Figure Skaters That Have Competed In Other Sports

[4everchan]

I think I'd have to consider the coxswain a participating athlete, and worthy of the medal.

To clarify because I don't really see them as athletes in the sense of "athletic" I totally agree the coxswains deserve their medals. It's like the short program in figure skating... you cannot win the competition just with a good short program but you can lost it with a bad one. A good coxswain is a must to aspire to the greatest honours. The thing people forget is that the coxswain is not just there during the races but does have to train with the crew. The coxswains know what the crew is capable of doing in training and can decide when the crew needs to push and pick up gears both in training and in competition. That's why I see them more as the brain than the bodies.

On the subject of the curling coach brought up by @4everchan, I can't really offer an opinion because I don't understand the sport, other than it being something like shuffleboard. If, as he states, the coach is on the field of play and is actively participating in real time in a fashion that impacts the way the contest plays out, then I suppose I'd tentatively choose "yes" to the medal question.

The Coach in curling is used once during the game during the time out. However, he/she is called to the ice to discuss strategy with the players. This is their "on the field"

There is not much to understand about curling. You like it and get to know the very basic concepts of it Much easier to comprehend than figure skating rules.

However, in curling, there is a SKIP : the person who decides which shots will be thrown. They are the brains of the curling squad. They do communicate with their players and get feedback from them but they make the ultimate decisions. In that sense the Skip does share some traits with the coxswain. The main difference is that the skip is also throwing stones while the coxswain is not rowing. So that's where I draw the line for the "athletic" word. It's just semantics.... and I don't speak the same language as most of the people on this forum so I will go with what my brain tells me when it comes to lexicon

 

[4everchan]

On the other hand, and this is a throwback to the thread on Synchro9, if a sport MUST be eliminated from the Olympics to make room for newer emerging sports, then equestrian would be the top of my cut list. NOT because of questions of whether it's an athletic event, but because of the inherent exclusivity of the sport. Modern Pentathlon's recent change in format, replacing the equestrian phase, is a good move for the sport, and I hope it opens the door to greater participation and wider popularity.

horses are expensive of course... but then, let's remove bobsleigh and all the sailing sports too If accessibility is the criterion for being an Olympic sport.

We might as well remove surfing too... I mean, who can afford houses near beaches nowadays ?

 

[skatesofgold]

horses are expensive of course... but then, let's remove bobsleigh and all the sailing sports too If accessibility is the criterion for being an Olympic sport.

We might as well remove surfing too... I mean, who can afford houses near beaches nowadays ?

Why are we talking about equestrian and surfing, which are summer sports, being removed for winter sports? That's not how it works.

 

[4everchan]

Why are we talking about equestrian and surfing, which are summer sports, being removed for winter sports? That's not how it works.

You are picking up a thread drift just now ? It happened a long time ago.
My point was not about removing winter sports but removing Olympics sports that are crazy expensive.

 

[Diana Delafield]

Why are we talking about equestrian and surfing, which are summer sports, being removed for winter sports? That's not how it works.

Well, on the other hand, when figure skating first appeared as an Olympic sport it was in the summer games and was held indoors. 1908 in London.

Interesting, I just Googled to check the date and learned the Games were originally supposed to be in Rome, but Vesuvius erupted in 1906 and the Italian government had to relocate the allotted funding into recovery efforts there, so London stepped in. The London Games had so many events it lasted over six months because there were too many athletes to accommodate all at once and too many event venues had to be shared. And we talk about trimming down nowadays!

 

[macy]

Well, on the other hand, when figure skating first appeared as an Olympic sport it was in the summer games and was held indoors. 1908 in London.

Interesting, I just Googled to check the date and learned the Games were originally supposed to be in Rome, but Vesuvius erupted in 1906 and the Italian government had to relocate the allotted funding into recovery efforts there, so London stepped in. The London Games had so many events it lasted over six months because there were too many athletes to accommodate all at once and too many event venues had to be shared. And we talk about trimming down nowadays!

thats incredible. i wonder if there's a documentary on it, id be so interested to learn how they handled not only stepping in last minute but somehow held a 6 month long games!

