Celebrities who participated in the Olympic Games

[Capi1978]

Which people who have become famous in other fields participated in the Olympic Games? I know of General Patton who competed in the modern pentathlon 1912 and King Olav of Norway who had won a gold medal in Sailing 1928 before he became king. Prince Albert II of Monaco competed several times in the bobsled. Ralph Metcalfe won several medals in running before serving in the Congress. There are surely other nobles who participated but I'm curious about any people who are famous in other fields.

[That Don Guy]

Well, Cathy Rigby (1972 Olympian) and Mary Lou Retton both starred in Peter Pan on Broadway. In fact, quite a few people went from the Olympics to acting (nothing new about this; Sonja Henie did it in the late 1930s), although it's hard to find anybody that did anything other than cameos.

How about the other way around? Hillary Wolf, who played Kevin's sister in the first two Home Alone movies, later represented the USA in judo in 1996 (and I think 2000 as well).
(Before anyone says "Geena Davis did the same thing in archery," Davis attempted to qualify, but never actually made an Olympic team.)

[kunilou]

Dr. Benjamin Spock (the pediatrician, not the Vulcan) was a member of the 1924 U.S. gold medal winning Olympic rowing team.

[RickTheBrother]

Actor, Robert Stack. Olympic Skeet Shooting gold medalist.

[Loach]

Bruce Jenner: World's Greatest Athlete to reality TV doormat on The Kardashians.

[Capi1978]

And now I remember of course Johnny Weissmuller who played Tarzan in several movies and won quite a few medals in the 1920s.

[ashtayk]

Princess Anne participated in equestrian and it was remarkable because she did not have to undergo any sex determination tests.

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by RickTheBrother

Actor, Robert Stack. Olympic Skeet Shooting gold medalist.

Before or after acting? Plenty of Olympic athletes have gone on to fame in entertainment, sports, and other activities.

Also, it would make a big difference how well they did. As you go back in time, the average collegiate athlete had a much better chance of making an Olympic team than now where you often need a lifetime of training to make the grade.

[Lamar Mundane]

Former Colorado Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell competed in judo at the 1964 games in Tokyo. He got injured and did not medal. He was s U.S. champion in 1961, 1962, and 1963.

[BrotherCadfael]

Originally Posted by ashtayk

Princess Anne participated in equestrian and it was remarkable because she did not have to undergo any sex determination tests.

They did, however, have to test to rule out her being a horse...

[kenobi 65]

NFL running back Herschel Walker competed in two-man bobsled in the 1992 Winter Olympics (while he was an active NFL player).

Walker also tried out for, but failed to make, the Olympic track team (relay), I think while he was in college.

[Really Not All That Bright]

Roger Bannister participated in the 1952 Olympics, but didn't actually win anything. He broke the four-minute-mile barrier at an intercollegiate meet.

[Intelligently Designed]

After winning two medals in swimming in 1928 and 1932, Buster Crabbe became a famous actor.

In Canada, Otto Jelinek took part in the figure skating competition in 1960 and later became a minister in the federal cabinet.

[Nunzio Tavulari]

Originally Posted by RickTheBrother

Actor, Robert Stack. Olympic Skeet Shooting gold medalist.

As a teenage boy, I spent many hours alone in my bedroom, shooting skeet.

[Really Not All That Bright]

That reminds me: British Olympian distance runner Seb Coe has been in Parliament since 1992.

[FeAudrey]

Originally Posted by kunilou

Dr. Benjamin Spock (the pediatrician, not the Vulcan) was a member of the 1924 U.S. gold medal winning Olympic rowing team.

The team captain was one of the (lesser-known) Rockefellers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stillman_Rockefeller

[Darryl Lict]

Bill Bradley was a pretty famous basketball player and Olympic Gold Medalist, but he was also pretty famous as a politician.

He also delayed going to the NBA because he thought being a Rhodes Scholar was pretty important.

[phxjcc]

Geena Davis made the 2000 Sydney Olympics team in archery.

[Valgard]

Originally Posted by phxjcc

Geena Davis made the 2000 Sydney Olympics team in archery.

See post #2 - she did not actually make the team. Per Wikipedia, she placed 24th out of 300 in semifinals competition.

[Floater]

Another olympic non contestant. Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden fame almost made it to the British fencing team.

[Kiwi Fruit]

Arthur Porritt, G-G of New Zealand, 1966-72, was an Olympic sprinter and was third in the 100m in 1924, the race memorialised by the film "Chariots of Fire"

[Darth Panda]

Originally Posted by Nunzio Tavulari

As a teenage boy, I spent many hours alone in my bedroom, shooting skeet.

How does Skeet feel about all of this?

[Nava]

Originally Posted by That Don Guy

Well, Cathy Rigby (1972 Olympian) and Mary Lou Retton both starred in Peter Pan on Broadway. In fact, quite a few people went from the Olympics to acting (nothing new about this; Sonja Henie did it in the late 1930s), although it's hard to find anybody that did anything other than cameos.

Esther Williams didn't get to go to the Olympics because the ones she qualified for are the 1940 ones. Does almost having her own movie genre compensate?

