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.

It is often said that an Olympian is unlucky when they finish fourth – see our previous post on “The Unluckiest Olympians” from 18 June 2014. But what about those Olympians who win medals, but never get to mount the top step, winning a gold medal? Which Olympians have won the most Olympic medals, but never won a gold medal? Here is the list of all those with 5 or more Olympic medals, but no golds:

[table]

Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,G,S,B,TM

Franziska van Almsick,F,S,GER,SWI,0,4,6,10

Merlene Ottey-Page,F,S,JAM,ATH,0,3,6,9

Frank Beaurepaire,M,S,ANZ/AUS,SWI,0,3,3,6

Roald Larsen,M,W,NOR,SSK,0,2,4,6

Rintje Ritsma,M,W,NED,SSK,0,2,4,6

Piero D’Inzeo,M,S,ITA,EQU,0,2,4,6

Harri Kirvesniemi,M,W,FIN,CCS,0,0,6,6

Viktor Lisitsky,M,S,URS,GYM,0,5,0,5

Erika Zuchold,F,S,GDR,GYM,0,4,1,5

Anders Holmertz,M,S,SWE,SWI,0,4,1,5

Yang Yang (S),F,W,CHN,STK,0,4,1,5

Miya Tachibana,F,S,JPN,SYN,0,4,1,5

Miho Takeda,F,S,JPN,SYN,0,4,1,5

László Cseh Jr.,M,S,HUN,SWI,0,3,2,5

Anita Moen-Guidon,F,W,NOR,CCS,0,3,2,5

Gustav Fischer,M,S,SUI,EQU,0,3,2,5

Fredric Landelius,M,S,SWE,SHO,0,3,2,5

Østen Østensen,M,S,NOR,SHO,0,3,2,5

Fritz Feierabend,M,W,SUI,BOB,0,3,2,5

Li Jiajun,M,W,CHN,STK,0,2,3,5

Gina Gogean,F,S,ROU,GYM,0,2,3,5

Aino-Kaisa Saarinen,F,W,FIN,CCS,0,2,3,5

William Merz,M,S,USA,GYM,0,1,4,5

Edvin Wide,M,S,SWE,ATH,0,1,4,5

Arianna Fontana,F,W,ITA,STK,0,1,4,5

Phil Edwards,M,S,CAN,ATH,0,0,5,5

Antje Buschschulte,F,S,GER,SWI,0,0,5,5

Arie de Jong,M,S,NED,FEN,0,0,5,5

[/table]

Franziska van Almsick

Very tough for both Franziska van Almsick and Merlene Ottey-Page, and interesting that two women lead the list – and quite easily at that.

There are 11 women and 17 men in the above list, with 9 Winter Olympians, and 19 Summer Olympians. In all, 11 different sports/disciplines are represented, as follows: Athletics, Bobsledding, Cross-Country Skiing, Equestrian, Fencing, Gymnastics, Shooting, Short-Track Speed Skating, Speed Skating, Swimming, and Synchronized Swimming.

What about the goal of winning an individual gold medal and who has come the closest to that without ever winning one? In all 31 Olympians have won 4 or more individual Olympic medals, without ever winning an individual gold. Merlene Ottey-Page leads this list, which is as follows:

[table]

Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,IG,IS,IB,ITM

Merlene Ottey-Page,F,S,JAM,ATH,0,2,5,7

Eizo Kenmotsu,M,S,JPN,GYM,0,3,3,6

Yury Titov,M,S,URS,GYM,0,3,3,6

Roald Larsen,M,W,NOR,SSK,0,2,4,6

Shirley Babashoff,F,S,USA,SWI,0,5,0,5

László Cseh Jr.,M,S,HUN,SWI,0,3,2,5

Uschi Disl,F,W,GER,BIA,0,2,3,5

Sofiya Muratova,F,S,URS,GYM,0,2,3,5

Masao Takemoto,M,S,JPN,GYM,0,2,3,5

Rintje Ritsma,M,W,NED,SSK,0,2,3,5

William Merz,M,S,USA,GYM,0,1,4,5

Hryhoriy Misiutin,M,S,EUN/UKR,GYM,0,4,0,4

Frankie Fredericks,M,S,NAM,ATH,0,4,0,4

Ivica Kostelić,M,W,CRO,ASK,0,4,0,4

Shuji Tsurumi,M,S,JPN,GYM,0,3,1,4

Frank Gailey,M,S,AUS,SWI,0,3,1,4

Adam Małysz,M,W,POL,SKJ,0,3,1,4

Paula Jean Myers-Pope,F,S,USA,DIV,0,3,1,4

Marlies Schild,F,W,AUT,ASK,0,3,1,4

Igor Basinsky,M,S,BLR/URS,SHO,0,2,2,4

Franco Cagnotto,M,S,ITA,DIV,0,2,2,4

Dara Torres,F,S,USA,SWI,0,1,3,4

Pavel Lednyov,M,S,URS,MOP,0,1,3,4

Frank Beaurepaire,M,S,ANZ/AUS,SWI,0,1,3,4

Edvin Wide,M,S,SWE,ATH,0,1,3,4

Teddy Billington,M,S,USA,CYC,0,1,3,4

Ato Boldon,M,S,TTO,ATH,0,1,3,4

Leo Visser,M,W,NED,SSK,0,1,3,4

Yordan Yovchev,M,S,BUL,GYM,0,1,3,4

Yelena Välbe,F,W,EUN/RUS,CCS,0,0,4,4

[/table]

Merlene Ottey-Page

Of the 31, only 8 are women, possibly because there have been fewer Olympic events for women. By seasons, 8 are Winter Olympians and 23 Summer Olympians. There are 12 sports represented in this list, which are slightly different than the first list: Alpine Skiing, Athletics, Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing, Cycling, Diving, Gymnastics, Modern Pentathlon, Shooting, Ski Jumping, Speed Skating, and Swimming.

Of the above, only a few athletes are still competing, and those that are are no longer competitive at the highest levels, so there should be nobody leaving the two lists.

On the 30th of October 1974 George Foreman, the reigning professional heavyweight boxing champion of the world, stepped into a ring in Kinshasa, Zaire to defend his title against former champion Muhammad Ali. What happened next has entered sporting folklore as arguably the most famous fight of all time, the Rumble in the Jungle.

Ali-Foreman

But of course as this is a blog concerning the Olympic Games we’ll choose to dwell on another aspect of the match – that of it being one of the rare instances where two Olympic champions have fought each other for the World Heavyweight title. Boxing became an Olympic sport in 1904 and, with the exception of 1912, has remained in the Games ever since but in that span of 110 years only eleven times have two Olympic champions met for what is regularly described as “the greatest prize in professional sport”.

So when exactly has this happened? The answer is below. The list is restricted to generally accepted versions of the titles. Of the 11 instances documented, 6 involve Muhammad Ali.