 

[TontoK]

horses are expensive of course... but then, let's remove bobsleigh and all the sailing sports too If accessibility is the criterion for being an Olympic sport.

We might as well remove surfing too... I mean, who can afford houses near beaches nowadays ?

I was thinking more along the lines of accessibility based on wealth, rather than geography. There are, in fact, bobsledders who grew up in middle class (even, I imagine impoverished) circumstances. Even moreso with surfers, I'd bet. They can still succeed at an elite level.

Show jumping? Dressage? Not the case, at least as far as my imagination can take me. Perhaps there are, in fact, Williams Sisters equivalents. Poor children growing up learning to show jump on the hardscrabble streets. I'm just unaware of them.

 

[TontoK]

Why are we talking about equestrian and surfing, which are summer sports, being removed for winter sports? That's not how it works.

Mine was more of a general comment about removing sports from the Olympic slate.

 

[Arigato]

This thread is off the rails . . .

horses are expensive of course... but then, let's remove bobsleigh and all the sailing sports too If accessibility is the criterion for being an Olympic sport.

We might as well remove surfing too... I mean, who can afford houses near beaches nowadays ?

Hells bells, may as well get rid of figure skating. Who can afford it nowadays?

 

[4everchan]

This thread is off the rails . . .


Hells bells, may as well get rid of figure skating. Who can afford it nowadays?

everything elite is too expensive, yet a quarter million dollar bob (+ track time) is a bit more expensive than a pair of skates and ice time.

 

[TontoK]

This thread is off the rails . . .


Hells bells, may as well get rid of figure skating. Who can afford it nowadays?

I agree that figure skating is an expensive sport. As has been noted, competing at an elite level in any sport can be very expensive.

But I don't think it's prohibitedly expensive for an interested child to explore skating. Perhaps the family can find some used skates at a thrift shop, or a cheap pair on sale at a retailer. Maybe a relative has an old pair to lend. Some rinks rent, don't they? Now, if from this initial interest they decide to progress, that's a different matter, but families of limited means can find a way, at least some of the time, Tonya Harding famously came from an impoverished background, and while I don't know the details, my understanding is that the Browns are a middle class family.

I contrast that with equestrian events, where a cousin is unlikely to have a dressage horse laying around for a young child to try.

 

[snowflake]

Well, most kids nowadays do so many other things

Exactly! and it's probably a good thing for further succes before they choose their path. Watching youth atletics 18 euros right now there are comments on about everone who has also competed in .........

In Sweden I often see young athletes competing in one winter- and one summer season sport.

To be internationally succesful in two sports is hard but there are examples: Einar Hedegart (NOR) who excelles in both crosscountry skiing and biathlon on a high level. And not least Ester Ledecka(CZE) who won gold medals in super-G and snowboard at Pyeongchang olympics.

 

[Diana Delafield]

Exactly! and it's probably a good thing for further succes before they choose their path. Watching youth atletics 18 euros right now there are comments on about everone who has also competed in .........

In Sweden I often see young athletes competing in one winter- and one summer season sport.

To be internationally succesful in two sports is hard but there are examples: Einar Hedegart (NOR) who excelles in both crosscountry skiing and biathlon on a high level. And not least Ester Ledecka(CZE) who won gold medals in super-G and snowboard at Pyeongchang olympics.

According to several Olympic sites I just checked, seven Canadians (3 women, 4 men) have competed in both summer and winter games in modern times. Canadian Clara Hughes is the only athlete from any country to win medals in both -- 2 bronze in cycling in the summer, and one gold, one silver and two bronze in speed skating in the winter.

