Celebrities Who Competed in the Olympics Some Who Almost Did
Lionel Messi, Michael Phelps, Serena Williams and LeBron James are just a few names of athletes who, through their incredible accomplishments in their careers, have reached true stardom. And while the list of athletes-turned-celebrities is always growing (especially with the 2024 Olympics upon us), there have been a few instances over the years of accomplished celebrities who just happen to be impressive athletes too.
Australian singer Cody Simpson, for example, was making it big as a singer before stepping down from music in 2019 and dedicating himself to becoming a professional swimmer. “My dream is to inspire as many people as I can over the course of my lifetime and to strive,” Simpson said in a July 14 interview. “That’s what I’ve been doing for most of my life, particularly for the past four years, coming back to the sport of swimming from being a musician [and] wanting to achieve this other dream I had that wouldn’t stop nagging at me for years and years.”
“When I came back to it I said ‘Whether this is a massive success or terrible failure, I’ve shown myself, and anyone else who was following the journey, that it’s okay to strive,” Simpson continued. The “Surfboard” singer, who earned some recognition in national competitions, sadly failed to land a coveted spot in Australia’s swimming team in Tokyo in 2020 and Paris in 2024.
To check out some more celebrities, including two royal family members, who you might not know have “Olympian” or “almost Olympian” on their resumes, scroll below!
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Caitlyn Jenner
Before becoming a reality star, Caitlyn Jenner was a decorated Olympian. In her first Olympic Games in 1972 in Munich, Jenner placed 10th in the Men’s Decathlon. Four years later, in the 1976 Montreal games, Jenner came back strong and won gold as well as breaking the world record at the time.
Jessica Springsteen
Since 2012, Bruce Springsteen’s daughter Jessica has been trying to make it to the Olympic stage. Per WWD, her Olympic dreams started becoming a reality in 2012 when she was selected as an alternate for the U.S. Equestrian Team in London but ended up not competing.
Nine years later, in 2021, she competed in the Olympics for the very first time in Tokyo and took home a silver medal. “Representing my country has always been something that I take great pride in,” she told the outlet. “To now be doing it at the Olympic level is really just a huge honor for me.”
Jessica did not qualify for the Olympics in 2024.
Cody Simpson
Singer Cody Simpson was so invested in his role in becoming an Olympic swimmer that he put his career on pause in 2019. But while he won many national accolades in Australia over the years, and trained with legendary swimmers like Michael Phelps and Emma McKeon, Simpson failed to make it to the Australia team in Tokyo in 2020 and Paris in 2024.
Following his disappointment after the Paris qualifiers, Simpson revealed his swimming ambitions would be coming to an end.
“I did what I could do, and that’s all you can do,” Simpson said, per Olympics. “I’ve come a lot further in the last four years than perhaps I could have bargained for.”
“Starting from zero and trying to see how far I could get in half or a third of the time that everybody else has been training, just to do right by that kid in me that gave it up to go and pursue something else, which I had an incredible journey,” he continued.
Zara Tindall
In addition to being a member of the British royal family, Zara Tindall is quite an athlete too. In 2012, Tindall officially became an Olympian by participating in the Equestrian Eventing competition. She finished eighth place.
Princess Anne
Tindall’s mom, Princess Anne, also has an Olympic track record. Back in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, King Charles III’s sister competed in the equestrian three-day event. She sadly didn’t place in the podium and got 24th place instead.
Geena Davis
While we all know Geena Davis, you might be surprised to learn that she was almost an Olympian. Back in 1996, when Davis was 41 years old, she became obsessed with Archery and decided to try it herself.
“I found a coach and became utterly obsessed,” she told People in 2020. “Yeah, I took it up at 41 and it became my life for a couple of years.”
When the qualifiers for the 2000 Olympics in Australia came along, Davis competed for a spot but ended up making it to 24th place and didn’t make the cut.
Jason Statham
Much like Cody Simpson, Jason Statham was almost an Olympian, but just didn’t make the cut.
When he was either 11 or 12 years old, Statham became fasinated with diving, and rose the ranks in national competitions quite quickly. Per Olympics, The Beekeeper star Statham then participated in the Olympic trials for the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul and the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 but did not make the cut for either event.
Soon after, he gave up diving to become the action star he is now.
Harold Sakata
The late Harold Sakata, known for his role as the villain “Oddjob” in the James Bond movie, Goldfinger, was an Olympic weightlifter. In the 1948 Olympics in London, he took home a silver medal Weightlifting.
Vera Wang
Before becoming one the world’s biggest fashion designers, Vera Wang thought her biggest dream lied in figure-skating. “I was completely dedicated to it,” she told South China Morning Post’s Post Magazine in 2020.
In 1968, however, she and partner James Stuart failed to qualify for the Winter Olympics in Grenoble. “I was devastated when I did not qualify for the Olympic team,” Wang said.
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller, the actor known for playing Tarzan throughout 12 movies in thr 30s and 40s, was a decorated Olympian. In his first Olympic appearance in Paris in 1924, Weissmuller won three gold medals in swimming as well as a Bronze medal in Water Polo.
Four years later, in Amsterdam in 1928, Weissmuller got two more swimming gold medals under his belt.
Tyler & Cameron Winklevoss
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the two twins who famously co-founded Facebook alongside Mark Zuckerberg, competed together in the coxless pairs rowing event at the 2008 Bejing Olympics. They ended up in sixth place.
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