In 1988 Christa Luding-Rothenburger of East Germany took home three Olympic medals – a gold and a silver in the 1000m and 500m speed skating at the Winter Games and a silver medal in track cycling in the summer.
Christa didn't switch sports. She did them both. Simultaneously.
I find this totally mind-boggling.
It was during Vancouver’s opening ceremony that I first started to ponder if anyone had managed to medal at both Games – and I have to admit that I wasn’t really expecting to find anyone like Christa.
I cannot pretend to have direct experience of training as an elite athlete, but my understanding has always been that the amount of time spent training and preparing can preclude doing basic things like going on holiday, or eating ice cream, let alone finding a way to transition into training for an additional sport.
Thinking about it, I can see how there are similar skill-sets between speed skating and cycling. And of the dozen or so athletes I found that had competed at both Games, it was a common combination. A few managed to compete in (what I think are) more intriguing combinations like boxing and bobsleigh, or sailing and ski jumping.
What's particularly impressive about Christa is that no one will ever match her accomplishment – 1992 was the last year that the Summer and Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. In 1994 the Winter Games were held in Lillehammer, thus started the two-year alternating schedule that we now have.
So the question is – will any of the athletes currently competing in Vancouver appear again in 2012?
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