 

[4everchan]

According to several Olympic sites I just checked, seven Canadians (3 women, 4 men) have competed in both summer and winter games in modern times. Canadian Clara Hughes is the only athlete from any country to win medals in both -- 2 bronze in cycling in the summer, and one gold, one silver and two bronze in speed skating in the winter.

I found 14

Some of them did win medals in one season (on top of Clara winning medals in both)
Hayley Wickenhaiser has 4 golds and 1 silver (hockey, she didn't medal in softball)
Kelsey Mitchell has one gold in cycling (velodrome) but she didn't medal in bob
Glenroy Gilbert was part of the golden relay in Atlanta but didn't medal in bob
Phylicia George won bronze in bob but not on the track

the ones who didn't medal
Georgia Simmerling got close but didn't. She competed in three different sports
Sue Holloway (never heard of her)
Seiyi Smith was part of the 2012 track relay team that was D/Q for a lane violation... otherwise they would have won bronze. He didn't medal in bob.
Vincent de Haître is also a cyclist and speed skater like Clara Hughes though he didn't medal. He is highly regarded as the first Canadian athlete to simultaneously hold the 1,000-metre national record in both speed skating and track cycling.
Pierre Harvey as well in cross-country and cycling.
Bryan Barnett track and bob
Alain Masson Cycling and cross-country
Lloyd Guss Track and bob
Jay Dearborn. Rugby 7 and bob


The track-bob and cycling-speed skating/cross-country skiing combos are frequent. Kelsey Mitchell is an interesting case doing cycling to bob.

 

[snowflake]

What is interesting to me is how multi talented people make a decision to pursue their final single choice.

It really is and I wonder if some regrets their decision.

But i've an example where I think the choice wasn't that difficult, or who knows?

Lara Colturi competed as a youth for Italy in figure skating(and apparently also played tennis) but choose alpine skiing as her sport. Her mother, Daniela Ceccarelli, won olympic gold medal in super-G in Salt lake city 2002. Daniela and her husband are coaching her. Lara started competing as a 16-year old for Albania at the alpine world cup 2022 and has been on the podium many times. At her first olympics she was tenth in slalom.

Interesting is that she uses figure skating as training balance and edge awerness and control benefitting her down hill skiing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFHhI6SuGsU
Her story using figureskating to help her in alpine skiing:

There are lots of videos of her skating. Here is one from her first competition:

Now she uses figure skating as 'her safe place' skating between races all over the world.

As on finnish ice:

How she was allowed to compete for Alabania is another
topic.

 

[Diana Delafield]

I found 14

Some of them did win medals in one season (on top of Clara winning medals in both)
Hayley Wickenhaiser has 4 golds and 1 silver (hockey, she didn't medal in softball)
Kelsey Mitchell has one gold in cycling (velodrome) but she didn't medal in bob
Glenroy Gilbert was part of the golden relay in Atlanta but didn't medal in bob
Phylicia George won bronze in bob but not on the track

the ones who didn't medal
Georgia Simmerling got close but didn't. She competed in three different sports
Sue Holloway (never heard of her)
Seiyi Smith was part of the 2012 track relay team that was D/Q for a lane violation... otherwise they would have won bronze. He didn't medal in bob.
Vincent de Haître is also a cyclist and speed skater like Clara Hughes though he didn't medal. He is highly regarded as the first Canadian athlete to simultaneously hold the 1,000-metre national record in both speed skating and track cycling.
Pierre Harvey as well in cross-country and cycling.
Bryan Barnett track and bob
Alain Masson Cycling and cross-country
Lloyd Guss Track and bob
Jay Dearborn. Rugby 7 and bob


The track-bob and cycling-speed skating/cross-country skiing combos are frequent. Kelsey Mitchell is an interesting case doing cycling to bob.

