Did you know…
Stella Walsh -Olympic champion- was not an athlete. Five decades later, an autopsy confirmed that Stella was a hermaphrodite. Under the Polish flag, Stella (or Stanislawa Walasiewicz) won a gold medal in the women’s 100m at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles (USA). In the 1920s and 1930s, she lived and trained in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, but competed for Poland. Walsh won over 1,000 championships (100m, 200m, 4x100m, 80m hurdles, long jump, discus, shot put, javelin). For many decades, Stella was compared to Mildred “Babe” Didrickson and Francina “Fanny” Elsje Blankers-Koen, two of the most famous athletes of the 20th century.
Laura Flessel-Colovic (France) was one of the best fencers of the early 2000s. At the 1996 Olympic Games she won two gold medals. Laura was born in Guadeloupe, an island in the Caribbean. Bruce Crumley, who is a journalist, wrote: “For someone who soars to glory draped in an outfit that resembles a beekeeper’s outfit, French fencer Laura Flessel-Colovic has had no trouble establishing herself as one of the most stylish and photogenic of France”. Since she first turned heads with a pair of gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, she has wowed sports fans with her graceful and tenacious swordsmanship, adding three world championship titles to her career. a list of international laurels. -years of age, she has enhanced her celebrity status with flourishes of wit and charm that have made her a star with a larger French audience who don’t know an eppe from her elbow…”
The Netherlands is the birthplace of Inge de Brujin, one of the best swimmers of the 21st century.
The Federal Republic of Germany has never won an Olympic medal in basketball.
Water polo is one of the most popular sports in Hungary. At the 1974 European Championships, Hungary finished first and earned a place in the FINA World Cup. At the 1975 FINA World Championships, he won the silver medal.
The Portuguese Republic has many foreign-born athletes: Nelson Evora (triple jump, long jump / world champion / Cape Verde-Africa), Michel de Sousa Fernades Alcobia de almeida (judo / Angola-Africa), Francis Obikwelu ( 100m, 200m, 4x100m / Nigeria-Africa), Enezaide do Rosario da Vera Cruz Gomez (long jump / Sao Tome and Principe-Africa), Helder Ornelas (1,500m, 5,000m, 10,000m, marathon / Angola-Africa), Lucrecia Jardim (100m, 200m, 4x100m / Angola-Africa), Yazaldes Nascimento (100m, 200m, 4x100m / Sao Tome and Principe-Africa), Mario Silva (1,500m / Guinea Bissau-Africa), Jose Luis da Cruz Vidigal (soccer / Angola-Africa), Joao Gomes (fencing / Cape Verde-Africa), Jose Bosingwa da Silva (soccer / Democratic Republic of Congo), Luis Carlos Lourenco da Silva (soccer / Angola-Africa).
Sweden won the handball World Cup in 1958.
Soccer and athletics are two of the most popular sports in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Robert Tisdall (Ireland) won the gold medal in the 400m hurdles at the 1932 Summer Olympics in the United States.
Yugoslavia -currently Serbia- won the first Olympic gold medal in its history in men’s basketball in Moscow ’80. In 1974, Yugoslavia placed second in the World Championship in San Juan de Puerto Rico. Two years later, the team won the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Canada.
Sofia (Bulgaria) hosted the FIVB Men’s World Cup in 1970. Final standings:
1.German Democratic Republic (now Germany)
2.Bulgaria
3.Japan
4.Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic/Slovak Republic)
5. Poland
6. USSR (now Russia)
7.Romania
8.Belgium
9. North Korea
10.Yugoslavia (now Serbia)
11.Hungary
12. Brazil
13. Cuba
14.Holland/Netherlands
15.Italy
16.Mongolia
17.France
18. USA
19.Israel
20.Finland
21. Iran
22.Tunisia
23.Venezuela
24.Guinea
Bulgaria has had many famous sportswomen in the 20th century: Ekaterina Dofovska (biathlon / Olympic champion, 1998), Jordanka Donkova (athletics / Olympic champion, 1988), Stefka Kostandinova (athletics / Olympic champion, 1996), Ivanka Khristova (athletics / medalist Olympic gold medalist, 1976), Tania Dangalakova (swimming/Olympic gold medalist, 1988).
Great Britain won the ice hockey gold medal at the 1936 Winter Olympics.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – it is about 2 times the size of Vermont – has never won an Olympic medal.
The Kingdom of Spain has many Olympic champions: Juan Llaneras (individual points race/cycling), Fermín Cacho Ruiz (1,500m/athletics), Daniel Plaza Montero (20km walk/athletics), Martín López-Zubero (200-meter backstroke). /aquatic), Gervasio Deferr (jumping/gymnastics), Isabel Fernández (lightweight 57 kg/judo), Francisco Fernández Ochoa (slalom/alpine skiing), Miguel Indurain (individual time trial/cycling).
The Swiss Confederation sent 27 athletes to the 1984 Summer Olympics.
The Most Serene Republic of San Marino – it is one of the oldest republics in the world – has never won an Olympic medal.