Olympic Sports, GRI-ISO
Olympic Games, athletic festival that originated in ancient Greece and was revived in the late 19th century. Before the 1970s the Games were officially limited to competitors with amateur status, but in the 1980s many events were opened to professional athletes. Currently, the Games are open to all, even the top professional athletes in basketball and football (soccer).
Olympic Sports Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Brittney Griner is an American basketball player who is one of the game’s leading centers, especially known for......
Yevgeny Grishin was a Russian speed skater of the 1950s and ’60s who was a four-time Olympic champion and winner......
Michael Gross is a German swimmer who won six Olympic medals, including three golds, in the 1980s. At the 1984......
Eileen Gu is a Chinese American freestyle skier who won a trio of medals, including two golds, at the Beijing 2022......
John Gully was a prizefighter, racehorse fancier, and politician, a major personage of the 19th-century British......
Guo Jingjing is a former diver from China who competed in four consecutive Summer Olympic Games, winning gold medals......
Gushiken Yoko is a Japanese professional boxer, and a World Boxing Association (WBA) junior flyweight world champion.......
Toini Gustafsson is a Swedish skiing champion who competed in two Olympics, winning two gold and two silver medals......
Dezsö Gyarmati was a Hungarian water polo player and coach. Widely regarded as one of the greatest water polo players......
gymnasium, large room used and equipped for the performance of various sports. The history of the gymnasium dates......
gymnastics, the performance of systematic exercises—often with the use of rings, bars, and other apparatus—either......
George Hackenschmidt was a professional wrestler who ranked with Tom Jenkins and Frank Gotch among the greatest......
Georg Hackl is a German luger who was the only singles luger to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals (1992,......
Walter Hagen was an American professional golfer, one of the most colourful sports personages of his time, who......
Marvin Hagler was an American boxer, a durable middleweight champion, who was one of the greatest fighters of the......
Archie Hahn was an American runner who won gold medals in three sprint events at the 1904 Olympic Games in St.......
Jackson Haines was an American skater known as the father of figure skating. A ballet dancer, he adapted ballet......
Alfréd Hajós was a Hungarian swimmer who won three Olympic medals and was the first Olympic swimming champion.......
Veikko Hakulinen was a Finnish cross-country skier who earned seven Olympic medals in three Olympic competitions......
Lars-Göran Hall was a Swedish athlete who was the first person to win two individual Olympic gold medals in the......
Zoltán Halmay was a swimmer from Hungary who won seven Olympic medals and was the first world record holder in......
Naseem Hamed is an English former professional boxer who was a featherweight champion in the late 1990s and early......
Dorothy Hamill is an American figure skater who won the gold medal for women’s figure skating in the 1976 Olympic......
Bethany Hamilton is an American professional surfer, author, and motivational speaker who lost her arm to a shark......
Hamish Hamilton was a British publisher who published works by some of the most renowned authors in Britain, the......
Scott Hamilton is an American figure skater, who was a four-time world champion and the 1984 Olympic gold medal......
Mia Hamm is an American football (soccer) player who became the first international star of the women’s game. Playing......
hammer throw, sport in athletics (track and field) in which a hammer is hurled for distance, using two hands within......
Chip Hanauer is an American powerboat racer who dominated hydroplane racing in the 1980s and ’90s. As children,......
Hanyu Yuzuru is a Japanese figure skater who at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, became the first Japanese......
hapkido, a Korean form of unarmed self-defense based on the circular foot sweeps and kicks of traditional Korean......
James Harden is one of the best shooting guards in the history of the National Basketball League (NBA), and he......
Harmsworth Cup, motorboat racing award established in 1903 by the British publisher Sir Alfred Harmsworth (later......
Padraig Harrington is an Irish professional golfer who won two British Open championships (2007 and 2008) and a......
Marvin Hart was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from July 3, 1905, to February 23, 1906.......
The Olympics are filled with memorable moments, from close finishes to remarkable triumphs. Yet it can be easy......
Thorleif Haug was a Norwegian Nordic skier who won three gold medals and a bronze at the inaugural Winter Olympics......
Tony Hawk is an American professional skateboarder who—through his technical innovations, successful equipment......
Bob Hayes was an American sprinter who, although he was relatively slow out of the starting block and had an almost......
Spencer Haywood is an American professional basketball player whose lawsuit forced the National Basketball Association......
Dominik Hašek is a Czech ice hockey goaltender known for his unorthodox goaltending style. Hašek was the only goaltender......
Thomas Hearns is an American boxer who became, in 1987, the first person to win world titles in four weight divisions.......
John C. Heenan was an American heavyweight champion (i.e., of the United States and Canada) under the London Prize......
Eric Heiden is an American athlete who at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York, U.S., became......
Carol Heiss is an American figure skater who from 1956 through 1960 dominated women’s competition. (Read Scott......
Helsinki, capital and largest city of Finland. It is the leading seaport and industrial city of the country. Helsinki......
Helsinki 1952 Olympic Games, athletic festival held in Helsinki that took place July 19–August 3, 1952. The Helsinki......