#1 22/8/1957 Floyd Patterson KO 6 Pete Rademacher
Floyd Patterson, the champion at middleweight in Helsinki in 1952 at just 17, became the youngest ever heavyweight champion whilst still only 21. As many of the leading contenders for the title were under the control of the International Boxing Club of New York (which had links to organised crime) Patterson’s handlers shied from fighting them and were inventive in choosing opponents.
Pete Rademacher had won the heavyweight gold medal at the Melbourne Games nine months before he faced Patterson for the title and, amazingly, this was to be his professional debut. Rademacher started well, winning the first round then putting Patterson on the canvas in the second but Patterson recovered and battered his way to an emphatic six round victory.

#2 22/11/1965 Muhammad Ali TKO 12 Floyd Patterson
Patterson, having lost his world title via a crushing defeat to Sonny Liston had rebounded well enough to earn a shot at Muhammad Ali, who as Cassius Clay, had won the Olympic light-heavyweight title in 1960. Patterson injured his back in training but refused to pull out of the fight. Accepted history records that Ali “mocked, humiliated and punished Patterson throughout before knocking him out in the 12th round” but an interview with Ali conducted post-fight revealed that Ali, knowing Floyd was in serious pain through his injury, backed off and waited for the fight to be stopped or for Patterson to retire.

#3 8/3/1971 Joe Frazier Pts 15 Muhammad Ali
“The Fight of the Century”, as it was called, pitted Ali, who was back in the ring after being stripped of his belt and suspended after refusing the draft, with the 1964 Olympic heavyweight champion, “Smokin’” Joe Frazier. It was a fight that lived up to the hype as the two men traded blow for blow before a celebrity studded Madison Square Garden crowd. Frazier scored a knockdown in the final round to seal victory.

Ali-Frazier I

#4 22/1/1973 George Foreman TKO 2 Joe Frazier
Kingston, Jamaica saw the “Immovable Object”, reigning heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, go head to head with the “Irresistible Force” in the shape of 1968 Olympic heavyweight champion George Foreman. Unfortunately for him, Frazier proved all too movable and mostly in the downwards direction. The champion was sent to the canvas six times before the referee proclaimed Foreman the winner. In American television this fight was famous for Howard Cosell, announcing it, who kept proclaiming, after each knockdown, “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!”. This was the 1st time two Olympic heavyweight champions had met for the professional heavyweight title.

#5 30/10/1974 Muhammad Ali KO 8 George Foreman
This is where we came in. In the unlikely setting of a football stadium in downtown Kinshasa, Zaire, one of the famous events not just in boxing but in all sports, took place. Foreman, considered a monster of the ring, was the clear favourite against the older Ali but after dominating the early exchanges he ran out of steam and Ali took advantage to record a stunning knockout victory. 40 years later it remains a landmark in sporting history.

#6 1/10/1975 Muhammad Ali TKO 14 Joe Frazier
Ali and Frazier had fought a rematch in 1974 with Ali gaining revenge via a unanimous points decision. After Ali regained the heavyweight title later that year it became inevitable that a third match between the two would take place. The fight would take place in Manila in October 1975 and is widely considered to be one of the best, and certainly most brutal, bouts in history. In the 14th round, with both men nearing the point of total exhaustion, Ali unleashed a devastating series of punches which led to Frazier retiring in his corner between rounds. Neither man was ever the same again. The two men had been mutually antagonistic throughout their careers but after the fight Ali commented – “Fighting Joe Frazier is the closest to death I can ever imagine. If I’m ever called to a Holy War I want Joe Frazier fighting besides me.”

#7 15/2/1978 Leon Spinks Pts 15 Muhammad Ali
#8 15/9/1978 Muhammad Ali Pts 15 Leon Spinks
Now in the twilight of his career, Ali arranged what seemed like a routine defence against the 1976 Olympic light-heavyweight champion Leon Spinks. In the first meeting Spinks turned up fit and hungry and in only his 8th professional fight used his youth and fitness to finish strongly and win a split decision victory over a subdued and listless Ali. Seven months later and the tide had turned in the favour of the old champion. Spinks, by then in the early stages of drink and drug dependency, was easily outpointed by a better prepared Ali.

Ali-Spinks II

#9 16/3/2002 Wladimir Klitschko TKO 6 Ray Mercer
After a gap of 23 years two Olympic champions stepped into the ring to battle for the heavyweight title once again in 2002. The occasion was a defence of the WBO title by Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko, the 1996 Olympic super-heavyweight gold medal winner, against Ray Mercer, winner of the Olympic title at heavyweight back in 1988. The 41 year old Mercer was expected to be little more than a sacrificial victim for the younger man and that’s exactly how it turned out. The referee stepped in to protect Mercer from further punishment in round 6.

#10 5/10/2013 Wladimir Klitschko Pts 12 Aleksandr Povetkin
The bout matched Wladimir Klitschko, who held the IBF and WBO world titles as well as the WBA “Super-World” title with Alexander Povetkin of Russia who merely held the WBA “regular” World Heavyweight title (confusing, but that’s modern professional boxing…). Anyone who’s ever read a comic book will tell you that Superman always beat Regularman and that is exactly what happened in their bout in Moscow. Klitschko won every round and knocked his opponent down four times on his way to a totally one sided victory. He continued to be the best heavyweight in the world for another few years

Klitschko-Povetkin

#11 29/4/2017 Anthony Joshua TKO 11 Wladimir Klitschko
Klitschko, after losing his world titles to Tyson Fury in 2015, returned to the ring to challenge 2012 Olympic super-heavyweight champion Joshua for the IBF and WBA titles.
For the first time in this list the venue, Wembley Stadium, had itself hosted Olympic Games events five years earlier. After a cautious opening Joshua sent the Ukrainian to the canvas in round 5 but, despite being the younger man by more than a decade, he exhausted himself in the process and was knocked down by Klitschko in the following round. The British fighter recovered and in the penultimate round of the scheduled twelve he again went for the knockout. The referee was forced to stop the fight with Klitschko helpless on the ropes after getting up from his second knockdown of the round.

Embed from Getty Images

We looked earlier at Olympians who won every event they entered at the Olympics – see “The Undefeated Olympians” from 25 June 2014. But what about those Olympians who may not have won a gold medal in every event, but still won a medal in every Olympic event they entered? How many of those have there been?

Well, that number is pretty big, but let’s look at those Olympians who entered the most events and still won medals in all of them. Here is the list for the Summer Olympics, including all those winning medals in 6 or more events:

[table]

