The Sports activities Archives – Unimaginable Feats: Athletes Competing within the Summer season and Winter Olympic Video games

With the climate altering, and the primary snows falling in lots of elements of the nation, our attentions start to show to winter sports activities, notably with the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang just two ski seasons away. Ski jackets are being dragged out of storage, ice skates are being dusted off, and Individuals all around the nation are getting ready for an exquisite winter of sport. While lots of our Summer season video games champions shall be having fun with a well-earned relaxation earlier than they resume coaching for the 2020 video games, a only a few will start coaching for his or her different probability at Olympic glory. According to renowned Olympic historian, Bill Mallon, all through the fashionable historical past of the video games a complete of 128 athletes have competed in each Winter and Summer season sports activities.

The Yongpyong Dragon Valley ski resort shall be on the heart of 2018 PyeongChang Winter Video games.

American Sporting Icons

This yr two of those that are serving double obligation in each video games are American monitor and area athletes Lolo Jones and Lauryn Williams. Lolo Jones started her Olympic profession as a 100 meter hurdler, ending seventh within the hurdles throughout the Beijing 2008 video games, and fourth throughout the London 2012 video games. It was after London that Lolo made the choice to change her sporting consideration to bobsledding: we are able to count on to see her first Olympic race within the sport in PyeongChang throughout the 2018 video games. Impressed by her former teammate Lolo Jones, Lauryn Williams has additionally joined the American Olympic bobsled group. Williams started her profession as a sprinter, profitable a silver medal for the ladies’s 100 meter dash throughout the Athens 2004 video games. She then took dwelling a gold medal throughout the London 2012 video games as a part of the 4 x 100 meter relay group. Williams’ transition to the winter Olympics has occurred extremely rapidly, and simply six months after switching to the game she was introduced as a push athlete for the group. In 2014 Williams gained a silver medal throughout the Socchi winter Olympics, as a part of the 2 lady bobsleigh group, that means that she has achieved the unimaginable feat of profitable a silver Olympic medal in each the summer time and winter video games: She shall be going for gold in 2018.

The Legend of Eddie Egan

There’s a precedent of American athletes who serve double obligation by competing in each the summer time and winter Olympic Video games, and it might be inconceivable to speak concerning the phenomenon with out mentioning Eddie Egan, who holds the document for being the one particular person to have ever gained gold medals at each the Summer season and Winter Olympic video games. Eddie gained a gold medal for mild heavyweight boxing throughout the 1920 Olympic Video games in Antwerp. He then went on to win a second gold medal throughout the 1932 Winter Olympic video games in Lake Placid as a part of the 4 man bobsled group, even though till he arrived in Lake Placid that yr, he had never actually been inside a bobsled before. Eddie Egan is sometimes called the greatest Olympian you have never heard of. There are large similarities between the careers of Egan and Lauryn Williams, which many commentators are hoping may encourage the gifted athlete to extra double Olympic success.

Our various pure local weather lends itself completely to athletes trying to compete in each video games: we’ve got areas of the nation the place the winters are extremely chilly with loads of powder, and heat dry summers that are perfect for monitor and area coaching. Athletes competing for America in each the summer time and the winter video games are well equipped and well-trained: the American Olympic Committee employs over 350 folks throughout the nation to make sure that our nation’s athletes have the whole lot they should go for objective. Monetary assist, at the side of nice expertise, is an extremely essential side of Olympic success and it’s no coincidence that the international locations who make investments essentially the most in nurturing their groups have essentially the most success on the medal tables. Right here’s hoping we’re nurturing the expertise that can problem  Edie Egan’s unimaginable document within the nation proper now.

That is an article by Helen Cairns.

Picture Credit: Wikipedia Commons