David Hemery is an English hurdler who held the 400-metre-hurdles world record of 48.1 sec (1968–72). His father’s......
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian-born American world champion figure skater and Olympic gold medalist who went on to......
Justine Henin is a Belgian tennis player, whose strong serve and powerful one-handed backhand elevated her to the......
Henley Royal Regatta, annual four-day series of rowing races held the first week in July on the River Thames, at......
heptathlon, athletics competition in which contestants take part in seven different track-and-field events in two......
Laurie Hernandez is an American gymnast who participated in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Hernandez......
Lleyton Hewitt is an Australian professional tennis player whose astonishing court speed, fierce determination,......
high jump, sport in athletics (track and field) in which the athlete takes a running jump to attain height. The......
Grant Hill is a former professional basketball player who played the position of forward for the Detroit Pistons......
Martina Hingis is a Swiss professional tennis player who became the youngest person in the “open” era to win a......
Marcel Hirscher is an Austrian skier who won a record eight consecutive World Cup overall championships (2012–19).......
Lew Hoad was an Australian tennis player who rose to prominence in the 1950s, winning 13 major singles and doubles......
George Hodgson was a Canadian swimmer who won two gold medals at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm and set several......
Ben Hogan was an American professional golfer who came to dominate the sport in the decade after World War II.......
Hulk Hogan was one of the most famous performers in the history of professional wrestling. His huge popularity......
Steven Holcomb was an American bobsled pilot whose impressive results include a gold medal in the four-man event......
Larry Holmes is an American heavyweight boxing champion of the late 1970s and early ’80s who was known for his......
Dianne Holum is an American speed skater who assisted in the revival of the sport in the United States in the late......
Evander Holyfield is an American boxer, the only professional fighter to win the heavyweight championship four......
Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, one of the world’s oldest golfing societies, founded in 1744 by a group......
Bernard Hopkins is an American boxer who dominated the middleweight division in the early 2000s with a combination......
Yuto Horigome is a Japanese professional skateboarder who is the first-ever Olympic gold medalist in the men’s......
horizontal bar, gymnastics apparatus introduced in the early 19th century by the German Friedrich Ludwig Jahn,......
Tim Horton was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and entrepreneur. He was a defenseman in the National......
The Olympic Games have expanded from 241 to more than 10,000 competitors since the original reestablishment in......
In 2000 the Olympic torch spent three minutes submerged in the Coral Sea. In 2008 climbers carried it to the summit......
In 2009 Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt set the world record in the 100-meter sprint at 9.58 seconds. For those of......
While many associate the modern Olympics with tradition, the quadrennial sporting event is continually changing.......
The Summer Olympic Games mean that the graceful sport of diving is once again in the international spotlight. The......
To win a game in tennis, a player must win four points and must win by a margin of two. The scoring goes as follows,......
Gordie Howe was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who led the Detroit Red Wings to four Stanley Cup championships......
Chris Hoy is a British cyclist and race-car driver whose six career Olympic gold medals are among the most won......
Clara Hughes is a former cyclist and speed skater who is the only athlete to have won multiple medals at both the......
Bobby Hull was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, notably for the National Hockey League (NHL) Chicago......
Kaillie Humphries is a Canadian-American bobsled pilot who, with her brakewoman partner Heather Moyse, was the......
Held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, the 16th Olympiad coincided with one of the signal events of Cold War history:......
hurdling, sport in athletics (track and field) in which a runner races over a series of obstacles called hurdles,......
Alfred Hutton was an English fencing master. He organized numerous fencing exhibitions, displays, and lectures,......
Gunder Hägg was a Swedish middle-distance runner who broke a total of 15 world records during his career. He set......
Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen is a Finnish Nordic skier who was Finland’s foremost female competitor in the sport. She......
Tatjana Hüfner is a German luger who won a gold medal in the women’s singles event at the 2010 Winter Olympics......
ice hockey, game between two teams, each usually having six players, who wear skates and compete on an ice rink.......
history of ice hockey, notable events and people in the development of ice hockey since its creation during the......
ice skating, the recreation and sport of gliding across an ice surface on blades fixed to the bottoms of shoes......
iceboating, a winter sport of sailing and racing on ice in modified boats. An iceboat is basically a sailboat that......
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, annual dogsled race run in March between Anchorage and Nome, Alaska, U.S. The race......
Juli Inkster is an American golfer who was one of the leading players on the Ladies Professional Golf Association......
Innsbruck 1964 Olympic Winter Games, athletic festival held in Innsbruck, Austria, that took place Jan. 29–Feb.......
Innsbruck 1976 Olympic Winter Games, athletic festival held in Innsbruck, Austria, that took place Feb. 4–15, 1976.......
Sabrina Ionescu is an American professional basketball player who is a standout guard, known for her all-around......
Common wisdom holds that it is unsafe to swim after eating unless one waits for some prescribed period of time—usually......
Yelena Isinbayeva is a Russian pole-vaulter who achieved numerous world records and became the first woman to clear......
Volmari Iso-Hollo was a Finnish runner, who won two successive gold medals in the Olympic Games (1932, 1936) for......