Great Olympians

Biographies - GR

Gra - Gre - Gri - Gro - Gru


Frederick Grace

B. 1884-02-29, Great Britain; D. 1964-07-23
Boxing (1 gold)
1908 1920 HP
Lightweight (-61.2 kg) QF 1076
Lightweight (-63.5 kg) gold 9000
10076


E. Grad

Olympic Competitor nr 574


Torben Grael

B. 1960-07-22, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Sailing (2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)
1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 HP
Star bronze 11th gold bronze gold 33720
Soling silver 5000
38720


Steffi Graf

B. 1969-06-14, Germany
Tennis (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
1988 1992 HP
Ladies' Singles gold silver 13000
Ladies' Doubles bronze R2 1599.56
14599.56

Winner at Wimbledon 7 times ('88, '89, '91-'93, '95, '96), at Roland Garros 6 times ('87, '88, '93, '95, '96, '99), Flushing Meadow 3 times ('93, '95, '96) and Australia 4 times ('88, '89, '90 and '94). Proclaimed World Champion seven times ('87-'90 and '93, '95, '96)


Gillis Grafström

B. 1893-06-07, Stockholm; D. 1938-04-14, Potsdam
Figure Skating (3 gold, 1 silver)
1920 1924 1928 1932 HP
Men's Individual gold gold gold silver 69600
69600

An architect, professionally (and a poet, painter and etcher), Grafström was noted for the elegance and musical feeling of his free figure skating. He originated the Grafström spin (on the back outside edge of the skate) and the flying sitspin, and was the first to make the 'Axel Paulsen' a controlled jump. He won three Olympic gold medals, the first at Antwerpen, where he broke a skate and, being unable to get a replacement, went into the town and bought an old-fashioned curly-toed one. At Lake Placid, aged thirty-eight, he took the silver medal after an accident in which he collided with a photographer on the ice. Grafström was a highly individualistic character who skated for his own aesthetic satisfaction and could never be bothered much with competitive skating outside the Olympic Games. He never deigned to enter the European Championships and skated only three times for the World Title, in '22, '24 and '29, winning every time.
Grafström would later become coach to Sonja Henie.
The 1920 event was held at Antwerpen, before there were special Winter Olympics. This makes Grafström the only person to have won gold medals both in summer and winter Olympics - in the same event!
Sandra Loosemore has a page devoted to skating legends, including a photo.


R. Grandjean

Olympic Competitor nr 1613


Alex Grant

Olympic Competitor nr 799


Dick Grant

Olympic Competitor nr 1035


Eugène-Henri Gravelotte

Olympic Competitor nr 37


Edgar Laurence "Dunc" Gray

B. 1906-07-17, Goulburn, NSW, Australia; D. 1996-08-30
Cycling (1 gold, 1 bronze)
1928 1932 1936 HP
Sprint - fourth fifth 3900
1000m Time Trial bronze gold - 13440
Road Race, Time Trial dnf - - 0
17340

The Sydney Olympic velodrome is named in his honour.


Maurice Greene

USA
Athletics (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
2000 2004 HP
100 m gold bronze 8960
4 x 100 m gold silver 2600
11560


Oscar Grégoire

Olympic Competitor nr 1348


Michael Greis

Germany
Biathlon (3 gold)
2006 2010 HP
20 km gold 10th 6500
15 km Mass Start gold 10th 6500
10 km 35th 21st 0.48075
10 km + 12.5 km Pursuit 8th fifth 942
4 x 7.5 km gold fifth 1850
15792.48075

(14656)


John Gretton, Jr

Olympic Competitor nr 302


Oksana Grichuk

Russia
Figure Skating - Ice dance (2 gold)
1992 1994 1998 HP
Ice Dance fourth gold gold 15500
15500

Twice winner of the Ice dancing together with Evgeny Platov.

Her fan website calls her by the nickname Pacha.


Florence Griffith

competed from 1988 as

Florence Griffith-Joyner

B. 1959-12-21 Los Angeles, CA; D. 1998-09-21, Mission Viejo, CA, USA
Track & Field (3 gold, 2 silver)
1984 1988 HP
100 m - gold 6400
200 m silver gold 10400
4 x 100 m - gold 1600
4 x 400 m - silver 1000
19400

In 1987, after a brief retirement, she started a program of weight-lifting, under the eyes of her coach and husband, Al Joyner, brother of Jackie Joyner. This helped her to three gold medals and two world records that stood until her death. She died, aged just 39, of a heart and brain seizure.
Her remarkable success and her death sparked rumours of drug use. No tests ever revealed banned substances, but her retirement in 1989, shortly before the introduction of mandatory random drug testing, fueled further speculation.


