Famous Olympics Athletes

[soccernutter]

Can you identify the above famous Olympic athletes? Yes, I cheated a bit, but only because I am at work and on a limited time schedule (and needed correct spelling). When you answer, please do not cheat...

The poll is if you know/recognize the above famous Olympic athletes.

[Hendrixforpope]

"Cassius Clay"?...you're sneaky. :p

[soccernutter]

I almost put the famous female golfer, Babe Dickenson. ;)

[Caesar]

Lots of Yanks there...

[Hendrixforpope]

Lots of Yanks there...

Naturally ;)

:p

[Beazley17]

I was able to get 8. Cassius Clay was smooth. Especially putting him at the bottom. Almost made me pass him.

[Alberto]

Who the hell is David Berger and what did he medal in?

[Hendrixforpope]

Who the hell is David Berger and what did he medal in?

Israeli weightlifter killed during the Munich massacre.

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

No offense, but I wouldn't consider him one of the all-time great Olympians :o

[Alberto]

Israeli weightlifter killed in during the Munich massacre.

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

No offense, but I wouldn't consider him one of the all-time great Olympians :o


Thanks. I remember the Munich massacre as a kid. Jim McKay reporting with Peter Jennings.

Rest in peace all the dead Israeli Olympians.

[Bluto11]

Israeli weightlifter killed during the Munich massacre.

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

No offense, but I wouldn't consider him one of the all-time great Olympians :o
I think this list is just famous Olympians as opposed to all time greats

[soccernutter]

I think this list is just famous Olympians as opposed to all time greats

Thanks. I thought about including him or not, and decided to since I was making a list on identification of being famous, but not necessarily doing well at the Olys (hence the inclusion of Zola Budd as well).

As for the "mostly Yanks" bit...I am a bit skewed as to well known/famous pre 84...If I had put Karch Kiraly, would anybody have gotten him?

[Bluto11]

Thanks. I thought about including him or not, and decided to since I was making a list on identification of being famous, but not necessarily doing well at the Olys (hence the inclusion of Zola Budd as well).

As for the "mostly Yanks" bit...I am a bit skewed as to well known/famous pre 84...If I had put Karch Kiraly, would anybody have gotten him?
I would've, simply based on the fact that they showed clips of him during the volleyball matches because he was a commentator

to be fair, I didn't know most of the non-American olympians you picked.

[Alberto]

Jesse Owens, Ohio State track star and winner of the 100m, 200m 4 x 100m and long jump at the 1936 Berlin Games. His long jump record stood till 1968 when Bob Beamon became the first man to long jump over 29 feet.

Carl Lewis, equalled Owens record in the 1984 Los Angeles Games by winning the same exact events. Won the gold medal in the mens 100m in Seoul in 1988, by Ben Johnson's disqualification for a positive test result for steroids.

Mary Lou Retton Olympic all around women's gymnastics champion in 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Spitz 7 gold medals in swimming in 1972 Munich Games.

Paavo Nurmi, the greatest of the flying Finn's. won 9 olympic gold medals in middle and long distance running in the 1920, 1924 and 1928 Olympic games.

Abebe Bikila, winner of the 1960 and 1964 men's marathon's. Ran the 1960 Rome race barefoot. National hero of Ethiopia who was left a parapelgic due to an auto accident.

David Berger, one of the 11 Israeli ahtletes murdered by members of the Palestinian Black September movement in the Munich Games.

Magic Johnson, NBA dream team member Barcelona 1992. Played after having retired from the NBA diagnosed HIV positive. One of the great point guards in the history of the NBA.

Ian Thorpe, multiple gold medalist swimmer from Australia, competed in the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 games.

Greg Louganis, Olympic diving champion from the USA, won the 1984 and 1988 gold medals in the men's springboard and platform. Also, competed in the Olympics while HIV positive and cracked his head open with loss of blood in the 1988 games.

Lasse Viren, the contemporary flying finn, was the 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Olympic Champion at 5,000m and 10,000m. He didn't do so well in non Olympic years and was accused of blood doping or boosting a practice whereby an athlete drew blood and stored it only to and then immediately prior to competition reinject red blood cells to boost red blood cell count.

Wilma Rudolph, 1960 Olympic women's 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay champion.

Mike Johnson, did you mean Michael Johnson the 200m and 400m champion or someone else?

Nadia Comeneci, first Olympic women's gymnast to score a perfect 10 and five time gold medalist including all around champion in the the 1976 Olympic games.

Zola Budd, famous for having switched citizenship from South Africa to Great Britain and for having slowed down and causing Mary Decker Slaney to fall and end her chance of winning a medal at the Los Angeles games in the 3000m's.

Cassius Clay, aka Muhammad Ali, the greatest, and Olympic Light Heavyweight boxing champion, 1960 Rome Olympics.

[argentine soccer fan]

I can't believe I missed Bikila. I remembered the Ethiopian who ran the Rome Marathon barefoot, plus, he also won it in Tokyo. But, the name didn't click.

The only other one I missed was Berger.

[Alberto]

Some other famous Olympians.

Al Orter

Dick Fosbury

Bob Mathias

Rafer Johnson

C.K. Yang

Fanny Blankers-Koen

Bob Richards

Dave Wottle

Frank Shorter

Kip Keino

Mamo Wolde

Miruts Yifter

Mildred "Babe" Didrikson

Jim Thorpe

Emil Zatopek

Jackie Joyner Kersee

Edwin Moses

Roger Kingdom

Parry O'Brien