Category: Athletics

In short, the most decorated Paralympian in history is American swimmer Trischa Zorn-Hudson who, between 1980 and 2004, won 55 medals which, at the time of writing, leaves her 25 ahead of her nearest rivals, multi-talented Israeli athlete Zipora Rubin-Rosenbaum and Swedish sport shooter Jonas Jacobsson, in the all-time list. All told, Zorn-Hudson competed at seven consecutive Paralympic Games – Arnhem (1980), New York (1984), Seoul (1988), Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996),Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004) – and amassed a haul of 41 gold, nine silver and five bronze medals.

Born in Orange, California on June 1, 1964 and blind from birth, as the result of a rare genetic eye disorder, known as aniridia, Zorn-Hudson competed in the S12, SB12, and SM12 disability categories. Aniridia results in the coloured part of the eye, or iris, being underdeveloped or missing altogether and, almost invariably, other parts of the eye being underdeveloped.

At her inaugural Paralympics, in Arnhem, Netherlands, at the age of 16, she won seven gold medals and in New York four years later she won another six. For all her success elsewhere, it was the final medal of her career, a bronze behind Zhu Hong Yan of China and Patrycja Ewelina Harajda of Poland in the S12 100-metre backstroke event in the Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre on September 25, 2004, was the one she described as “most significant medal I won”. Her mother, Donna, had died from breast cancer the previous June and, aside from winning the medal she had hoped for, Zorn-Hudson also carried the American flag in the closing ceremony as, she said, “a tribute to my mom.”

In the vast expanse of Olympic achievements, there exists a solitary figure who stands as a beacon of excellence across both the Summer and Winter Games. That extraordinary individual is Eddie Eagan, an American athlete whose resolute determination and unmatched versatility propelled him to supreme sporting triumph.

Eagan’s Olympic adventures commenced amidst the scorching heat of summer competition. At the 1920 Antwerp Games, he left his mark on the world of boxing, conquering the ring with a ferocity and skill that captured the coveted gold medal in the light heavyweight division. His lightning-fast fists and tough resolve set him apart from his adversaries, etching his name into Olympic history.

Yet, Eagan’s insatiable hunger for glory knew no bounds. Undaunted by the prospect of taming a completely different challenge, he redirected his focus toward winter sports. It was at the 1932 Lake Placid Winter Olympics that Eagan’s relentless spirit and unwavering athleticism reached its peak. As a vital member of the United States bobsleigh team, he defied the icy challenges with finesse, propelling his squad to victory and securing another golden accolade.

Eagan’s unparalleled achievement as the sole athlete to triumph in both the Summer and Winter Olympics epitomises his status as a true legend of the Games. It epitomises the boundless potential of the human spirit, showcasing the capacity to surmount daunting obstacles across both the summer and the winter Olympics

Amidst the hallowed halls of Olympic legends, Eddie Eagan’s feat shall forever be a symbol of dedication, relentless pursuit of excellence, and uncharted possibilities. His legacy continues to inspire generations of athletes, urging them to soar to extraordinary heights, irrespective of the seasons in which their dreams unfold.

The short answer is no, he didn’t. Born in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, hence his nickname, ‘The Jarrow Arrow’, Cram competed against the likes of Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett in what is often described as a ‘golden era’ of British middle-distance running. Nevertheless, he won his fair share of gold medals, starting with the 1,500 metres at the 1982 European Athletics Championships in Athens and, less than a month later, following up in the same event at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane.

Four years later, at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Cram defended his title in the 1,500 metres, having previously set a Commonwealth Games record, which still stands, in the 800 metres. Shortly afterwards, he also defended his European title in the 1,500 metres in Stuttgart, beating Coe into second place in the process. In between times, Cram had also won gold in the 1,500 metres at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki and made his second appearance at the Summer Olympics, having finished eighth behind Coe in the final of the 1,500 metres in Moscow in 1980.

On August 11, 1984, in Los Angeles, Coe, Ovett and Cram once again lined up for the final of the 1,500 metres with all three having suffered setbacks, due to illness or injury, in the build-up to the Olympic Games. In any event, Ovett, the world record holder, stepped off the track heading out onto the final lap, leaving the two remaining Britons to fight out the finish. Cram accelerated down the home straight, but Coe responded immediately and led the field into the home straight. Coe sprinted away from Cram to win in a new Olympic record time of 3:32.53, beating the previosu mark set by Kenyan Kip Keino in 1968.

Interestingly, a world record for the men’s marathon was not ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) until September 3, 1983, when Kenyan Paul Tergat won the Berlin Marathon in a time of 2:04:55; in so doing, he beat the previous ‘world’s best’ ratified by the IAAF, 2:05:38, recorded by Moroccan-born American Khalid Khannouchi when winning the London Marathon on April 14, 2002.

Since 2003, the world record for the men’s marathon has been broken seven times, each time in the Berlin Marathon and each time by an athlete from East Africa. Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie broke the world record two years running on the streets of the German capital, winning in times of 2:04:26 and 2:03:59 in 2007 and 2008, respectively. His mark was lowered, to 2:03:38, by Kenyan

Patrick Musyoki in 2011 and, thereafter, the world record has belonged, exclusively, to the ‘cradle of humanity’, whose capital, Nairobi, lies at an altitude of 5,500 feet.

The current holder of the world record, Eliud Kipchoge, has won the Berlin Marathon four times in all, first setting a world record, of 2:01:39, on September 16, 2016. However, on September 25, 2022, less than six weeks shy of his thirty-eighth birthday, he did so again, covering the 42.195 kilometre course in 2:01:09. Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum set a new men’s world record time of 2:00:35 in October 2023 (tragically he and his coach died in a car crash near a high altitude training centre in February 2024 – 24 year old Kiptum had been training for an attempt to run the first sub 2 hour marathon this April). Of course, the IAAF has strict rules, relating to distance, topography, etc., to determine which performances can, or cannot, be ratified as world records. Thus, while Kipchoge ran the full marathon distance in 1:59:40 in Vienna, Austria on October 12, 2019, as recognised by Guinness World Records, his effort was ineligible for world record consideration by the IAAF.