Great Olympians

Biographies - KO

Kob - Koe - Koh - Koj - Kok - Kol - Kom - Kon - Kop - Kor - Kos - Kou - Kov - Kow - Koz

Köbán Rita

Hungary
Canoeing (2 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)
1988 1992 1996 2000 HP
K1, 500 m fourth silver gold sixth 15800
K2, 500 m - bronze fourth - 3120
K4, 500 m silver gold - silver 9000
27920

Kobierski

Olympic Competitor nr 1381

Francina Elsje ("Fanny") Koen

competed in 1948 as

Fanny Blankers-Koen

B. 1918-04-26, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Track and Field (4 gold)
1936 1948 1952 HP
100 m - gold SF:dns 6440
200 m gold - 6400
4 x 100 m fifth gold - 2312.5
80 m Hurdles - gold fin:dnf 10560
High Jump fifth - - 1500
27212.5

The most famous female athlete of all time. Between 1938 and 1951, she set world records in 7 different events : 100 yards, 100 m, 220 yds, 80 m hurdles, high jump, long jump and pentathlon. She was sixth at the high jump at Berlin, but the war made that her next Olympics came at an age of 30. She was world record holder at high and long jump, but did not compete in these. 'I didn't like the high jump', she says, 'and the long jump almost coincided with a hurdles heat, and I preferred one gold medal to two silvers'. So she settled for only four events and won them all.
She made the final (of six) of the hurdles at Helsinki as well, but did not finish the race.

Thomas Köhler

Germany
Luge (2 gold, 1 silver)
1964 1968 HP
Singles gold silver 15600
Doubles dnf gold 8008
23608

Won the doubles at Grenoble with Klaus Michael Bonsack

George Kojac

USA
Swimming (1 gold)
1928 HP
100 m Backstroke gold 9600
100 m Free-style fourth 1600
11200

Ada Kok

the Netherlands
Swimming (1 gold, 2 silver)
1964 1968 HP
100 m Butterfly silver fourth 6600
200 m Butterfly gold 6400
4 x 100 m Medley Relay silver 7th 1100
14100

Väinö Kokkinen

B. 1899-11-25, Hollola, Finland; D. 1967-08-27
Wrestling - Greco-Roman (2 gold)
1928 1932 1936 HP
Middleweight (-75 kg) gold 32400
-79 kg gold fourth
32400

His wrestling expertise came from his push-overs while standing and his merciless nelsons.

Claudia Kolb

Germany
Swimming (1 gold, 1 silver)
1964 1968 HP
200 m Individual Medley - gold 6400
400 m Individual Medley - gold 6400
200 m Breaststroke silver - 5000
17800

Peter-Michael Kolbe

Germany
Rowing (3 silver)
1976 1984 1988 HP
Skiff silver silver silver 19800
19800

Alevtina Kolchina

B. 1930-11-11, Russia, Soviet-Union
Nordic Skiing (1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze)
1956 1960 1964 1968 HP
5 km - - bronze bronze 48
3 x 5 km silver - gold bronze 40
10 km fourth fourth 7th 7th 32
120

At Squaw Valley, she did not from part of the relay squad, as she was only the fourth best skier in the world, behind three other soviets.  Despite having gained the first four places in the individual, the Soviet squad (without Kolchina) gained only silver, although they protested for hindering by the Swedes in the first leg.

Alexander Kolchinski

Ukraine
Wrestling - Greco-Roman (2 gold)
1976 1980 HP
+100 kg gold gold 19200
19200

Szymon Kolecki

B. 1981-10-12, Olawa, Poland
Weightlifting (2 silver)
2000 2008 HP
-94 kg silver silver 13200
13200

Johannes Petteri ("Hannes") Kolehmainen

B. 1889-12-09, Kuopio, Finland; D. 1966-11-11, Helsinki
Track and Field (4 gold, 1 silver)
1912 1920 1924 HP
5000 m gold 6400
10000 m gold 6400
3000 m Team r2 325
Cross-Country gold 8000
Cross-Country, Team silver 1000
Marathon gold aband. 9600
31725

