The Olympic Dictionary S

SAAR A mining region of , which, after the Second World War, was given to along with the Ruhr but recognized as a sort of independent territory. Its Olympic Committee, recognized by the IOC, was invited to the 1952 Summer Games, where it took part with 36 athletes, winning no medals. The region was reunited with the Federal Republic of Germany in 1/1/1957: but on 20 September of 1956, Saar’s Olympic Committee was dissolved, and the athletes joined the mixed West German-East German team for the 1956 Summer Games.

SABONIS ARVIDAS ROMAS (basketball, USSR/Lithuania, b. Kaunas 19/12/1964). Three appearances (1988/USSR, 1992/CIS, 1996/LIT), one gold (1988) and 2 bronze medals (1992 and 1996). 1988 1-0-0, 1992 0-0-1, 1996 0-0-1. With a height of 221 centimetres, he won the gold medal in Seoul beating the USA 82-76 in the semi-final and Yugoslavia 76-63 in the final (pulling back from an initial 12-24), by which team the USSR had been beaten 92-79 in a match in the preliminary pool. He scored 93 points and took 70 rebounds in the 7 (out of 8) matches that he played, with 20 points and 15 rebounds in the final. Then he won 2 bronze medals with Lithuania: in 1992, beating the ex-USSR (known as CIS in those Games) 82-78 in the 3rd place final, in which he scored 27 points; and in 1996, beating 80-74. In the World Championships he won one gold medal (1982) and one silver (1986), in the European Championships one gold (1985) and 2 bronze (1983-89) medals with USSR, and then one silver (1995) with Lithuania. He played in Zalgiris Kaunas up until 1989, winning 3 Soviet championships (1985-86-87) and an Intercontinental Cup (1986), then with Valladolid up until 1992, with Real Madrid until 1995, winning 2 league championships (1993-94), a Champion’s Cup (1995) and a Spanish Cup (1993), and then up until 2003 with the Portland Trail Blazers. He had already been selected in the 1985 draft by the Hawks and the following year by Portland, but in 1986 he broke his Achilles tendon and did not play in the NBA. Later, when he joined, playing 7 seasons with the Blazers (missing 2001-02), notwithstanding many injuries and reaching the age of 30, he scored 5.629 points and took 3.436 rebounds (match averages respectively 12 and 7.3), plus 617 points and 378 rebounds in the playoffs. He ended his career in 2005 after another two seasons with Zalgiris, having purchased the majority share of the team.

SÁGINE UJLAKINÉ REJTÖ ILDIKÓ (fencing, Hungary, b. Budapest 11/5/1937). Five appearances (1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976), 2 gold (individual and team foil 1964), 3 silver (team foil 1960, 1968 and 1972) and 2 bronze medals (individual foil 1968, team foil 1976). 1960 0-1-0, 1964 2-0-0, 1968 0-1-1, 1972 0-1-0, 1976 0-0-1. She took part in the 1960 Games as Rejtö, in the 1964 and 1968 Games as Ujlakiné-Rejtö (Ujlaki was her first husband, and in the 1972 and 1976 Games as Ságine-Rejtö (after her second marriage to Sagi). Born deaf, her coach wrote instructions on a sheet of paper. She won 2 gold medals in 1964: first in individual foil, losing twice against the German Mees (4-3 in the first round and 4-2 in the final round), but beating her 4-0 in the three- sided barrage for the medals, and winning the gold in part due to her 4-1 victory over Ragno (q.v.); she then won in the team event, notwithstanding her 3 defeats out of 4 (including a 1-5 again against Mees) in the semi-final with Germany, in any case beaten 9-6, and then winning 3 assaults out of 4 in the decisive 9-7 against the USSR. Against this latter team she lost another 3 team finals: 3-9 in 1960 and 1968, and 5-9 in 1972. In the World Championships she won 5 gold (individual 1963, team 1959-62-67-73), 7 silver and 3 bronze medals; and she won 18 Hungarian titles, 6

176 The Olympic Dictionary individual and 12 team, of which the last in 1980, when she was 43. In 1999 she was still on the piste, and won the over-60 World Masters Championships.

