuncz (M / HUN / Summer) (1980 Water Polo) (Bronze / Team) (*29 July 1957; 23-years-old)
• Tsutomu Sakamoto (M / JPN / Summer) (1984 Cycling; Sprint) (Bronze / Individual) (*3 August 1962; 22-years-old)
• Mark Kerry (M / AUS / Summer) (1984 Swimming; 4 x 100 metres Medley Relay) (Bronze / Team) (*4 August 1959; 25-years-old)
• Tomislav Ivković (M / YUG / Summer) (1984 Football) (Bronze / Team) (*11 August 1960; 24-years-old)
• Seth Bauer (M / USA / Summer) (1988 Rowing; Coxed Eights) (Bronze / Team) (*25 September 1959; 29-years-old)
• Yevgeny Grishin (M / URS / Summer) (1988 Water Polo) (Bronze / Team) (*1 October 1959; 29-years-old)
• Chris Johnson (M / CAN / Summer) (1992 Boxing; Middleweight (≤75 kg)) (Bronze / Individual) (*8 August 1971; 21-years-old)
• Park Hae-Jeong (F / KOR / Summer) (1996 Table Tennis; Doubles) (Bronze / Team) (*29 July 1972; 24-years-old)
• Matteo Bisiani (M / ITA / Summer) (1996 Archery; Team) (Bronze / Team) (*2 August 1976; 20-years-old)
• \N Leila (F / BRA / Summer) (2000 Volleyball) (Bronze / Team) (*30 September 1971; 29-years-old)
• Aleksey Kovalyov (M / RUS / Winter) (2002 Ice Hockey) (Bronze / Team) (*24 February 1973; 29-years-old)
• Helen Tanger (F / NED / Summer) (2004 Rowing; Coxed Eights) (Bronze / Team) (*22 August 1978; 26-years-old)
• Norman Bröckl (M / GER / Summer) (2008 Canoeing; Kayak Fours, 1,000 metres) (Bronze / Team) (*22 August 1986; 22-years-old)
• Luke Doerner (M / AUS / Summer) (2008 Hockey) (Bronze / Team) (*23 August 1979; 29-years-old)
• Felipe Kitadai (M / BRA / Summer) (2012 Judo; Extra-Lightweight (≤60 kg)) (Bronze / Individual) (*28 July 1989; 23-years-old)

With thanx to David Clark, an Australian frequent reader of OlympStats, for suggesting this post.

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.