Is it possible to earn Olympic medals in both the summer and winter games? Six individuals have won medals in both the summer and winter Olympic Games. Gillis Grafstrom of Sweden is the most successful figure skater in Olympic history, having won three gold medals and one silver medal throughout his career in the 1920s and 1930s. He was also the first man to successfully defend an Olympic men's singles title when he returned for a second run at it in 1928. In ice hockey, Bill Cook of Canada is the most decorated athlete with two gold medals. He won both events (bronze medal as a forward, gold as a defenceman) in which Canadians were allowed to compete during the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California.
An American athlete has won a medal each in summer and winter sports: bobsledder Chris Kerwood has two bronze medals from 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and 1998 ones in Nagano. His wife Colleen also races in two-woman bobsleigh: they are the first female couple to win an Olympic medal together.
There are two ways to win an Olympic medal: you can be the best athlete in your country or you can be part of a winning team. Chris Kerwood became an honorary Canadian citizen in 1995 after marrying a Canadian woman. Since Canada allowed women to compete in winter sports from 1956 onwards it follows that some women have won Olympic medals in both summer and winter sports.
Rothenburger, Christa Champions in the winter and summer Christa Rothenburger of East Germany won the 1000m speed skating championship. Seven months later, she won a silver medal in cycling, making her the first athlete in history to win medals in both the Winter and Summer Olympics in the same year.
She is also the only person to have won Olympic gold in one sport (speed skating) and silver in another (cycling).
Christa Rothenburger was born on January 4th, 1959 in Leipzig, German Democratic Republic. She started learning ice skating at the age of three. In 1975, at the European Youth Championships, she became the youngest ever winner of the gold medal in speed skating. Two years later, at the World Junior Championships, she added another gold medal. In 1978, at the World Student Games in Moscow, Russia, she became the first woman to win two gold medals in one event when she took home the titles in speed skating.
In 1980, at the Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia, Christa Rothenburger became the first woman to win two gold medals in one event when she took home the titles in speed skating. The following year, at the World Cup Series in Stockholm, Sweden, she won her third gold medal.
Bonnie Blair, an American speed skater, earned the most medals in the Winter Olympics with six. Only five competitors, including Eddie Eagan of the United States, have ever won medals in both the Winter and Summer Olympics. Eddie was a member of America's gold-winning bobsleigh team in 1932, headed by Billy Fiske. The other four are: Eric Radford, Dave Thomson, Dale Evans, and Bucky Dent. All but Dave were members of the legendary "Four Horsemen" team that dominated Olympic competition in the 1970s.
Blair was born on January 4th, 1919 in New York City. She started skating when she was only 6 years old. A few years later, her family moved to Detroit, where she continued to train while working as a secretary during the day. In 1936, at the age of 19, she became the youngest person ever to win the U.S. national championship. Two years later, she went back to Europe, this time to compete in the World Championships, and took first place.
During World War II, Bonnie stayed in Europe to work for a military transport company. After the war ended, she returned to Michigan to resume her career. In 1949, at the age of 25, she finally achieved her long-standing goal by winning the silver medal at the Oslo Winter Olympics. The following year, she repeated this success by winning the bronze medal at the Helsinki Games.
The United States leads the way with a total of 1,939 Paralympic medals. Since 1960, American athletes have competed in every event. Trischa Zorn, a US swimmer, is the most successful athlete in Olympic history, with 55 gold medals. She was born blind and has won 100-meter backstroke, 100-meter butterfly, and 100-meter freestyle championships (among others).
This page is a list of multiple Olympic medalists, that is, athletes who have won several Olympic medals in either the Summer or Winter Olympic Games. Michael Phelps, an American swimmer, is the youngest and most accomplished Olympian, having won 28 medals in both individual and team competitions (23 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze).
Clara Hughes was the first Olympian to win multiple medals in both the summer and winter games, and she still has the most medals of any Olympian who has won medals in both. Pierre de Coubertin; Timoleon J. Philimon; N. G. Politis; Ch. Anninos (1897). "Second Part: The 1896 Olympic Games" (PDF).
Only Eddie Eagan and Gillis Grafstrom have won gold medals in both the summer and winter Olympics. They did so at different games: Eagan won a silver medal in ice hockey at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, while Grafstrom brought home a bronze medal in ski jumping that same year in St. Moritz.
In fact, no one has ever won more than one gold medal in the Olympics. The record is held by István Bárány with two golds from 1932 to 1936 in the men's high jump event.
The only other person to win gold in both summer and winter sports is David López, who accomplished this feat in 2014. He won a gold medal in sailing and a gold medal in water polo at the same Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
López is the first person to win gold in both sports on the same day. Sailing is an aquatic sport that can be done in either a boat or on land. Water polo is played on land with five players per team and it is considered a sport for males of short stature. Both events are contested over the same course each day during the Games. Lopez came in first in both events.
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