SAILING Made its debut at the 1900 Games and has been ever-present since 1908. Regulated by the International Federation (ISAF - www.sailing.org).

SAINT CYR HENRI JULIUS REVERENOY (equestrian, , b. Stockholm 15/3/1902, d. Stockholm 27/7/1979). Five appearances (1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960), 4 gold medals (individual dressage 1952 and 1956, team dressage 1952 and 1956). 1952 2-0-0, 1956 2-0-0. He began his military career in 1924, and ended a . After having taken part in the three-day event in Berlin (25th in individual competition), he finished 5th riding Djimm in the dressage in London, where Sweden – who had won the team event – was disqualified 8 months later because Gehnall Persson had been promoted to an officer rank, then a mandatory condition, solely to enable him to take part in the Games. Success came with his two medals in Helsinki riding Master Rufus – in the meantime, the rules had changed, and civilians were allowed to compete – and in Stockholm (where equestrian events were held in 1956 due to horse quarantine problems) on Juli. In the individual competition, in both Games he finished ahead of the Dane Hartel, who was paralysed from the knees down and had to be assisted when mounting. Saint Cyr helped him climb onto the podium. He came close to an individual bronze at the age of 58, coming 4th on L’Etoile in 1960.

SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS (Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Caribbean, capital Basseterre, area 269,4 km2, population 50.417). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1986, received IOC recognition in 1993. It took part in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Games. Yet to win a medal.

SAINT LUCIA (Caribbean, capital Castries, area 617 km2, population 164.923). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1987, received IOC recognition in 1993. It took part in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Games. Yet to win a medal.

SAINT VINCENT AND GRENADINE (Caribbean, capital Kingstown, area 389 km2, population 120.398). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1982, received IOC recognition in 1987. From 1988 on it has taken part at all Olympics. Yet to win a medal.

SALNIKOV VLADIMIR VALERYEVICH (, USSR, b. Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, , then USSR, 21/5/1960). Three appearances (1976, 1980, 1988) and 4 gold medals (400 m freestyle 1980, 1500 m freestyle 1980 and 1988, 4x200 m freestyle relay 1980). 1980 3-0-0, 1988 1-0-0. He dominated middle distance swimming for about a decade, and remained unbeaten for 7 years, from September 1977 to August 1984. In 1976 he reached the 1500 final in the Montreal Games, coming 5th with the European record time (15:29.45). “During the day I am always in the water: 5-7 km in periods of rest, with a lot of , and over 25 km in the run- up to races. My training sessions start at about eight in the morning and continue up to the evening. Then I study. When I am swimming I listen to Beethoven, it gives me amazing energy”. In 1977, in the 1500 he won the first of his 6 European titles (1500 m freestyle 1977-81-83, 4x100 m freestyle relay 1981, 4x200 m freestyle relay 1981, 400 m freestyle 1983, and a silver in the 400 m freestyle 1981). Expectations regarding his performance were running high at the 1980 Games, and he did not disappoint them: gold medal in the 400 in 3:51.31, with an all-Soviet podium with Andrei Krylov and Ivar Stukolkin; with them and Sergei Kopliakov he won the 4x200 freestyle relay in 7:23.50, ahead of East Germany and Brazil. He dominated his speciality, the 1500 m, accumulating a one-second lead after just two lengths; he increased his lead to 3 seconds at 400 metres, swam the last 400 m in 2 seconds less than his time for the first 400, and won in 14:58.27, about 16 seconds ahead of the others, the first man to break the 15 minute barrier. “How do I stand up to the psychological stress of such a long race? As a friend of mine in Leningrad says, you have to be

