Great Olympians

Biographies - H,I

G - HA - HE - HI - HO - HU - ID - IG - IO - IS - IV - IZ -  J


Georg Hackl

B. 1966-09-09, Berchtesgaden, Germany
Luge (3 gold, 2 silver)
1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 HP
Singles silver gold gold gold silver 816
Doubles fourth 20
836

Winner of the single Luge at Albertville, Lillehammer and Nagano.
In his home town of Berchtesgaden, Luge ws offered to students as an option in physical education class. he did not consider himself much of an athlete, so he took to this sport immediately, with a great deal of success.
At Nagano, he won all four runs, a first in Olympic history.


Archie Hahn


Norbert Hahn

Germany
Luge (2 gold)
1976 1980 HP
Doubles gold gold 160
160

Partner of Hans Rinn at Innsbrück and Lake Placid.


Andreas Hajek

B 1968-04-16, Halle, Germany
Rowing (2 gold, 1 bronze)

Three of the four members (Andreas Hajek, Stephan Volkert and Andre Willms) of the winning crew in Barcelona returned to Atlanta to win again, but their third different partner let them down in Sydney.
(171 HP)


Hajós Alfréd


Veikko Johannes Hakulinen

B. 1920-12-14, Finland
Nordic Skiing Men (3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)
1952 1956 1960 HP
50 km gold silver silver 180
30 km - gold sixth 72
15 km - fourth bronze 40
4 x 10 km - silver gold 26
318

The oldest champion at Squaw Valley.


Gary Hall Jr.

B. 1974-09-26, Cincinnatti, Ohio, USA
Swimming (4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)

The gold on 50m at Sydney was a dead heat, Anthony Ervin also receiving a gold medal.
(226 HP)


Lars Hall

B. 1927-04-30, Karlskrona, Sweden
Modern Pentathlon (2 gold, 1 silver)

The only repeat winner of the Modern Pentathlon was very lucky in 1952. The first horse that he'd drawn turned out lame, but the second one was the best horse in Finland. And then he turned up 20 minutes late for the shooting, but the competition hadn't started yet because of some Soviet protests.
He also became World Champion in 1950 and '51.
(170 HP)


Halmay Zoltán


Marja-Liisa Hämälainen

competed in 1994 as

Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi

B. 1955-08-10, Finland
Nordic Skiing (3 gold, 4 bronze)
1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 HP
5 km - 19th gold fifth 125
5 km, classical style 31st bronze
10 km 22nd 18th gold 9th 64
20 km gold 11th 120
15 km, classical style sixth
30 km, classical style bronze
4 x 5 km - fifth bronze bronze fourth fourth 25.3
334.3


Edith Hannam


Karen Margarete Harup

Denmark
Swimming (2 gold, 1 silver)

(162 HP)


Dagmar Hase

B. 1970, Germany
Swimming (2 gold, 5 silver, 1 bronze)

(228 HP)


Heikki Vihtori Hasu

B. 1926, Finland
Nordic Skiing (2 gold, 1 silver)
1948 1952 HP
Nordic Combination gold silver 156
18 km fourth fourth 32
4 x 10 km - gold 16
204

At the victory ceremony in St.Moritz, it appeared that there was only one Finnish flag. Second placed Martti Huhtala had no flag raised in his honour. Heikki Hasu would later enter Finnish Parliament.


Trine Hattestadt

Norway
Track and Field (1 gold, 1 silver)

(187.5 HP)


Thorleif Haug

B. 1894-09-28, Årkvisla, near Drammen, Norway; D. 1934-12-12
Nordic Skiing (3 gold)
1924 HP
Nordic Combination gold 96
18 km gold 64
50 km gold 64
Ski Jump fourth 24
248

An outstanding skier, but he had to wait till his 30 for the Olympic opportunity.
Originally, Haug had received the bronze medal in the Jump. In 1974, a mistake was detected in the results of the ski jump. The bronze medal was then awarded to Anders Haugen of the USA.
Haug won the famous Holmenkollen 50 km race six times and the combined event three times.
His memory was honoured with a lifesize stone statue in Drammen.