Name,Gdr,NOC,Sport,G,S,B,TM

Paavo Nurmi,M,FIN,ATH,9,3,0,12

Natalie Coughlin,F,USA,SWI,3,4,5,12

Ray Ewry,M,USA,ATH,10,0,0,10

Carl Lewis,M,USA,ATH,9,1,0,10

Gary Hall Jr.,M,USA,SWI,5,3,2,10

Valentina Vezzali,F,ITA,FEN,6,1,2,9

Zoltán von Halmay,M,HUN,SWI,3,5,1,9

Isabell Werth,F,GER,EQU,5,3,0,8

Kornelia Ender,F,GDR,SWI,4,4,0,8

Aaron Peirsol,M,USA,SWI,5,2,0,7

Tom Jager,M,USA,SWI,5,1,1,7

Mariya Gorokhovskaya,F,URS,GYM,2,5,0,7

Rudolf Kárpáti,M,HUN,FEN,6,0,0,6

Kristin Otto,F,GDR,SWI,6,0,0,6

Steven Redgrave,M,GBR,ROW,5,0,1,6

Lucien Gaudin,M,FRA,FEN,4,2,0,6

Matt Grevers,M,USA,SWI,4,2,0,6

Kim Su-Nyeong,F,KOR,ARC,4,1,1,6

Wu Minxia,F,CHN,DIV,4,1,1,6

Viktor Sidyak,M,URS,FEN,4,1,1,6

Doina Ignat,F,ROU,ROW,4,1,1,6

Murray Rose,M,AUS,SWI,4,1,1,6

Max Décugis,M,FRA,TEN,4,1,1,6

Rebecca Soni,F,USA,SWI,3,3,0,6

Renate Stecher,F,GDR,ATH,3,2,1,6

Daniela Silivaş,F,ROU,GYM,3,2,1,6

Rüdiger Helm,M,GDR,CAN,3,0,3,6

[/table]

Paavo Nurmi
There are 13 females and 15 males in the above list, with 11 sports represented. Paavo Nurmi leading with 12 medals in 12 events is not a surprise, but few would likely have picked Natalie Coughlin to tie Nurmi at 12.

For the Winter Olympics, there are less events and the Olympians tend to have won fewer medals, so we’ll look only at those who won medals in all of their 4 or more events:

[table]

Name,Gdr,NOC,Sport,G,S,B,TM

Wolfgang Hoppe,M,GER,BOB,2,3,1,6

Eugenio Monti,M,ITA,BOB,2,2,2,6

Matti Nykänen,M,FIN,SKJ,4,1,0,5

Jayna Hefford,F,CAN,ICH,4,1,0,5

Hayley Wickenheiser,F,CAN,ICH,4,1,0,5

André Lange,M,GER,BOB,4,1,0,5

Samppa Lajunen,M,FIN,NCO,3,2,0,5

Caroline Ouellette,F,CAN,ICH,4,0,0,4

Bernhard Germeshausen,M,GDR,BOB,3,1,0,4

Gillis Grafström,M,SWE,FSK,3,1,0,4

Vladislav Tretyak,M,URS,ICH,3,1,0,4

Jennifer Botterill,F,CAN,ICH,3,1,0,4

Becky Kellar,F,CAN,ICH,3,1,0,4

Meinhard Nehmer,M,GDR,BOB,3,0,1,4

Yevgeny Plyushchenko,M,RUS,FSK,2,2,0,4

Jan Behrendt,M,GER,LUG,2,1,1,4

Stefan Krauße,M,GER,LUG,2,1,1,4

Igor Kravchuk,M,RUS,ICH,2,1,1,4

Bjarte Engen Vik,M,NOR,NCO,2,1,1,4

Lyubov Kozyreva-Baranova,F,URS,CCS,1,3,0,4

Josef Benz,M,SUI,BOB,1,2,1,4

Bernhard Lehmann,M,GDR,BOB,1,2,1,4

Fred Anton Maier,M,NOR,SSK,1,2,1,4

Erich Schärer,M,SUI,BOB,1,2,1,4

Angela Ruggiero,F,USA,ICH,1,2,1,4

Jenny Schmidgall-Potter,F,USA,ICH,1,2,1,4

Sten Stensen,M,NOR,SSK,1,1,2,4

Radiya Yeroshina,F,URS,CCS,0,3,1,4

Julie Chu,F,USA,ICH,0,3,1,4

Jiří Holík,M,TCH,ICH,0,2,2,4

Saku Koivu,M,FIN,ICH,0,1,3,4

Ville Peltonen,M,FIN,ICH,0,1,3,4

Leo Visser,M,NED,SSK,0,1,3,4

[/table]

Hayley Wickenheiser

The Winter list has 33 Winter Olympians with 4 or more medals, interestingly led by two bobsledders – Wolfgang Hoppe and Eugenio Monti with 6 each. There are 10 females and 23 males, representing 8 sports.

In both lists, those who were in our previous undefeated post can be seen – Ray Ewry with 10, Rudolf Karpati and Kristin Otto with 6 among the Summer Olympians; and Caroline Ouellette with 4 among the Winter Olympians.

Sailor, Bronze Medalist, German Industrialist, Metallurgy, German War Minister, Nazi Party Member

[table]

Category,Data

Full Name,Alfried Felix Alwyn von Bohlen und Halbach (-Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach)

Used Name,Alfried von Bohlen und Halbach

Born,13 August 1907; Essen-Nordrhein-Westfalen (GER)

Died,30 July 1967; Essen-Nordrhein-Westfalen (GER)

Affiliations,NRV Hamburg

[/table]

[table]

Year-Games,Sport,Event,Place,Medal

1936 Summer,Sailing,8 metres,3,Bronze

[/table]

Alfried Felix Alwyn Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, usually known as Alfried Krupp, was the son of the former Bertha Krupp and her husband, Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach, and one whose Olympic participation was a mere footnote to his life. Bertha Krupp was an heir to the well-known Krupp family business, Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, the largest company in Europe before World War II.

Alfried Krupp studied metallurgy at several German universities, earning a Master’s degree from the Aachener Technische Hochschule in 1934, writing a thesis on melting steel in vacuums, and then joined the family business in 1936. The Krupp company was a steel and metal producer that would eventually contribute greatly to the German war effort.

In 1931 Alfried Krupp joined the German SS (Schutzstaffel) and became a member of the Nazi Party in 1938. When his father suffered a stroke, Alfried Krupp became head of the firm. Under his leadership, the company used slave labor, often removing Jews from concentration camps to help work in the factories. He worked closely with the SS to obtain slave labor from the concentration camps, and made his employees work in very brutal conditions even when it was obvious that the war was lost. Krupp was German Minister for the War Economy 1943-45.

After the war ended, Krupp’s use of slave labor was investigated by the Allied Military Government, and after what was known as the Krupp Trial (technically The United States of America vs. Alfried Krupp, et al.), he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for “crimes against humanity.” He was also required to forfeit much of his property. Krupp was pardoned after three years in prison by John McCloy, America High Commissioner for Germany, and his property was restored.

Alfried Krupp resumed control of his family company in 1953. He led the company until his death in 1967, after which it passed to the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, a philanthropic organization, which remained the majority shareholder into the 21st century, with the company later known as ThyssenKrupp AG, after mergers with other firms.

OlympStats reader David Clark of Australia asked, “What is the shortest or longest time an Olympian has been able to enjoy their Olympic medal prior to their death?” A great question and one we had to work on a little bit to get all the details.

Fully 45 athletes have died within one year of winning their final Olympic medal. Göpf Kottmann, a Swiss rower from 1964, died only 22 days after winning his single sculls bronze medal, closely followed by Swedish fencer Gösta Algren, who lived only 23 days after his fencing team épée silver in 1936. American archer G. C. Spencer won a gold medal in the 1904 team archery event, but enjoyed it for only 28 days, although he was 64-years-old when he won his medal. Here are the 36 that died within 275 days of winning an Olympic medal – an arbitrary number we chose because it gets us to the 1948 Czechoslovakian ice hockey airplane tragedy, in which six of their players died in the crash of their charter plane flying from Paris to London for a match.