177 The Olympic Dictionary patient, it’s like slicing up an elephant with a knife”. He did not take part in the Games due to the boycott, and that moment marked the start of the darker period of his career: he missed the 1985 European Championships due to physical problems, came fourth in the 1986 World Championships, was eliminated in the heats at the 1987 European Championships, and persistent rumours suggested that he was consuming large amounts of alcohol and was close to retirement. Soviet sports officials would have liked to exclude him from the National team for the approaching 1988 Seoul Games, but Salnikov, who had also followed a military career reaching the rank of Colonel, managed to obtain a place in the team through his rank and for his glorious past. In Korea he qualified for the 1500 final, for which the favourites were the West German , the East German and the American Matthew Cetlinski. At the 800 metre mark, when no- one had yet made a move, Salnikov stepped up the speed and drew away from all the other competitors, running out of energy for the last two lengths but succeeding in any case in maintaining a good lead and ending first (15:00.40, ahead of Pfeiffer and Dassler). “I had thought of retiring in 1986. But, talking about it with my wife Marina, I realized that if I had retired a loser, I would have had a bad feeling about it for the rest of my life”. With this fourth Olympic gold he ended his competitive career, which also included, in the World Championships, 4 gold (400 m freestyle 1978-82, 1500 m freestyle 1978-82) and 2 silver medals, as well as 13 world records (6 in the 400, 4 in the 800, 3 in the 1500).

SALT LAKE CITY OLYMPIC SCANDAL This was the most famous Olympic scandal involving a number of IOC members who were accused of corruption. It broke out in late 1998, when the media were told that the Olympic Committee organizing the Salt Lake City Winter Games (SLOC, Salt Lake Olympic Committee) had paid the fees for the daughter of an IOC member (René Essomba, Cameroon) studying at the University of Washington. The press later revealed that at least 13 people had received payments from the SLOC (as part of a special study assistance programme) for a total figure of 400.000 dollars; of these, six were relatives of IOC members. After a meticulous investigation, what emerged was that the payment was just a small part of a more extensive programme of “benefits” given to some IOC members in order to obtain the votes necessary to ensure that Salt Lake City was assigned the 2002 Winter Games. In December 1998, a member of the IOC Board, Mark Hodler, revealed that 5 or 7% of the members had taken or requested bribes from candidate cities even before Salt Lake City. The IOC President Samaranch (q.v.), swept up in the scandal, set up a special commission led by Dick Pound to discover what had really happened. The enquiry showed that Tom Welch, president of the SLOC, was not the only person to have created a parallel organisation to promote the nomination of Salt Lake City (it had been voted an Olympic city in 1995), because the Japanese had also bought the favour of IOC members by paying them large sums to have the Winter Games assigned to Nagano. Acting on a proposal in the Pound Commission’s second report, on 18 March 1999, six IOC members were expelled, and in the meantime, another four members had resigned. Following the scandal, the IOC implemented a radical revision of their regulations, and “gifts” and guided tours to candidate cities offered by organisers were expressly prohibited.

SAMARANCH TORRELO JUAN ANTONIO Marquis (IOC president, , b. 17/7/1920). Minister of Sport in General Francisco Franco’s government in 1966 he became a member of the IOC, and was nominated vice-president in 1974. Just after the problematic Moscow Games, (boycotted by 61 countries) he was elected IOC president as successor to Killanin (q.v.) and he held this position for 21 years, until 2001.

SAMOA (Independent State of Samoa, Oceania, capital Apia, area 2.831 km2, population 187.026). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1983, received IOC recognition that year. From 1984 it has taken part at all Olympics. Yet to win a medal.

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SAN MARINO (Most Serene Republic of San Marino, Europe, capital San Marino, area 61,16 km2, population 30.926). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1959, received IOC recognition that year. Since 1960 it has taken part at all Olympics except for the 1964 Games. Yet to win a medal.