Frank Havens

B.1924, USA
Canoeing (1 gold, 1 silver)

His father was a member of the eights crew that would go the Olympics and win gold, but he stayed at home to witness the birth of his son. In 1952, Frank sent a telegram to his father saying "I'm coming home with the gold medal you should've won."
(198 HP)


Rechelle Hawkes

B. 1967-05-30, Albany, Western Australia, Australia
Hockey (3 gold)

Midfield player of the Australian hockey team that won gold in Seoul, Atlanta and Sydney.
(204 HP)


Kathleen Heddle

Canada
Rowing (3 gold, 1 bronze)

Every time together with Marnie McBean. They are known as the "odd couple".
(210 HP)


Anton Heida


Eric Heiden

USA
Speed Skating (5 gold)
1976 1980 HP
500 m - gold 64
1000 m - gold 64
1500 m 7th gold 64
5000 m 19th gold 64
10000 m - gold 64
320

Achieved the 'impossible' in winning all five distances, with five world records to boot. He had also performed the Olympic Oath at Lake Placid. His sister Beth also won a bronze in skating.


Albert Helgerud

Norway
Shooting (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)

(102.5 HP)


Rüdiger Helm

B. 1956-10-06, Germany
Canoeing (3 gold, 3 bronze)

(214 HP)


Margitta Helmbold

competed in 1968 and 1972 as

Margitta Gummel

B. 1941-06-29, Germany
Track and Field (1 gold, 1 silver)

(217.5 HP)


Deon Hemmings

Jamaica
Track and Field (1 gold, 2 silver)

(170 HP)


Nicolas Hénart

France
Sailing (2 gold)

(160 HP)


John Hencken

B. 1954-05-29, USA
Swimming (3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)

(208 HP)


Sonja Henie

B. 1912-04-08, Oslo, Norway; D. 1969-10-12
Figure Skating (3 gold)
1928 1932 1936 HP
Ladies' Singles gold gold gold 576
576

The outstanding figure in the history of skating, for she later turned her skills to good professional account and won a host of new admirers throughout the world by way of films. She became Norwegian champion in 1924. Competing in the Winter Olympics at Chamonix (1924) before her twelfth birthday, she was last of eight competitors, but she won the title at her second attempt, at St.Moritz, where she danced on Tchaikovsky's 'Death of a Swan' from 'Swan Lake'. After twice retaining her title, she turned professional and was given a contract by 20th Century Fox. She would earn almost 50 million dollars to become the richest Olympian woman in history.
In the World Championships she was fifth in 1924 and in 1926 she was runner-up in the women's event and fifth in the pairs with Arne Lie. She was never beaten again. She won 10 world titles (1927-36), six European (1931-6).
She made eleven films between 1938 and 1960. With her third husband, Niels Onstad, she founded the Henie-Onstad collection of modern paintings which they presented to Norway.
Miss Henie developed leukaemia in 1969 and died in an aircraft which was carrying her from Paris to Oslo for medical treatment.
Sandra Loosemore's page devoted to skating legends, also has a photo of the young Sonja.
The Henie-Onstad collection also has a homepage (in Norwegian or in English)
Her record as the youngest gold medallist was broken by Tara Lipinsky at Nagano in 1998.


Ariel Hernandez

Cuba
Boxing (2 gold)

(192 HP)


Angel Herrera Vera

Cuba
Boxing (2 gold)

(192 HP)


Lutz Hesslich

Germany
Cycling (2 gold)

He was prevented from winning three golds by the East German boycott of the Los Angeles Games.
(192 HP)


Olaf Heukrodt

Germany
Canoeing (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze)

(200 HP)


Charles Hickcox

USA
Swimming (3 gold, 1 silver)

(184 HP)


Paul Hildgartner

Italy
Luge (2 gold, 1 silver)
1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 HP
Singles 8th dnf silver gold 10th 156
Doubles gold 11th - - - 80
236


Stepanka Hilgertova

B. 1968-04-10, Praha, Czech Republic
Canoeing, Slalom (2 gold)

(192 HP)


Harry Hillman


Jozef Holecek

Czech Republic
Canoeing - Canadian (2 gold)

(192 HP)


Tore Anton Holm

Sweden
Sailing (2 gold, 2 bronze)

(192 HP)


Knut Holmann

Norway
Canoeing (3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)

(412 HP)


Anders Holmertz

Sweden
Swimming (4 silver, 1 bronze)

(163.6 HP)