Prince Felipe of Spain took place in the 1992 Olympics (Soling-class sailboats) and carried the team's flag; the previous flag-carrier was his sister Cristina (also sailing). Elena is president of the Spanish Paralympic Committee but doesn't participate (any joke you can think of, we've already done). And Cristina's sudden interest for handball several years ago was indeed linked to an interest in her husband, handball player Iñaki Urdangarín.

[Dahu]

Originally Posted by Really Not All That Bright

That reminds me: British Olympian distance runner Seb Coe has been in Parliament since 1992.

But only up to 1997.

Originally Posted by ashtayk

Princess Anne participated in equestrian and it was remarkable because she did not have to undergo any sex determination tests.

I wonder why they bother at all with sex tests in equestrian as this is the only Olympic event where men and women compete on equal terms.

[Cheesesteak]

I think you have to distinguish between Olympians who independently achieved fame and Olympians who became famous due to their Olympic achievements.

Cathy Rigby, Sonia Henie, Johnny Weissmuller all became famous due to the Olympics, and parlayed that fame into a career. It helped that they competed in popular sports, Gymnastics, Skating, and Swimming.

Nobody is bridging the fame of competing in Judo or Rowing into a career, unless that career involves Judo or Rowing. You become famous after that, it's a totally separate endeavor.

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by Dahu

I wonder why they bother at all with sex tests in equestrian as this is the only Olympic event where men and women compete on equal terms.

I wasn't aware that men or women competed in the equestian events. It always looked to me like the horses were doing all the work.

[Enderw24]

Well Michael Jordan, who you all might remember as a minor league baseball player in the Chicago White Sox franchise, managed to win not one, but two gold medals in the 1984 and 1992 Olympics. In basketball of all things!

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by RickTheBrother

Actor, Robert Stack. Olympic Skeet Shooting gold medalist.

What year? I see he was a very skilled, perhaps National Champion, at the sport, but what year did he win the gold medal? I see no record of it, but I am no goofle-fu master.

Originally Posted by phxjcc

Geena Davis made the 2000 Sydney Olympics team in archery.

The archery finals for the team were in my home-town, actually. Just missed the team.

[astorian]

He's not exactly a celebrity, but Lord Philip Noel-Baker is a mighty interesting case:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_...ron_Noel-Baker

As a young track star, he won a silver medal in the 1500 meter race at the 1912 Olympics.

Later, he served in Parliament, and became a leading spokesman for nuclear disarmament. That earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1959.

[Capi1978]

Also not exactly a celebrity, but Harald Bohr, brother of Nobel Prize winning physicist Niels Bohr, won a silver medal with the Danish football team in 1908 and became a prolific mathematician later on.

[Sternvogel]

Originally Posted by Mahaloth

What year? I see (Robert Stack) was a very skilled, perhaps National Champion, at the sport, but what year did he win the gold medal? I see no record of it, but I am no goofle-fu master.

He never won Olympic gold, but he was quite prolific at the sport:

At age 16, he became part of the All American Skeet Team and rose to #2 at the 1935 National Skeet Shooting Championship. The following year, his 5-men team set the record at the National Skeet Championships, which was held in St. Louis. For his outstanding achievement, Bob was inducted into the National Skeet Shooting Hall of Fame in 1971.

ETA: Skeet shooting wasn't added to the Olympic program until 1968.

[mcgato]

For the record, this is the database to check claims of being an Olympian.

[echo7tango]

"Bullet Bob" Hayes is the only Olympic Gold Medalist to win a Super Bowl ring.

Hayes and Jim Thorpe are the only gold medalists to be enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame.

[42fish]

A.C. Gilbert, inventor of the erector set, won a gold medal in pole vault in 1908.

Originally Posted by Nunzio Tavulari

As a teenage boy, I spent many hours alone in my bedroom, shooting skeet.

I was too busy playing with my erector set to shoot skeet.

[Cicero]

Originally Posted by BrotherCadfael

They did, however, have to test to rule out her being a horse...

You are surely going to hell because of that comment. I did laugh

[Ulf the Unwashed]

Originally Posted by TriPolar

I wasn't aware that men or women competed in the equestian events. It always looked to me like the horses were doing all the work.

It's interesting that the medals go to the rider in the Olympics, but in horse racing it's the horse, not the jockey, who wins the Triple Crown (or doesn't).

Scottish field hockey player Alastair Dennison is hardly a household name, but he was a major figure in cryptoanalysis for the British in both world wars. He got a bronze medal in 1908.

[Ponch8]

Originally Posted by Loach

Bruce Jenner: World's Greatest Athlete to reality TV doormat on The Kardashians.

He was also in a few episodes of CHiPs one season when Erik Estrada (Ponch) was out due to a contract dispute.

[terentii]

Pierre Jalbert, the actor who played Caje on "Combat!", was once Canada's Junior and Senior National Ski Champion. In 1948, he was the captain of Canada's Olympic Ski Team at St. Moritz, but unfortunately broke his leg in a fall during a practice run and never skied in the Games.

Actor Bruce Dern, a dedicated long-distance runner, tried out for the US Olympic Team in 1956 and 1964, but apparently didn't make the cut.