The first outstanding Finnish runner, he set a world record of 14.36.6 in winning the 5000 metres at Stockholm, which was only beaten ten years later by Paavo Nurmi. He won 5 races in a few days but Finland failed to qualify for the team 3000 m final, or he would undoubtedly have won that one too. On the victory podium, he said, 'I would almost rather not have won, than see that flag up there', pointing at the tsarist Russian flag. Finland was still part of Russia at the time.
After the war, he returned to Antwerpen to win the Marathon. He is one of those athletes who were severely restricted in their medal chances because of the Wars.
(298 HP)

Georgios Koletis

Olympic Competitor nr 100

Pavel Kolobkov

B. 1969-09-22, Moskva, Russia
Fencing - Epee (1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze)
1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 HP
Épée, Individual silver R16 gold bronze 20332.4
Épée, team bronze bronze silver - fourth 2948
23280.4

Russia did not field a team in Sydney.

Konstantinos Komninos-Miliotis

Olympic Competitor nr 41

Kong Linghui

B 1975-10-18, Heilongjiang, China
Table Tennis (2 gold, 1 silver)
1996 2000 2004 HP
Men's Singles R3 gold 8065.94
Men's Doubles gold silver R3 7839.56
15905.5

Ford Konno

USA
Swimming (2 gold, 2 silver)
1952 1956 HP
1500 m Free-style gold - 6400
400 m Free-style silver - 4000
4 x 200 m Free-style Relay gold silver 2600
13000

Tom Tamio Kono

B. 1930-06-27, USA
Weight-Lifting (2 gold, 1 silver)
1952 1956 1960 HP
-67.5 kg gold 37800
-75 kg silver
-82.5 kg gold
37800

Japanese-American weightlifter, eight times Olympic and World Champion from 1952 to 1959.

Magnus Andreas Thulstrup Clasen Konow

B. 1887-09-01, Norway, D. 1972-08-25
Sailing (2 gold, 1 silver)
1908 1912 1920 1928 1936 1948 HP
8 Meter class fourth 6900
8 Meter class (1919 rating) gold
8 Meter class fourth
12 Meter class gold 4800
6-Meter Class silver fourth 4200
15900

He competed for 40 years, from 1908 to 1948, a record he shares with Ivan Osiier, Durward Knowles and Paul Elvstrøm.
His son Karsten Magnus Konow joined him for the silver medal in 1936.
One source claims that it was Karsten Magnus Konow (son) who sailed in 1948, casting doubt on his father having the longest career in Olympic history. David Wallechinsky assures me that it has been checked, it was the father who sailed in 1948.

Aristidis Konstantinidis

Greece
Cycling (1 gold)
1896 1906 HP
Road Race gold dnf 9600.12
9600 .12
10000 m fifth 1000
20 km comp 13.5
100 km sixth 272
1272 13.5
10872 13.62 10885.62

Olympic Competitor nr 107

Konstantinos Konstantinou

Olympic Competitor nr 241

Sergey Koplyakov

Soviet Union
Swimming (2 gold, 2 silver)
1976 1980 HP
200 m Free-style 10th gold 6500
100 m Free-style - fourth 1600
4 x 200 m Free-style Relay silver gold 2600
4 x 100 m Medley Relay - silver 1000
11700

Koppán Pál

Olympic Competitor nr 816

Olga Korbut

B. 1955-05-16, Belarus, Soviet-Union
Gymnastics (4 gold, 2 silver)

Although she finished only seventh overall, she was the darling of the spectators at München, winning three individual gold medals.
(103 HP)

Julius Körner

Olympic Competitor nr 1516

Korondi Margit

Hungary
Gymnastics (2 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze)

(94 HP)

Robert Korzeniowski

Poland
Track and Field - Walking (4 gold)
1992 1996 2000 2004 HP
20 km Walk gold 6400
50 km Walk dnf gold gold gold 38400
44800

Olympic Champion on the 50km Walk in Atlanta, Sydney and Athina

Johan-Olaf Koss

B. 1968-10-29, Norway
Speed Skating (4 gold, 1 silver)
1992 1994 HP
1500 m gold gold 9600
10000 m silver gold 7800
5000 m 7th gold 5100
22500