It's as if the bobsleigh people approach other athletes (I have no idea if they do this, just imagining ) and say "Hey, you've got strong legs and are fast, how about learning to push a sled at the start of the track? Then you just have to pile in and duck your head?" The one I find interesting is the rugby/bob combination, knowing quite a few rugby players through my pairs partner who still plays, having started on his high school team and on into university. Strength plus the determination to push aside all obstacles? I keep picturing why someone in one sport would be attracted to the other, unless it was just a matter of opportunity.

Nowhere near Olympic level, but I was competing in gymnastics and skating at the same time in high school and university, and one helped the other. I certainly haven't been able to do split jumps like this since I dropped gymnastics at 20!

 

[TontoK]

Well, on the other hand, when figure skating first appeared as an Olympic sport it was in the summer games and was held indoors. 1908 in London.

Interesting, I just Googled to check the date and learned the Games were originally supposed to be in Rome, but Vesuvius erupted in 1906 and the Italian government had to relocate the allotted funding into recovery efforts there, so London stepped in. The London Games had so many events it lasted over six months because there were too many athletes to accommodate all at once and too many event venues had to be shared. And we talk about trimming down nowadays!

My favorite bit of Olympics trivia is that Painting, Literature, Architecture, Sculpture, and Music were Olympic medal events from 1912 to 1948!

So, although London missed the first of the Arts events, they did close them out in 1948.

Here's the Wikipedia page that gives you a bit of the history and the medal tables. Stuff like that.

Art competitions at the Summer Olympics - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[TontoK]

It's as if the bobsleigh people approach other athletes (I have no idea if they do this, just imagining ) and say "Hey, you've got strong legs and are fast, how about learning to push a sled at the start of the track? Then you just have to pile in and duck your head?" The one I find interesting is the rugby/bob combination, knowing quite a few rugby players through my pairs partner who still plays, having started on his high school team and on into university. Strength plus the determination to push aside all obstacles? I keep picturing why someone in one sport would be attracted to the other, unless it was just a matter of opportunity.

Nowhere near Olympic level, but I was competing in gymnastics and skating at the same time in high school and university, and one helped the other. I certainly haven't been able to do split jumps like this since I dropped gymnastics at 20!

I think that's kind of what they do. A few years ago, there was a female American track athlete who became a pusher (is that the term?). Her speed was an asset. Aside from thinking it looks like a lot of fun, I know little of bobsled, but I know the start time is something important.

The link between cycling and speedskating is a long one. I think it's not uncommon for elite speed skaters to compete well in cycling.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

It really is and I wonder if some regrets their decision.

But i've an example where I think the choice wasn't that difficult, or who knows?

Lara Colturi competed as a youth for Italy in figure skating(and apparently also played tennis) but choose alpine skiing as her sport. Her mother, Daniela Ceccarelli, won olympic gold medal in super-G in Salt lake city 2002. Daniela and her husband are coaching her. Lara started competing as a 16-year old for Albania at the alpine world cup 2022 and has been on the podium many times. At her first olympics she was tenth in slalom.

Interesting is that she uses figure skating as training balance and edge awerness and control benefitting her down hill skiing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFHhI6SuGsU
Her story using figureskating to help her in alpine skiing:

There are lots of videos of her skating. Here is one from her first competition:

Now she uses figure skating as 'her safe place' skating between races all over the world.

As on finnish ice:

How she was allowed to compete for Alabania is another topic.

Lara was one of the Alpine Skiers that I was cheering for during the Olympics. I just loved the story that Lara was an Olympic baby that was now following in her Mum's footsteps by competing in the Olympics. (Lara was born 9 months after Daniela competed in the Torino 2006 Olympics).

But, I never knew she was also a figure skater.

So that's now 2 figure skaters that we had competing in the Women's Slalom at the Cortina 2026 Olympics. Lara Colturi (ALB) and Andrea Loizidou (CYP).

As for competing for Albania, I don't have a problem with that because her Mum coaches the Albanian team. It's not as if Lara has no ties whatsoever to the country. Like, we've seen lots of skaters switching to the country that their coach is based in. This is just the same.

CaroLiza_fan