[table]

Age2Dth,Died,Name,Gdr,NOC,Ssn,Year,Spt,Event,Med,YB,YE,YD

0-022,32,Göpf Kottmann,M,SUI,S,1964,ROW,Single Sculls,B,1932,1964,1964

0-023,30,Gösta Almgren,M,SWE,S,1936,FEN,Épée Team,S,1906,1936,1936

0-028,64,G. C. Spencer,M,USA,S,1904,ARC,Team,G,1840,1904,1904

0-048,27,Rich Sanders,M,USA,S,1972,WRE,Light-Middle FS,S,1945,1972,1972

0-062,24,Piet Salomons,M,NED,S,1948,WAP,Water Polo,B,1924,1948,1948

0-068,30,Miguel Caldés,M,CUB,S,2000,BSB,Baseball,S,1970,2000,2000

0-081,23,José de Figueroa,M,ESP,S,1920,POL,Polo,S,1897,1920,1920

0-088,35,David Bratton,M,USA,S,1904,WAP,Water Polo,G,1869,1904,1904

0-091,20,Bekzat Sattarkhanov,M,KAZ,S,2000,BOX,Light-Middleweight,G,1980,2000,2000

0-101,42,John Black,M,CAN,S,1924,SHO,Trap Team,S,1882,1924,1924

0-103,22,Waldemar Malak,M,POL,S,1992,WLT,Middle-Heavy,B,1970,1992,1992

0-106,33,Gösta Magnusson,M,SWE,S,1948,WLT,Light-Heavy,B,1915,1948,1948

0-113,15,Bianca Ambrosetti,F,ITA,S,1928,GYM,Team All-Around,S,1914,1928,1929

0-122,26,George Van Cleaf,M,USA,S,1904,WAP,Water Polo,G,1879,1904,1905

0-126,26,Yuliya Riabchynska,F,URS,S,1972,CAN,K1-500 m,G,1947,1972,1973

0-130,26,John B. Taylor,M,USA,S,1908,ATH,1600 medley relay,G,1882,1908,1908

0-143,23,Viktor Blinov,M,URS,W,1968,ICH,Ice Hockey,G,1945,1968,1968

0-150,45,Selwin Calverley,M,GBR,S,1900,SAI,20+ Ton,S,1855,1900,1900

0-151,22,Ivo Van Damme,M,BEL,S,1976,ATH,1500 metres,S,1954,1976,1976

0-161,24,Konrad Hirsch,M,SWE,S,1924,FTB,Football,B,1900,1924,1924

0-205,27,Joseph Olivier,M,FRA,S,1900,RUG,Rugby,G,1874,1900,1901

0-212,59,Petre Roşca,M,ROU,S,1980,EQU,Dressage Team,B,1922,1980,1981

0-212,25,Kostas Tsiklitiras,M,GRE,S,1912,ATH,Standing High Jump,B,1888,1912,1913

0-217,25,Kostas Tsiklitiras,M,GRE,S,1912,ATH,Standing Long Jump,G,1888,1912,1913

0-218,26,Sayed Jaffar,M,IND,S,1936,HOK,Hockey,G,1911,1936,1937

0-222,31,Radivoj Korać,M,YUG,S,1968,BAS,Basketball,S,1938,1968,1969

0-240,33,George Calnan,M,USA,S,1932,FEN,Épée Team,B,1900,1932,1933

0-246,33,George Calnan,M,USA,S,1932,FEN,Foil Team,B,1900,1932,1933

0-255,24,George Saling,M,USA,S,1932,ATH,110 m hurdles,G,1909,1932,1933

0-269,24,Miloslav Bednařík,M,TCH,S,1988,SHO,Trap,S,1965,1988,1989

0-274,30,Zdeněk Jarkovský,M,TCH,W,1948,ICH,Ice Hockey,S,1918,1948,1948

0-274,22,Miloslav Pokorný,M,TCH,W,1948,ICH,Ice Hockey,S,1926,1948,1948

0-274,25,Karel Stibor,M,TCH,W,1948,ICH,Ice Hockey,S,1923,1948,1948

0-274,31,Vilibald Šťovík,M,TCH,W,1948,ICH,Ice Hockey,S,1917,1948,1948

0-274,34,Ladislav Troják,M,TCH,W,1948,ICH,Ice Hockey,S,1914,1948,1948

[/table]

Bekzat Sattarkhanov

Now who was able to enjoy their medal for the longest time? Fifty-seven (57) now deceased Olympic medalists lived 75 or more years after winning their Olympic medal, led by Finnish gymnast Jalmari Kivenheimo, who won a silver medal in 1912 and lived 82 years, 111 days more (although this record is being broken by Clara Marangoni, who is still living – see below). American diver Aileen Riggin lived longer than any gold medalist after winning that gold, as she survived 82 years, 51 days after her victory in 1920 at age 14 – although technically this record has already been broken by a living Olympian – see the note at the end of the following table. Here are all those who lived 78 or more years after winning an Olympic medal:

[table]

Age2Dth,Died,Name,Gdr,NOC,Ssn,Year,Spt,Event,Med,YB,YE,YD

82-111,105,Jalmari Kivenheimo,M,FIN,S,1912,GYM,Team All-Around,S,1889,1912,1994

82-051,96,Aileen Riggin,F,USA,S,1920,DIV,Springboard,G,1906,1920,2002

80-229,105,Harry Prieste,M,USA,S,1920,DIV,Platform,B,1896,1920,2001

80-024,102,Babe Rockefeller,M,USA,S,1924,ROW,Coxed Eights,G,1902,1924,2004

79-185,95,Carolina Tronconi,F,ITA,S,1928,GYM,Team All-Around,S,1913,1928,2008

79-151,97,Cissie Stewart,F,GBR,S,1928,SWI,4 x 100 m FS relay,S,1911,1928,2008

79-137,97,Gertrude Ederle,F,USA,S,1924,SWI,400 m FS,B,1906,1924,2003

79-112,95,Carin Nilsson,F,SWE,S,1920,SWI,4 x 100 m FS relay,B,1904,1920,1999

79-066,97,Jam Handy,M,USA,S,1904,SWI,400 m Breaststroke,B,1886,1904,1983

79-044,99,Abel Kiviat,M,USA,S,1912,ATH,1500 m,S,1892,1912,1991

78-363,101,Attilio Pavesi,M,ITA,S,1932,CYC,Road Race Indiv,G,1910,1932,2011

78-357,103,Carmelo Camet,M,ARG,S,1928,FEN,Foil Team,B,1904,1928,2007

78-229,105,Lucien Démanet,M,FRA,S,1900,GYM,Individual All-Around,B,1874,1900,1979

78-220,99,Roger Beaufrand,M,FRA,S,1928,CYC,Sprint,G,1908,1928,2007

78-210,101,Herman Brix,M,USA,S,1928,ATH,Shot Put,S,1906,1928,2007

78-093,96,Aileen Riggin,F,USA,S,1924,DIV,Springboard,S,1906,1924,2002

78-064,98,Harry Glancy,M,USA,S,1924,SWI,4 x 200 m FS relay,G,1904,1924,2002

78-057,96,Max Décugis,M,FRA,S,1900,TEN,Doubles,S,1882,1900,1978

78-037,98,Georg Werner,M,SWE,S,1924,SWI,4 x 200 m FS relay,B,1904,1924,2002

[/table]

Aileen Riggin
The above record is at risk of being broken by a still-living Olympian. Evelyn Furtsch was an American sprinter who won a gold medal at the 1932 Olympics in the 4×100 relay, and is still alive as of October 2014 – 82 years, and about 90 days, after winning her Olympic medal.

