External links
- World multi-sport events
- The World's Greatest Multi-Sport Athletes at Topend Sports
A multi-sport athlete is an athlete who competes or trains at two or more different sports. [1] A notable two-sport athlete, Deion Sanders achieved the rare feat of playing in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. While he won two Super Bowl titles, a World Series championship eluded him. [2]
The following is a list of professional athletes who have earned recognition as Olympic champions or world champions in other major competitions in at least two distinct sports.
The following is arranged by the earliest to accomplish the feat.
| # | Year Achieved | Athlete | Sports | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1896 | Carl Schuhmann | Artistic gymnastics Greco-Roman wrestling | At the inaugural modern Olympic Games in 1896, Schuhmann won gold medals in artistic gymnastics in the team parallel bars, team horizontal bar, and vault. He also captured gold in the Games' sole wrestling event, becoming the first athlete to win four gold medals at a single Olympics. [3] [4] |
| 2 | 1916 | Jim Thorpe | Track and field American football | Thorpe won gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Summer Olympics. [5] In football, he was a three-time champion of the Ohio League, the predecessor to the NFL. [6] He also played professional baseball and basketball. [7] [8] |
| 3 | 1920 [a] | Morris Kirksey | Track and field Rugby union | At the 1920 Summer Olympics, Kirksey won gold in the 4 × 100 metres relay, silver in the 100 metres, and also helped the American team capture gold in rugby. [9] |
| 4 | Daniel Norling | Artistic gymnastics Equestrian vaulting | At the 1908 Summer Olympics, Norling represented Sweden, winning gold in the gymnastics team event. He repeated the feat at the 1912 Games in the team Swedish system event, and later added another gold medal in team equestrian jumping at the 1920 Games. [10] | |
| 5 | 1932 | Eddie Eagan | Boxing Bobsleigh | Eagan competed in boxing during his first two Olympic appearances, capturing gold in the light heavyweight division at the 1920 Summer Olympics. He later switched to bobsleigh at the 1932 Winter Olympics, where he helped the four-man team secure another gold medal. [11] He is the only athlete to win a gold medal in both the Winter and Summer Olympics. [12] |
| 6 | 1940 | Babe Didrikson Zaharias | Track and field Golf | Excelling at sports including basketball and baseball, Zaharias won gold medals in the 80m hurdles and javelin throw, and a silver medal in the high jump at the 1932 Summer Olympics. [13] In golf, she won 10 LPGA major championships. [14] |
| 7 | 1946 | Otto Graham | American football Basketball | Months before beginning his rookie season with the Cleveland Browns in 1946, Graham joined the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League (a precursor to the NBA), helping them sweep the Sheboygan Red Skins for the NBL title. That same year, he also won his first professional football championship, making him a two-sport champion in 1946. He went on to win four AAFC championships and three NFL championships, all with the Browns. [15] [16] |
| 8 | 1948 | Jaroslav Drobný | Tennis Ice hockey | Drobný won one Wimbledon and two French Open titles in singles, and one French Open title apiece in doubles and mixed doubles. [17] In ice hockey, he won a gold medal at the 1947 World Championships and a silver medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics representing Czechoslovakia. [18] [19] |
| 9 | 1959 | Gene Conley | Baseball Basketball | The only athlete to win a World Series and NBA Championship, Conley was a four-time All-Star pitcher and won the 1957 World Series with the Milwaukee Braves. He also spent six seasons in the NBA, winning three straight championships with the Boston Celtics before finishing his basketball career in the Eastern Professional Basketball League. [20] [21] |
| 10 | 1972 | Bob Hayes | Track and field American football | The only athlete in history to win an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl, [22] Hayes won the men's 100 metres and 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1964 Summer Olympics. [23] On January 16, 1972, he won Super Bowl VI as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. [24] |
| 11 | 1986 | Christa Luding-Rothenburger | Speed skating Track cycling | Luding-Rothenburger captured gold in the 500 metres speed skating at the 1984 Winter Olympics, adding a silver in 1988 and a bronze in 1992, and also claimed gold in the 1000 metres at the 1984 Games. In track cycling, she won the World Championships in 1986 and earned a silver medal at the 1988 Olympics. [25] |
| 12 | 1994 [b] | Walter Ray Williams Jr. | Bowling Horseshoes | Williams has won a record 47 standard PBA Tour career titles, including the 2001–02, 2002–03, and 2005–06 PBA World Championship. [26] In horseshoes, Williams is a six-time world champion and three-time junior world champion. [27] [28] [22] |
