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Olympic Families

It is not unusual for sporting success to run in families, largely in part to common fortunate genes. There would be hundreds of related athletes who have participated in the Olympics, below are examples of just some of the more interesting related competitors at the Summer Olympic Games. See also many more examples of Royal families competing at the Olympics. See more Olympic Trivia.

William Dod (1908) with his sister Charlotte 'Lottie' Dod became the first brother and sister to win Olympic medals

Siblings

• The first brother and sister to win Olympic medals were William Dod, who won the men's archery competition, and his sister Charlotte 'Lottie' Dod who won the silver medal in the women's archery competition - in 1908.
• Godfrey Brown won gold and silver in the 400 yds and 4x400 relay in 1936, and his sister Audrey Brown won the silver on the same day in the womens 100 yd relay for Great Britain.
• Kenyan born distance runner Bernard Lagat is a five-time Olympian, having competed in the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 games. In 2016, he was joined at the Games by his sister Viola Lagat representing Kenya.
• Four sets of siblings competed for Australia in Beijing - three playing in the water polo competition and one in the hockey team.
• Siblings Uta Abe and Hifumi Abe from Japan won individual gold medals in judo on the same day at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Brothers

• The first brothers to win Olympic gold medals were Americans John and Sumner Paine - they came first in the military pistol and free pistol shooting events respectively in 1896. 
• At the 1912 Games, the winning yacht in the 6m class "Mac Miche", was crewed by three French brothers - Amedée, Gaston and Jacques Thube.
• Italian fencers Aldo and Nedo Nadi won a combined 9 gold medals, and one silver when Aldo lost to Nedo. (1912 Stockholm, 1920 Antwerp)
• Swedish brothers Ulf, Peter and Jörgen Sundelin won a gold medal in the 5.5 meter sailing class at the 1968 Olympics. At the same Olympics, the Swedish team also had a team of brothers in the cycling. The four brothers, Erik, Gösta, Sture and Tomas Pettersson, known as the Fåglum brothers, won the road race team time trial. Three of the brothers were also part of the team which came third at the 1964 Games.
• In 2016, Great Britain's Alistair Brownlee and his younger brother Jonny Brownlee took first and second place in the men's triathlon. Four years earlier in 2012, they finished first and third.
• Germany's Christoph Harting won gold in the Rio 2016 discus, following his brother Robert's win in 2012.
• Croatian brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic won silver as part of the quadruple sculls at the 2012 London Olympics, before winnng gold in the double sculls in Rio in 2016, and again in the men's coxless pair in Tokyo, and are on target for another medal in Paris.

Sisters

• Australia sisters Jessica and Noemie Fox had a clean sweep of all the women's canoe slalom events at Paris 2024, Jessica winning the K1 and C1 slalom, and Noemie winning the new event kayak cross.

Twins (and more)

• The first twins to win Olympic Gold medals were the Swedish brothers Vilhelm Carlberg (3 golds) and Eric Carlberg (2 gold) in shooting in 1912.
• At Moscow 1980 both the gold and silver medal-winning rowing teams in the coxless pairs event were identical twins - Gold went to Bernd and Jorg Landvoigt (East Germany), silver to Nikolai and Yuri Pimenov (Soviet Union).
• Identical twins Georgina Earl and Caroline Meyer (both formerly Evers-Swindells) competed together in the rowing double sculls, winning gold at Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008
• Triplets Leila, Liina and Lily Luik from Estonia made history when they took part in the marathon at the Rio Olympics, becoming the first identical triplets to compete against each other. There were not the only siblings on the race. German twins Anna Hahner and Lisa Hahner crossed the line hand-in-hand 81st and 82nd, though ahead of them North Korea's Kim Hye-song and Kim Hye-gyong finished across the line together in 10th and 11th place.
• The youngest females to compete in sailing at the Olympics are the twins Eya Guezguez and Sarra Guezguez from Tunisia, who were 16 years 137 days when they competed in 2021.

Mother - Son

• In Rio 2016 a mother and son from Georgia both competed in shooting events. For Nino Salukvadze it was her 8th Olympics, and for the first time she was joined by her son Tsotne Machavariani.

Mother - Daughter

• The first time in which a mother and daughter competed in an Olympic event together was the golf tournament of 1900. The event was won by US golfer Margaret Abbott. Her mother Mary Abbott, a novelist, also competed in the event, finishing joint seventh.
• British archers Jessie and Brenda Wadworth were the only other mother and daughter to compete at the same Olympics. They competed in 1908 in the only archery event open to women, the double National round competition. Jessie came forth, while Brenda finished in ninth place.

Father - Son

• Swedish shooters, Oscar Swahn ("the oldest ever Olympian") and his son, Alfred Swahn, competed together at the 1912, 1920, and 1924 Olympics.
• Rower Jack Kelly from the USA won a gold in 1920, and his son, Jack Jr. Kelly, took bronze in 1956.
• At the 1924 Olympics, Canadian William Barnes won silver in team trap shooting, while his son Rolph Barnes ran the 1500m the same year.
• Fijian sailor Colin Philp, Sr., competed with his son Tony Philp in 1984, 1988 and 1992. Also, another sibling joined them in 1988 (Colin, Jr. Philp) and in 1992 (David Philp).
• US sprinter Charlie Jenkins won a gold medal in 1956 in the 400m and 4x400m relay. Thirty-six years later, his son Charles "Chip" Jenkins won a gold in the 4x400m, making it the first time in history that a father and a son won gold medals in the same event.
• Father and Son, William Earl Buchan and William Carl Buchan won gold medals at the same Olympics but in different events. Both won sailing gold in the 1984 Olympics while sailing on different boats: Bill sailed a Star and Carl sailed a Flying Dutchman.
• At Barcelona in 1992, Andreas Keller won a gold medal as part of the German field hockey team, and became the third generation of his family to win a medal in the event. His grandfather, Erwin Keller, earned a silver medal in 1936 and his father, Carsten Keller, a gold in 1972.

Father - Daughter

• Danish Sailors Paul Elvstrøm and his daughter, Trine Elvstrøm-Myralf, competed in the same Olympic event twice, in 1984 and 1988 competing in the Mixed Multihull. They finished 4th in 1984, 15th in 1988. The father was previously a four-time winner of the one-person dinghy event from 1948 to 1960.

Husband - Wife

• Count Hermann Alexandre de Pourtalès and Countess Hélène de Pourtalès (from an old Huguenot family of Switzerland). Both husband and wife sailed on the same boat and won a gold and a silver in the 1-2 ton sailing class at the 1900 Olympic Games. He was the first member of royalty to become an Olympic champion. Hélène was the first woman to compete at the Olympics and the first female Olympic medalist. Their nephew Bernard was also a crew member.
• Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips — They met through equestrian events, and were married between 1973 and 1992. Phillips was a member of the British three-day event team, which won the gold medal at the Munich Olympics and in 1988 won silver in the same event. Anne competed as a member of the UK equestrian team in 1976. Their daughter Zara competed in the 2012 London Olympics.

Related Pages

• Oldest and youngest at the Olympics
• Families at the Winter Olympics
• More on Royal families competing at the Olympics
• Gender testing at the Olympics
• Families at the FIFA World Cup
• More Olympic Trivia

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