Grimm

Olympic Competitor nr 1106


Sergey Grinkov

Soviet Union
Figure Skating (2 gold)
1988 1994 HP
Pairs gold gold 14000
14000

Together with Yekaterina Gordeyeva.


Georgios Grigoriou

Olympic Competitor nr 199


Alphonse Grisel

Olympic Competitor nr 4


Alexei Grishin

B. 1979-07-18, Belarus
Freestyle Skiing (1 gold, 1 bronze)
2002 2006 2010 HP
Aerials bronze fourth gold 19800
19800


Yevgeni Grishin

B. 1931-03-23, Tula, Russia
Speed Skating (4 gold, 1 silver)
1956 1960 1964 1968 HP
500 m gold gold silver fourth 27600
1500 m gold gold 11th - 12864
40464

The best sprinter in the 1950's and early 1960's. He held the 500 and 1500 metres world records from 1955 to 1958. In 1952 he was also in the soviet cycling team. (not in the Olympics, though). The gold at the 1500 m  in Squaw Valley was shared with Roald Aas.


Axel Grönberg

Sweden
Wrestling - Greco-Roman (2 gold)
1948 1952 HP
-79 kg gold gold 19200
19200

He also came second in the 1953 World Championships, and won one European gold and two bronze. He also finished third in two European free-style championships.


Kelpo Gröndahl

B. 1920-03-28, Pori, Länsi-Suomen, Finland; D. 1994-08-02
Wrestling, Greco-Roman (1 gold, 1 silver)
1948 1952 HP
Light-Heavyweight silver gold 15600
15600


Harald Grönningen

B. 1934-10-09, Lensvik, Norway
Nordic Skiing (2 gold, 3 silver)
1960 1964 1968 HP
15 km - silver gold 10400
30 km - silver 13th 4025.6
4 x 10 km silver fourth gold 3750
50 km 14th sixth - 656
18831.6

He was among the leading cross-country skiers for twenty years, and won the 15 km at Holmenkollen in 1960 and '61.


Michael Groß

B. 1964-06-17, Germany
Swimming (3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
1984 1988 HP
100 m Butterfly gold fifth 7400
200 m Butterfly silver gold 10400
200 m Free-style gold fifth 7400
4 x 100 m Free-style Relay fourth sixth 560
4 x 200 m Free-style Relay silver bronze 1640
4 x 100 m Medley Relay fourth fourth 800
28200

Nick-named 'the albatros' because of his enourmous 'wing'-span.
World Champion at 200 m free-style and 200 m butterfly in 1982 and '86,


Ricco Groß

B. 1970-08-22, Schlema, Germany
Biathlon (4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)
1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 HP
4 x 7.5 km gold gold gold silver gold 13200
10 km silver silver 17th fourth 7th 8254.4
10 km + 12.5 km Pursuit bronze 12th 1950
20 km - - sixth fourth 11th 2304
25708.4

Member of the German Biathlon Relay team that won gold at Albertville, Lillehammer, Nagano and Torino.


Grossard

Olympic Competitor nr 263


Johan Grøttumsbråten

B. 1899-02-24, Sørkedalen, Oslo, Norway
Nordic Skiing (3 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)
1924 1928 1932 HP
Individual Nordic Combined bronze gold gold 34560
18 km silver gold sixth 13800
50 km bronze - - 2560
50920

For fifteen years he was among the best combined Nordic skiers in the world. He won the Holmenkollen combined five times, and was twice World Champion in the combined (1926 and '31) and once in the 18 km (1926).


Kristina Groves

B.1976-12-04, Canada
Speed Skating
2002 2006 2010 HP
1500 m 20th silver silver 8001
3000 m 8th 8th bronze 3072
1000 m fifth fourth 2600
Team Pursuit silver fifth 1250
14923


Maria Grozdeva

Bulgaria
Shooting (2 gold, 3 bronze)
1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 HP
Sport Pistol 18th 21st gold gold fifth 20704.8
Air Pistol bronze bronze 38th bronze 11th 8518.4
29223.2


Józef Grudzien

B. 1939-04-01, Piaski Wielkie, Busko-Zdrój, Swietokrzyskie, Poland
Boxing (1 gold, 1 silver)
1964 1968 HP
Lightweight gold silver 15600
15600


Émile Grumiaux

Olympic Competitor nr 893


Alfred Grütter

Olympic Competitor nr 1248


Written 2002-09-08 - last modified 2002-10-31

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