| 13 | 2008 | Rebecca Romero | Rowing Track cycling | Romero earned a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and captured gold the following year at the 2005 World Rowing Championships. In track cycling, she won gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics and is a two-time UCI Track Cycling World Champion. [29] |
| 14 | 2018 | Ester Ledecká | Snowboarding Alpine skiing | At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Ledecká competed in both snowboarding and alpine skiing, claiming gold in the parallel giant slalom and the Super-G. She won gold again in the parallel giant slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics. [11] |
The IOC classifies cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and biathlon as related sports since cross-country skiing is a core element in each, rather than treating them as distinctly different sports (DDS). Likewise, swimming and water polo are both part of aquatics and thus considered related rather than distinct. [30]
| Year Achieved | Athlete | Sports | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | John Arthur Jarvis | Swimming Water polo | At the 1900 Summer Olympics, Jarvis represented Great Britain, winning gold medals in the 1000 metres freestyle and the 4000 metres freestyle, as well as in water polo. [31] |
| 1904 | Leo Goodwin | Swimming Water polo | At the 1904 Summer Olympics, Goodwin represented the United States, winning gold in water polo and in the 4 x 50 yards freestyle relay. [32] |
| Louis Handley | Swimming Water polo | At the 1904 Summer Olympics, Handley represented the United States, winning gold in water polo and in the 4 × 50 yards freestyle relay. [33] | |
| Joe Ruddy | Swimming Water polo | At the 1904 Summer Olympics, Ruddy represented the United States, winning gold in water polo and in the 4 × 50 yards freestyle relay. [34] | |
| 1912 | Paul Radmilovic | Swimming Water polo | Representing Great Britain at the 1908 Summer Olympics, Radmilovic won gold in water polo and in swimming's 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay. He later added two more water polo gold medals at the 1912 and 1920 Games. [35] |
| 1924 | Thorleif Haug | Cross-country skiing Nordic combined | At the 1924 Winter Olympics, Haug won gold in the 18 kilometre and 50 kilometre cross-country skiing events. She also won a gold medal at the nordic combined. [36] |
| 1928 | Johan Grøttumsbråten | Cross-country skiing Nordic combined | At the 1928 Winter Olympics, Grøttumsbråten won a gold medal in the 18 kilometre cross-country skiing event and nordic combined. He repeated at the nordic combined in the 1932 Winter Olympics. [37] |
| 1952 | Heikki Hasu | Cross-country skiing Nordic combined | Hasu won gold in nordic combined at the 1948 Winter Olympics and added a silver in the event at the 1952 Games, where he also captured gold in the cross-country relay. At the 1950 World Championships, he claimed gold in nordic combined and silver in the cross-country relay. [38] |
| 1992 | Anfisa Reztsova | Biathlon Cross-country skiing | Reztsova won gold in the biathlon at the 1992 and 1994 Olympic Games. She also won a gold medal in cross-country skiing at the 1988 Winter Olympics and three gold medals at the World Championships. [39] [40] |
ADCC and IBJJF world champions are grouped as BJJ/Submission grappling—distinct in style, but part of the same grappling discipline.
| # | Year Achieved | Athlete | Sports | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2018 [aj] | Valentina Shevchenko | Muay Thai Kickboxing MMA | Shevchenko is an eight-time IFMA World Muay Thai Champion and WMC super lightweight champion. [108] In kickboxing, she is the former Kunlun Fight Lightweight Champion, WKC K-1 Lightweight World Champion, and 2004 WAKO World Kickboxing Champion. [109] [110] In MMA, Shevchenko is a two-time UFC Flyweight Champion. [111] |
| 2 | 2023 [ak] | Stamp Fairtex | Muay Thai Kickboxing MMA | Fairtex is a former ONE Atomweight Muay Thai, Kickboxing and MMA World Champion. [112] |
Although both Lesnar and Ogawa won championships in professional wrestling, the sport is presented as scripted entertainment rather than genuine competition. Their inclusion is therefore noted as an honorable mention.
| Year Achieved | Athlete | Sports | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 [al] | Naoya Ogawa | Judo Professional wrestling | Ogawa was a four-time judo world champion and a silver medalist at the 1992 Summer Olympics. [113] In professional wrestling, he is the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion. [114] |
| 2008 [am] | Brock Lesnar | Professional wrestling (WWE) MMA | Lesnar has captured multiple WWE titles, including the Undisputed WWE Championship and the WWE Universal Championship. [115] In MMA, he is the former UFC Heavyweight Champion. [116] Lesnar also briefly pursued a career in football, signing with the Minnesota Vikings in 2004 before being released shortly afterward. [117] |
| 2018 [an] | Ronda Rousey | Professional wrestling (WWE) MMA | Rousey was the UFC's inaugural Women's Bantamweight Champion in 2012. [118] In WWE, she won the Raw Women's Championship in 2018 and later won the SmackDown Women's Championship in 2022. [119] [120] |