So then we started thinking – who are the Olympians, not just medalists, who lived for the longest time or the shortest time after their final Olympic appearance? Here we measured the time not from the end of their event, but from the day of the Closing Ceremony.

Sadly, eight (8) Olympians did not live to see the Closing Ceremony. We know of the 11 Israelis who were murdered at München in 1972, with four of those having already competed as Olympians. Only two athletes died while competing in the Olympics – Knut Enemark Jensen, a Danish cyclist who succumbed during the 1960 cycling team time trial; and Francisco Lazaro, a Portuguese marathoner who died the day after the 1912 marathon.

Two athletes died during the Games after competing but not from the effects of the events or from being cowardly murdered. After losing his first match in 1936 featherweight boxing, Romanian Nicolae Berechet developed a carbuncle which quickly spread into blood poisoning and in the pre-antibiotic days, he died only three days after his Olympic bout, and two days before the Closing Ceremony. In 1956, Italian rower Arrigo Meniccoci competed in coxed eights, but after his event ended, he went for a car ride and was killed in a crash 7 days before the Closing Ceremony.

This does not include athletes who died in training, but never actually competed in the Olympics, such as Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Georgian luger who died the day before the 2010 Vancouver Opening Ceremony during a training run; Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki, the British/Polish luger who likewise died in training before the 1964 Innsbruck Games; Czechoslovak gymnast Eliska Mišaková, who developed polio after arriving in London for the 1948 Olympics, and died the day before the Opening Ceremony; or Australian downhiller skiier Ross Milne, who died before the Innsbruck Games after crashing on a training run.

Here are all the Olympians who died less than 7 weeks after the Closing Ceremony of an Olympics:

[table]

Age2Dth,AgeDth,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,LastOly,YrBth,YrDth

-16 days,23,Knud Enemark Jensen,M,S,DEN,CYC,1960,1936,1960

-12 days,19,Francisco Lázaro,M,S,POR,ATH,1912,1891,1912

-7 days,24,Arrigo Menicocci,M,S,ITA,ROW,1956,1933,1956

-6 days,28,David Berger,M,S,ISR,WLT,1972,1944,1972

-6 days,28,Ze’ev Friedman,M,S,ISR,WLT,1972,1944,1972

-6 days,31,Yossef Romano,M,S,ISR,WLT,1972,1940,1972

-6 days,24,Eliezer Halfin,M,S,ISR,WRE,1972,1948,1972

-2 days,21,Nicolae Berechet,M,S,ROU,BOX,1936,1915,1936

0-007,23,Tony Zasada,M,S,CAN,ROW,1984,1960,1984

0-007,23,Moritz Heidegger,M,W,LIE,BOB,1956,1932,1956

0-013,32,Göpf Kottmann,M,S,SUI,ROW,1964,1932,1964

0-014,26,Jonatan Johansson,M,W,SWE,SNB,2006,1980,2006

0-015,29,Gösta Almgren,M,S,SWE,FEN,1936,1906,1936

0-027,23,Aurelio Janet,M,S,CUB,ATH,1968,1945,1968

0-029,22,Thomas Pleisch,M,W,SUI,ICH,1936,1913,1936

0-034,64,G. C. Spencer,M,S,USA,ARC,1904,1840,1904

0-037,27,Rich Sanders,M,S,USA,WRE,1972,1945,1972

0-042,21,Leo Portelance,M,S,CAN,SWI,1952,1931,1952

0-046,24,George Gardiner,M,S,GBR,WRE,1924,1900,1924

[/table]

Knud Enemark Jensen

What about those who lived the longest after their final Olympic appearance? Thirteen (13) Olympians lived for 80 or more years after they left the Olympic stage. Here is the list:

[table]

Age2Dth,AgeDth,Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,LstOly,YrBth,YrDth

86-210,103,Ivo Pavelić,M,S,YUG,SWI,1924,1908,2011

85-286,104,Signe Johansson,F,S,SWE,DIV,1924,1905,2010

82-311,102,Rezső Kende,M,S,HUN,GYM,1928,1908,2011

82-110,98,Maud Sundberg,F,S,SWE,ATH,1928,1911,2010

82-094,105,Jalmari Kivenheimo,M,S,FIN,GYM,1912,1889,1994

81-343,99,Helen Johns,F,S,USA,SWI,1932,1914,2014

81-338,102,Willem Winkelman,M,S,NED,ATH,1908,1887,1990

81-183,99,Elsa Andersson,F,S,SWE,DIV,1912,1894,1994

81-178,104,Andrejs Kapmals,M,S,RUS,ATH,1912,1889,1994

81-053,102,Hans Kleppen,M,W,NOR,SKJ,1928,1907,2009

80-228,104,Harry Prieste,M,S,USA,DIV,1920,1896,2001

80-141,100,John Dellert,M,S,USA,GYM,1904,1884,1985

80-014,102,Babe Rockefeller,M,S,USA,ROW,1924,1902,2004

[/table]

There are two additions to this list still alive – Clara Marangoni, an Italian gymnast from the 1928 Olympics, is the only known Olympian still alive who competed at the Amsterdam Games – she is now in her 86th year after her final Olympic appearance, and is close to bettering Pavelić’s mark; and Evelyn Furtsch, as mentioned above, now 82 years after her Olympic appearance.

While researching this topic we found another interesting tidbit. How many Olympic athletes never saw their 20^th birthday? Sadly, it has happened eight times. An Italian gymnast from 1928, Bianca Ambrosetti, was the youngest, dying at age 15 after competing when she was 14. Three on this list died in the 1961 US Figure Skating tragedy when their plane crashed in Belgium while travelling to the 1962 World Championships. Here is the list of Olympic teenagers who died:

[table]

AgeDth,Name,Gender,Season,NOC,Sport,Oly,YrBth,YrDth

15,Bianca Ambrosetti,F,S,ITA,GYM,1928,1914,1929

17,Laurie Owen,F,W,USA,FSK,1960,1944,1961

18,Ray Hadley Jr.,M,W,USA,FSK,1960,1943,1961

18,Viktoriya Dimitrova,F,W,BUL,FSK,1992,1976,1994

19,Marián Havlíček,M,S,TCH,CAN,1972,1953,1972

19,Amar Garibović,M,W,SRB,CCS,2010,1991,2010

19,Ila Ray Hadley,F,W,USA,FSK,1960,1942,1961

19,Sandra Schmitt,F,W,GER,FRS,1998,1981,2000

[/table]

What about the other end of the spectrum? Fortunately, many Olympians have lived long, full lives. At least fifty-nine (59) Olympians have died after their 100^th birthday (this is not always easy to track), led by Walter Walsh, American shooter from 1948, who died earlier in 2014 just short of his 107^th birthday – the longest-lived Olympian ever.

