A list of those who excelled in more than one sport

1. The top 10 Sports
Polymaths
People who excelled in more than one sport

2. I have a fascination for those who excelled in multiple
sports.
Sharing this list of my heroes. Many of whom I discovered
while making the list.
As this list tells you, the sporting polymath is a dying breed

3. Just out of top 10
11. Alex Zanardi –F1 driver who won two CART
championships in US. After losing both his legs, won
para-olympic medals in cycling
12. Christa Luding – Winter Olympic golds in speed skating
and a silver in Summer Olympic in cycling
13. Babe Zacharias – Olympic track and field medals and a
basketball player. Also the first woman to be a golf
celebrity

4. And…
14. Dennis Compton – the cricket legend played football
for Arsenal (and England in an unofficial match)
15. Sir George Thomas – 21 time All England Badminton
champ, 2 time England chess champion and
Wimbeldon doubles semi-finalist
16. Johnny Douglas –England cricket captain. His only
Olympic gold in boxing is marred by controversy

5. 10. CB Fry
 Allrounder & England cricket captain
1896 - 1912
 Long jump world record holder
 Played football for England
(also an academician & prolific writer)

6. 9. Shaun Palmer
 World Champ snowboarder
 World No 5 mountain biker
 Professional Motocross racer
 Professional auto racer
 Gold medal in X games skiing
Known as one of the architects of modern
extreme sports

7. 8. Simen Agdestein
 Norwegian chess Grandmaster
 7 time national champ
 Runners up in world junior championship
in ‘86
 Also former coach of Magnus Carlsen
 Played professional football for 9 years
and also represented Norway

8. 7. Carl Schuhmann
 Leading gold medal winner
in 1896 Olympics
3 – Gymnastics
1 – wrestling
Also competed in athletics and
weightlifting

9. 6. Clara Hughes
 2 cycling medals in 96
Summer Olympics
 4 medals (2 gold) across 3
Winter Olympics
Only person to have won
multiple medals in both
Summer & Winter Games

10. 5. Bo Jackson
 ‘85 Hiesman trophy as leading college
American football player
 NFL player – ’87 - ’92
 Celebrated professional baseball player
‘86 – ’94
Only athlete to be an All-Star in two major
American sports

11. 4. Max Woosnam
 Tennis gold and silver at 1920 Olympics
 Captain of Manchester City FC and
England
 Century at Lords
 147 break in snooker
 Famous for defeating Charlie Chaplin at
TT with a butter knife

12. 3. Jim Thorpe
 Won Pentathlon and decathlon in 1912
Olympics
 Controversially stripped of his medals.
Reinstated well after his death.
 Played American football, baseball and
basketball professionally.

13. 2. Lottie Dod
 5 time Wimbeldon champ
 British amateur golf champ
 Played hockey for England
 Archery silver medal in ‘08
Olympics

14. 1. Fred Perry
You are No 1 on this list if you
were world champ in your second
sport
 8 grand slam tennis titles
 Ist to complete career slam
 Table Tennis world champ in ‘29