When he won his three gold medals in 1994, at home in Norway, he did so with three new world records, thereby almost equalling Eric Heiden's feat of Lake Placid. His record on the 10000 metres of 13.30.55 was an improvement of nearly 13 seconds over his own best of three years before. The time was three minutes less than that with which Hjalmar Andersen had won the 10000 metres in his triple in Oslo. Andersen presented the gold medal. It was also announced that Koss would get a statue at Hamar, next to that of Andersen.
He also won three overall world titles (1990, '91 and '94).
He was seen smiling at Nagano, were he was commentating, when Gianni Romme skated another 15 seconds off his world record.
He was elected in 1998 into the IOC Athletes Commission.

Stefka Kostadinova

B. 1965-03-25, Bulgaria
Track and Field (1 gold, 1 silver)
1988 1992 1996 HP
High Jump silver fourth gold 22500
22500

World Champion in 1987.

David Kostelecky

Czech Republic
Shooting, Trap (1 gold)
1996 2000 2008 HP
Trap 34th sixth gold 13200
13200

Ivica Kostelic

B. 1979-11-23, Zagreb, Croatia
Alpine Skiing (3 silver)
2002 2006 2010 HP
Combined silver silver 8000
Downhill 18th 2.56
Super-G 31st 16th 6.4064
Giant Slalom 9th 7th 560
Slalom dnf sixth silver 4640
13188.9664

Janica Kostelic

B. 1982-01-05, Zagreb, Croatia
Alpine Skiing (4 gold, 2 silver)
2002 2006 HP
Combined gold gold 12800
Super-G silver silver 8000
Giant Slalom gold 6400
Slalom gold fourth 8000
35200

Koubi

Olympic Competitor nr 1138

Kovács Ágnes

Hungary
Swimming (1 gold, 1 bronze)
1996 2000 2004 HP
100 m Breast stroke 7th fifth 10th 1500
200 m Breast stroke bronze gold fifth 12450
200 m Individual Medley - - fourth 1600
4 x 100 m Medley Relay - 11th 13th 22.4
15572.4

Kovács Katalin

B. 1976-02-29, Budapest, Hungary
Canoeing (2 gold, 4 silver)
2000 2004 2008 HP
K2 500 m silver gold gold 18900
K4 500 m silver silver silver 6600
25500

Kovács Pál

B. 1913, Hungary
Fencing (6 gold, 1 bronze)
1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 HP
Sabre, individual - bronze gold 7th - 11700
Sabre, team gold gold gold gold gold 16000
27700

Member of the Hungarian Sabre team that won gold at Berlin, London, Helsinki, Melbourne and Rome. He won individual gold in '52, bronze in '48. He was World sabre champion in 1937 and 1953. He later became president of the Hungarian Fencing Federation.

Justyna Kowalczyk

B. 1983-01-23, Poland
Cross-Country Skiing (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)
2006 2010 HP
Sprint 44th silver 4000
10 km Classical dnf 1000
10 km Freestyle fifth
7.5 km + 7.5 km Pursuit 8th bronze 2816
30 km Freestyle, mass start bronze 8960
30 km Classical, mass start gold
4  x 5 km Team relay - sixth 160
16936

Kozma István

B. 1939, Hungary; D. 1970-04-09 in a car crash
Wrestling - Greco-Roman (2 gold)
1960 1964 1968 HP
+87 kg fourth 32400
+97 kg gold gold
32400

(324 HP)

Primož Kozmus

B. 1979-09-30, Novo Mesto, then Yugoslavia, Slovenia
Athletics (1 gold)
2000 2004 2008 HP
Hammer Throw 38th sixth gold 10560.00038
10560.00038

Lyubov Baranova-Kozyreva

B. 1929-08-27, Bugry, Leningrad, Russia
Cross-Country Skiing (1 gold, 3 silver)
1956 1960 HP
10 km gold silver 13000
3 x 5 km relay silver silver 2000
15000

Written 2000-11-29 - last modified 2002-10-30

This page is part of the site "Full Olympians" by Herman De Wael. See here for a full Introduction.