So there you have it, David. Thanx for the interesting question and we hope we answered it for you.

Rower, gold medalist, pediatrician, author, peace activist, Presidential candidate

[table]

Category,Data

Full Name,Benjamin McLane “Ben” Spock

Used Name,Ben Spock

Born,2 May 1903; New Haven Connecticut (USA)

Died,15 March 1998; La Jolla California (USA)

Measurements,196 cm

Affiliations,Yale University

[/table]

[table]

Year-Games,Sport,Event,Place,Medal

1924 Summer,Rowing,Coxed Eights,1,Gold

[/table]

Ben Spock ran track for one year at Yale and rowed crew for four years, but his college career pales beside his accomplishments afterwards. After college he started med school at Yale, then transferred to Columbia, where he earned his M.D. and became a pediatrician. As the author of Baby and Child Care, Dr. Spock is a name known to millions of parents in this country. The book was written while Spock practiced pediatrics in New York and sold over 25,000,000 copies. He also wrote five other books on child care.

During the 60s, Dr Benjamin Spock was in the news for other reasons. He took a strong stand against nuclear proliferation and participated in several protests against military escalation in Vietnam. In 1972, Ben Spock became the first former U.S. Olympic athlete to run for the United States presidency on the People’s Party ticket in 1972, but received only 78,759 votes (about 0.1%). He espoused radical political action and severe reduction of the military but received no electoral votes. After he retired from practicing medicine, he did some occasional public speaking, usually at universities or for the benefit of peace groups.

So which nation has the most important female athletes? No, we don’t mean which nation’s women have won the most medals, that would be the United States, as it is for the men. But which nations’ women have won the highest percentage of the medals for their country?

There are actually 5 countries where all of their medals have been won by women: Bahrain, Costa Rica, Montenegro, Mozambique, and Zimbabwer. Of those, Zimbabwe has won the most medals with only 8. This 100%-er list follows:

[table]

NOC,Gold,Medals,GW,MW,%G,%TM

Zimbabwe,3,8,3,8,100.0%,100.0%

Costa Rica,1,4,1,4,100.0%,100.0%

Mozambique,1,2,1,2,100.0%,100.0%

Bahrain,0,1,0,1,—–,100.0%

Montenegro,0,1,0,1,—–,100.0%

[/table]

But this seems a bit of a specious argument, with so few overall medals won. Let’s look only at the nations that won 100 or more medals overall (both men, women, and mixed), and see how their women did. Here is that list:

[table]

NOC,Gold,Medals,GW,MW,%G,%TM

China,213,526,120,303,56.3%,57.6%

Romania,88,302,58,153,65.9%,50.7%

The Ukraine,35,122,18,59,51.4%,48.4%

German Demo. Rep.,192,519,94,241,49.0%,46.4%

Russia,183,528,72,218,39.3%,41.3%

The Netherlands,115,377,52,151,45.2%,40.1%

Australia,144,485,58,189,40.3%,39.0%

Unified Team,54,135,16,52,29.6%,38.5%

Canada,121,443,46,166,38.0%,37.5%

Korea (South),107,296,45,103,42.1%,34.8%

Germany,288,915,88,300,30.6%,32.8%

Spain,38,133,9,38,23.7%,28.6%

Austria,79,307,21,87,26.6%,28.3%

Soviet Union,473,1204,122,331,25.8%,27.5%

Bulgaria,52,220,12,59,23.1%,26.8%

United States,1071,2682,277,701,25.9%,26.1%

Fed. Rep. Germany,67,243,18,63,26.9%,25.9%

Cuba,71,202,12,49,16.9%,24.3%

Japan,140,443,28,102,20.0%,23.0%

Poland,70,291,12,65,17.1%,22.3%

Hungary,167,480,37,102,22.2%,21.3%

Great Britain,246,805,43,164,17.5%,20.4%

Brazil,23,108,5,22,21.7%,20.4%

Czechoslovakia,51,168,13,33,25.5%,19.6%

New Zealand,42,101,9,19,21.4%,18.8%

Italy,236,664,37,115,15.7%,17.3%

Denmark,43,179,9,30,20.9%,16.8%

France,235,789,37,132,15.7%,16.7%

Greece,30,110,4,18,13.3%,16.4%

Norway,173,476,24,77,13.9%,16.2%

Switzerland,97,323,18,49,18.6%,15.2%

Sweden,192,626,22,77,11.5%,12.3%

Finland,143,463,12,50,8.4%,10.8%

Belgium,39,149,3,16,7.7%,10.7%

[/table]

China and Romania are the only two nations where their women have won more than 50% of their nations medals and gold medals. Romania is led by their female gymnasts and rowers, while China’s female divers, gymnasts, and weightlifters have won a large percentage of their medals. Romanian women have won an astounding 65.9% of their nations gold medals. And in the era of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), there were fewer women’s medals available, so their percentages in the high 40s are also impressive, although we do know there were, shall we say, some problems with a few of those.

At the other end of the spectrum, Belgium and Finland bring up the rear, with only about 11% of medals won by women, and about 8% of gold medals won, by far the worst numbers in this subset in both categories.

Overall, women have won about 27.5% of medals and gold medals awarded at the Olympics. So the former Soviet Union is the closest to the median nation, although when it existed, the percentage of women’s medals was likely slightly lower. The United States is also pretty close to the median.

If we look at the other end of the spectrum, we get the following list of nations whose women have never won a medal or gold medal at the Olympics, although their men have won both:

[table]

NOC,Gold,Medals

Iran,15,60

Egypt,7,25

Trinidad & Tobago,2,18

Mixed Team,6,17

Pakistan,3,10

Uruguay,2,10

Uganda,2,7

Dominican Republic,3,6

Luxembourg,2,5

Panama,1,3

Ecuador,1,2

Surinam,1,2

Burundi,1,1

Grenada,1,1

United Arab Emirates,1,1

[/table]

There are also 36 nations which won Olympic medals, but no golds, and none won by a woman. The two nations with the most medals in this category are The Philippines, with 9 medals, and Puerto Rico, with 8.

Since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was formed in 1894 at the Sorbonne Congress, there have been 536 IOC Members. How many of these have actually competed in the Olympics (and we’re not counting the Arts Competitions, which would add Pierre de Coubertin)?

Well, the direct answer to that question is 112 IOC Members have also been Olympic sports competitors. Of these 23 of the IOC Olympians have been women, which is a fairly high percentage since there have only been 39 female members of the IOC all-time – the first women were only elected to the IOC in 1981 with Finland’s Pirjo Häggmann and Venezuelan Flor Isava-Fonseca.

How many of the IOC Olympians were successful, i.e., actually won Olympic medals? It’s a large percentage, as of the 112 IOC Olympians, 65 have won medals, and 47 actually won gold medals. This group is led by Norway’s Ole Einar Bjørndalen with 13 medals and 8 gold medals, while among the female IOC Olympians, Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic’s Věra Čáslavská leads with 11 medals and 7 gold medals. In all, 14 of the IOC Olympians won 5 or more medals, and 12 of them won 3 or more gold medals.