Dianne Holum

USA
Speed Skating (1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
1968 1972 HP
1500 m 13th gold 64
3000 m - silver 40
500 m silver - 40
1000 m bronze sixth 32
176


Olga Homeghi

competed in 1984 as

Olga Bularda

Romania
Rowing (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)

(267 HP)


Wolfgang Hoppe

Germany
Bobsleigh (2 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)
1984 1988 1992 1994 HP
four-man gold silver silver bronze 157.5
two-man gold silver - - 130
287.5


Louis Hostin

B. 1908-04-21, France
Weight-Lifting (2 gold, 1 silver)

(378 HP)


Clarence "Bud" Houser

B. 1901-09-25, USA
Track and Field (3 gold)

The first discus thrower to demonstrate the value of rotating speed in the circle. He was the last man to win two throwing titles at the same Olympics (Shot and Discus).
(288 HP)


Andrew Hoy

Australia
Equestrianism - three-day event (3 gold, 1 silver)

Member of the Australian three day event team at Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney.
(173 HP)


Veikko Aarne Aleks Huhtanen

B. 1919, Finland; D. 1976
Gymnastics (3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)

(*) On the Pommeled Horse, three finns (Heikki Savolainen, Veikko Huhtanen and Paavo Aaltonen) shared the gold medal.
(116 HP)


Frederick Humphreys


Daniela Hunger

Germany
Swimming (2 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze)

(152 HP)


Emese Hunyadi

participated in 1988 as

Emese Nemeth - Hunyadi

B. 1966-03-04, Budapest, Hungary, participated in 1984 for Hungary, later moved to Austria and represented Austria from 1988 onwards
Speed Skating (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 HP
3000 m - 14th bronze silver fifth 83.6
1500 m - - 7th gold fourth 80
1000 m 30th 16th 10th 7th - -
5000 m - 15th 12th 8th -
500 m 19th 19th - - - -
163.6


Léon Huybrechts


Josefa Idem

competed in 2000 as

Josefa Idem-Guerrini

Italy
Canoeing (1 gold, 2 bronze)

(160 HP)


Doina Ignat

B. 1968-12-20,  Bucuresti, Romania
Rowing (3 gold, 1 silver)

When Marioara Ciobanu-Popescu (1), Veronica Cogeanu-Cochela (4), Elisabeta Oleniuc-Lipa (5), Ioana Olteanu (1), Elena Georgescu (1), Doina Ignat (1) and 3 new rowers stepped into the Eight at Atlanta, they had already won 13 medals between them. They outpaced the Canadians by over 4 seconds to win another gold and lift them high up the Great Olympian tables. Six of them returned to Sydney to repeat the triumph.
(261 HP)


Corneliu Ion

Romania
Shooting (2 gold)

(217.5 HP)


Volmari Iso-Hollo

B. 1907-05-01, Ylöjärvi, Finland; D. 1969-06-23, Heinola
Track and Field (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)

At Los Angeles, he had set an Olympic record of 9 min 14.6 sec in his heat, so it was a surprise when the winning time in the final was announced as 10 min 33.4 sec. In fact, due to the official scoring the laps being ill, a substitute had miscounted and the runners ran an extra 460 m. His 1936 time of 9 min 03.8 sec stood as an Olympic record until 1952.
(256 HP)


Vyacheslav Ivanov

B. 1938-07-30, Moskva, Russia
Rowing (3 gold)

After winning both the European Championship and Olympic single sculls in 1956, he had to be content with European bronze medals in the next two seasons. But in 1959 he took the European title, in 1960 a second Olympic gold medal, in 1961 the European, and in 1962 the first World Championship sculling title. In 1963 he dropped to fourth place in the European Championships, but he returned, in 1964 to regain his European title, and to win his third gold in Tokyo.
At Melbourne, he was so happy with his first win that he threw his gold medal in the air. It fell in the water and was never seen again. He got a replacement medal from the IOC.
(576 HP)


Lilia Izquierdo Aguirre

B. 1967-02-10, Havana, Cuba
Volleyball (3 gold)

Member of the Cuban Volleyball team that won gold at Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney.
She did not play in any game in Sydney.
(192 HP)


To the Letter J

Written July-August 1996 - last modified 1998-03-18

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hermandw@village.uunet.be / Copyright ©1996-8