The first IOC Member to have competed in the Olympics was Greek Alexandros Merkati, who became an IOC Member in 1897, and competed in the Olympic golf event in 1900. He is one of only four IOC Individual Members (see next paragraph) who competed in sports at the Olympics while they served on the IOC, the others being William, Lord Desborough, who served on the IOC from 1905-13, and competed in fencing at the 1906 Intercalated Olympics; Peter Tallberg, elected to the IOC in 1976, but an Olympic sailor for Finland from 1960-80; and Prince Albert II of Monaco, who became an IOC Member in 1985, and then competed in bobsledding at the Olympics five times between 1988 and 2002. Counting Athlete Members, four have competed in the Olympics while on the IOC: Russia’s Aleksandr Popov in swimming, the Czech Republic’s Jan Železný in athletics (javelin), Ukrainian Sergey Bubka in athletics (pole vault), and Great Britain’s Matthew Pinsent in rowing.

In 1999, in response to he Olympic Bribery Scandal, the IOC instituted a new category of IOC Membership termed the Athlete Member. Has this increased the number of IOC Olympians significantly? Certainly has. Since 2000, 38 former Olympians have become IOC Members, 35 of them in the Athlete Member Category. So that is only 3 IOC Individual Member Olympians in the period 2000-14, while there were 74 IOC Individual Member Olympians from 1894-2000, so the rate of former Olympians becoming a full IOC Individual Member has actually decreased significantly.

What about the current IOC Membership? There are currently 111 IOC Members, of which 39 competed at the Olympics at one time. The longest standing of these is Tallberg, as noted above, an Olympic sailor from 1960-80, who became an IOC Member in 1976, and was a long-term chairman of the Athlete’s Commission. The only other IOC Olympian Member who joined the IOC in the 1970s and is still a member is Dick Pound, a 1960 Canadian swimmer who was co-opted onto the IOC in 1978.

Here is the entire list of IOC Olympians, listing their NOCs while on the IOC, their sports, their Olympic span, their IOC tenures, and their medals won:

[table]

Name,Gdr,NOC,Sport,Olympics,Tenure,G,S,B,TM

Alexandros Merkati,M,GRE,GOL,1900,1897-1925,0,0,0,0

Henri Hébrard de Villeneuve,M,FRA,FEN,1900,1900-1911,0,0,0,0

William Lord Desborough,M,GBR,FEN,1906,1905-1913,0,1,0,1

Carlos de Candamo,M,PER,FEN,1900,1905-1922,0,0,0,0

Gheorghe Plagino,M,ROM,SHO,1900,1908-1949,0,0,0,0

Albert Glandaz,M,FRA,SAI,1900,1913-1944,0,0,0,0

Justinien Count Clary,M,FRA,SHO,1900,1919-1933,0,0,1,1

Ernst Krogius,M,FIN,SAI,1912,1920-1948,0,0,0,0

Jacobo Duke de Alba,M,ESP,POL,1920,1924-1927,0,0,0,0

Alberto Count Bonacossa,M,ITA,TEN,1920,1925-1953,0,0,0,0

Karl Ritter von Halt,M,GER,ATH,1912,1929-1964,0,0,0,0

Paolo Count Thaon Di Revel,M,ITA,FEN,1920,1932-1964,1,0,0,1

David Lord Burghley,M,GBR,ATH,1924-1932,1933-1981,1,1,0,2

Arthur Lord Porritt,M,NZL,ATH,1924,1934-1967,0,0,1,1

Avery Brundage,M,USA,ATH,1912,1936-1972,0,0,0,0

Gaston Baron de Trannoy,M,BEL,EQU,1912-1920,1939-1957,0,0,0,0

Charles Pahud de Mortanges,M,NED,EQU,1924-1936,1946-1964,5,2,0,7

Armand Massard,M,FRA,FEN,1920-1928,1946-1970,1,1,1,3

Ioannis Ketseas,M,GRE,TEN,1906,1946-1965,0,0,0,0

Josef Gruss,M,TCH,TEN,1908,1946-1965,0,0,0,0

Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen,M,NOR,SAI,1936,1948-1967,0,1,0,1

Bo Ekelund,M,SWE,ATH,1920,1948-1965,0,0,1,1

Brooks Parker,M,USA,FEN,1920-1924,1950-1951,0,0,0,0

Lewis Luxton,M,AUS,ROW,1932,1951-1974,0,0,0,0

Jean Count de Beaumont,M,FRA,SHO,1924,1951-1990,0,0,0,0

Gustaf Dyrssen,M,SWE,FEN,1920-1936,1952-1970,1,2,0,1

Vladimir Stoychev,M,BUL,EQU,1924-1928,1952-1987,0,0,0,0

Crown Prince Konstantinos II,M,GRE,SAI,1960,1963-1974,1,0,0,1

João Havelange,M,BRA,SWI/WAP,1936-1952,1963-2011,0,0,0,0

Sylvio Padilha,M,BRA,ATH,1932-1936,1964-1995,0,0,0,0

Jim Worrall,M,CAN,ATH,1936,1967-1989,0,0,0,0

Masaji Kiyokawa,M,JPN,SWI,1932-1936,1969-1989,1,0,1,2

Sven Thofelt,M,SWE,FEN,1928-1948,1970-1976,1,0,1,2

Tony Bridge,M,JAM,SHO,1960-1964,1973-2000,0,0,0,0

Julie Roosevelt,M,USA,SAI,1948-1952,1974-1986,1,0,0,1

David McKenzie,M,AUS,FEN,1956-1964,1974-1981,0,0,0,0

Peter Tallberg,M,FIN,SAI,1960-1980,1976-date,0,0,0,0

Kevan Gosper,M,AUS,ATH,1956-1960,1977-2013,0,1,0,1

Roberto Peper,M,ARG,SWI,1932,1977-1999,0,0,0,0

Niels Holst-Sørensen,M,DEN,ATH,1948,1977-2002,0,0,0,0

Dick Pound,M,CAN,SWI,1960,1978-date,0,0,0,0

Pirjo Wilmi-Häggman,F,FIN,ATH,1972-1980,1981-1999,0,0,0,0

Chiharu Igaya,M,JPN,ASK,1952-1960,1982-2012,0,1,0,1

Dame Mary Alison Glen Haig,F,GBR,FEN,1948-1960,1982-1993,0,0,0,0

Phil Coles,M,AUS,CAN,1960-1968,1982-2012,0,0,0,0

Pál Schmitt,M,HUN,FEN,1968-1976,1983-date,1,0,0,2

Prince Albert II of Monaco,M,MON,BOB,1988-2002,1985-date,0,0,0,0

Anita DeFrantz,F,USA,ROW,1976,1986-date,0,0,1,1

Anton Geesink,M,NED,JUD,1964,1987-2010,1,0,0,1

Anne HRH The Princess Royal,F,GBR,EQU,1976,1988-date,0,0,0,0

Frank Nyangweso,M,UGA,BOX,1960,1988-2011,0,0,0,0

Fernando Bello,M,POR,SAI,1968-1972,1989-2009,0,0,0,0

Thomas Bach,M,GER,FEN,1976,1991-date,1,0,0,1

Denis Oswald,M,SUI,ROW,1968-1976,1991-date,0,0,1,1

Jacques Rogge,M,BEL,SAI,1968-1976,1991-2013,0,0,0,0

Valery Borzov,M,UKR,ATH,1972-1976,1994-date,2,1,2,5

Arne Ljungqvist,M,SWE,ATH,1952,1994-2012,0,0,0,0

Věra Čáslavská,F,CZE,GYM,1960-1968,1995-2001,7,4,0,11

Jean-Claude Killy,M,FRA,ASK,1964-1968,1995-2014,3,0,0,3

Yury Titov,M,RUS,GYM,1956-1964,1995-1996,1,5,3,9

Olegario Vázquez Raña,M,MEX,SHO,1964-1976,1995-date,0,0,0,0

Guy Drut,M,FRA,ATH,1972-1976,1996-date,1,1,0,2

Irena Kirszenstein-Szewińska,F,POL,ATH,1964-1980,1998-date,3,2,2,7

Nawal El-Moutawakel,F,MAR,ATH,1984,1998-date,1,0,0,1

Aleksandr Popov,M,RUS,SWI,1992-2004,1999-date,4,5,0,9

Johann Olav Koss,M,NOR,SSK,1992-1994,1999-2001,4,1,0,5

Jan Železný,M,CZE,ATH,1988-2004,1999-2012,3,1,0,4

Manuela Di Centa,F,ITA,CCS,1984-1998,1999-2010,2,2,3,7

Vladimir Smirnov,M,KAZ,CCS,1988-1998,1999-2001,1,4,2,7

Bob Ctvrtlik,M,USA,VOL,1988-1996,1999-2007,1,0,1,2

Sergey Bubka,M,UKR,ATH,1988-2000,1999-date,1,0,0,1

Hassiba Boulmerka,F,ALG,ATH,1988-1996,1999-2000,1,0,0,1

Roland Baar,M,GER,ROW,1988-1996,1999-2004,0,1,1,2

Charmaine Crooks,F,CAN,ATH,1984-1996,1999-2004,0,1,0,1

Susie O’Neill,F,AUS,SWI,1992-2000,2000-2005,2,4,2,8

Kip Keino,M,KEN,ATH,1964-1972,2000-2010,2,2,0,4

Manuel Estiarte,M,ESP,WAP,1980-2000,2000-2004,1,1,0,2

Paul Henderson,M,CAN,SAI,1964-1968,2000-2004,0,0,0,0

Carlos Arthur Nuzman,M,BRA,VOL,1964,2000-2012,0,0,0,0

Alfredo Goyeneche,M,ESP,EQU,1960,2000-2002,0,0,0,0

Randhir Singh,M,IND,SHO,1968-1984,2001-date,0,0,0,0

Matthew Pinsent,M,GBR,ROW,1992-2004,2002-2004,4,0,0,4

Pernilla Wiberg,F,SWE,ASK,1992-2002,2002-2010,2,1,0,2

Ådne Søndrål,M,NOR,SSK,1992-2002,2002-2006,1,1,1,3

Jari Kurri,M,FIN,ICH,1980-1998,2002-2006,0,0,1,1

Hicham El Guerrouj,M,MAR,ATH,1996-2004,2004-2012,2,1,0,3

Frank Fredericks,M,NAM,ATH,1992-2004,2004-date,0,4,0,4

Rania El-Wani,F,EGY,SWI,1992-2000,2004-2012,0,0,0,0

Barbara Anne Kendall,F,NZL,SAI,1992-2004,2005-date,1,1,1,3

Beckie Scott,F,CAN,CCS,1998-2006,2006-2014,1,1,0,2

Saku Koivu,M,FIN,ICH,1994-2006,2006-2014,0,1,2,3

Nicole Hoevertsz,F,ARU,SYF,1984,2006-date,0,0,0,0

Haya HRH Princess Bint Al-Hussein,F,UAE,EQU,2000,2007-date,0,0,0,0

Yumilka Ruiz,F,CUB,VOL,1996-2008,2008-date,2,0,1,3

Mun Dae-Seong,M,KOR,TKW,2004,2008-date,1,0,0,1

Claudia Bokel,F,GER,FEN,1996-2004,2008-date,0,1,0,1

Yang Yang (A),F,CHN,STK,1998-2006,2010-date,2,2,1,5

Angela Ruggiero,F,USA,ICH,1998-2010,2010-date,1,2,1,4

Barry Maister,M,NZL,HOK,1968-1976,2010-date,0,0,0,0

Adam Pengilly,M,GBR,SKE,2006-2010,2010-date,0,0,0,0

José Perurena,M,ESP,CAN,1968,2011-date,0,0,0,0

James Tomkins,M,AUS,ROW,1988-2008,2012-date,3,0,1,4

Tony Estanguet,M,FRA,CAN,2000-2012,2012-date,3,0,0,3

Kirsty Coventry,M,ZIM,SWI,2000-2012,2012-date,2,4,1,7

Danka Barteková,F,SVK,SHO,2008-2012,2012-date,0,0,1,1

Tsunekazu Takeda,M,JPN,EQU,1972-1976,2012-date,0,0,0,0

Stefan Holm,M,SWE,ATH,2000-2008,2013-date,1,0,0,1

Paul Tergat,M,KEN,ATH,1996-2004,2013-date,0,2,0,2

Bernard,M,BRA,VOL,1976-1984,2013-date,0,1,0,1

Ole Einar Bjørndalen,M,NOR,BIA/CCS,1994-2014,2014-date,8,4,1,13

Hayley Wickenheiser,F,CAN,ICH/SOF,1998-2014,2014-date,4,1,0,5

Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen,M,DEN,BDM,1992-2000,2014-date,1,0,0,1

[/table]

Scotland is preparing to vote in a referendum about becoming an independent nation and leaving the United Kingdom. There has been some discussion about what this would mean for Scottish athletes, in particular concerning their Olympic status. IOC President Bach has already come out and said that Scotland would be welcomed into the Olympic Movement as an independent nation, if that occurs. But did you know that Scotland has already competed at the Olympics as an independent nation, even though they have been part of the United Kingdom since 1707?

In 1908, England, Ireland (then part of Great Britain), Scotland, and Wales entered separate national teams in the hockey (field) tournament, with Scotland sharing the bronze medal with Wales. In 1912, England, Ireland, and Scotland entered separate national teams in the cycling road race, with Scotland finishing fourth. All other Scottish appearances at the Olympic Games have come as part of Great Britain’s teams.

Of note, however, Scotland could form its own National Olympic Committee with no delay, as it has affiliations with more than the five requisite IOC-recognized International Federations. Scotland is an independent member of the following nine IFs: Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Curling, Football (Soccer), Hockey (Field), Table Tennis, Volleyball, and Weightlifting.

Will Scotland again be represented as their own nation at the Olympics? We shall see – its been over 100 years since it occurred, but it has happened.