SANEYEV VIKTOR DANILOVICH (track & field, USSR, b. Sukhumi, Georgia, at that time USSR, 3/10/1945). Four appearances (1968, 1972, 1976, 1980), 3 gold medals (triple jump 1968, 1972 and 1976) and one silver (triple jump 1980). 1968 1-0-0, 1972 1-0-0, 1976 1-0-0, 1980 0-1-0. Born in the district of Sukhumi, a town in Abkhazia which at that time was part of the Soviet Union and is now an autonomous republic of Georgia, Saneyev played football when he was young. He was a very fast winger, to the point that when the Armenian coach Akop Kerselyan, who introduced him to athletics, convinced him to dedicate his sporting career entirely to the triple jump, he had to conceal the fact that Dynamo Moscow were interested in him. He was in Mexico City for his Olympic debut in 1968. The event was historic because the world record was broken 4 times: with 17.39 Saneyev won, ahead of the Brazilian Nelson Prudencio and the Italian Giuseppe Gentile. The year after, he won his first European title: he won another in 1974, while in 1971 and 1978 he took the silver; at the Euroindoor events he would attain a total of 6 gold medals (1970-71-72-75-76-77). At the 1972 Games he faced the East German Jörg Drehmel, who had already beaten the “Sukhumi kangaroo” twice, as Saneyev was nicknamed. But at his first attempt the Georgian achieved 17.35, which won him the gold medal by 4 cm, ahead of Drehmel and Prudencio. The contest was more keenly fought in Montreal, 1976: the American Butts took the lead with 17.18 at the fourth jump, but in the next series, Saneyev cleared 17.29, taking the lead: the Brazilian João Carlos de Oliveira came third. A number of factors suggested retirement: the third consecutive gold, yet another halt caused by an injury, and a delicate operation in Finland to reconstruct a tendon, his recent marriage to Tatyana Khvartskya and the birth of their son Alexander, and, in 1977, the end of his unbeaten record which had lasted since 1973. But at the 1980 Moscow Games, he was once again in the running. His principal rivals were the emerging Estonian talent Jaak Uudmäe, and De Oliveira, who for five years had been world record holder. Saneyev struggled to qualify for the final, succeeded at the last jump, but in the jumps for the medals he immediately reached 16.85, putting him into second place behind the Brazilian’s 16.96. Uudmäe took the lead with his personal best, 17.35 (but the judges gave him “at least four fingers”, say the other athletes); Saneyev increased his distance to 17.07 while De Oliveira, who meanwhile had attained 17.22, at his last attempt saw his jump unjustifiably disallowed, and he left the field, pointedly shaking hands with the judges. The last to jump was Saneyev, who waited for the ideal wind conditions and turned in a jump of 17.24, silver, even though many considered the distance as worthy of gold. “You are the best: you won this time as well”, De Oliveira said to him. He retired at the end of the Games, with 8 national titles, 3 world records, and 96 victories in 110 competitions.

SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE (Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, Africa, capital São Tomé, area 1,001 km2, population 157.637). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1979, received IOC recognition in 1993. It took part in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Games. Yet to win a medal.

SAUDI ARABIA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, , capital Riyadh, area 2.149.690 km2, 24.734.532 inhabitants). Two medals: one silver and one bronze. The Olympic Committee was formed in 1964 and recognised a year later by the IOC. Since 1972 Saudi Arabia has missed only the 1980 Games; first medals were won in 2000, one silver by Hadi Somayli in the 400 m hurdles, and one bronze by Khaled Al-Eid for show jumping in the equestrian competition.

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SAUTIN DMITRI IVANOVICH (diving, CIS/Russia, b. Voronezh 15/3/1974). Four appearances (1992/CIS, 1996/RUS, 2000/RUS, 2004/RUS), 2 gold (platform 1996, synchronized platform 2000), one silver (synchronized springboard 2000) and 4 bronze medals (springboard 1992, 2000 and 2004, platform 2000). 1992 0-0-1, 1996 1-0-0, 2000 1-1-2, 2004 0-0-1. In 1991 he was stabbed several times in a street fight, and he spent two months in hospital, but the year after he took part in his first Olympiad, winning a bronze medal in the springboard. He achieved the same position in the same speciality in 2004, and in those Games he won his 7th medal, a record in diving. At Atlanta 1996 he won a gold medal in the platform (after 4 dives in the final, he had a lead of over 41 points, which then dropped to a 29.07 lead over the German Hempel), and at 2000, where the programme had been extended to include synchronized diving, he won 4 medals: a gold in the synchronized platform with Igor Lukashin; then, in springboard, ruining his first place at the last dive, ending with bronze; then a silver in synchronized springboard with Aleksandr Dobroskok; and lastly another bronze from the platform. In the World Championships he won 5 gold (platform 1994-98, springboard 1998-2001, synchronized springboard 2003), a silver and 3 bronze medals; in the European Championships, 12 gold medals (platform 1993-99-2000, springboard 1995-97-2000- 02-06-08, synchronized platform 2000, synchronized springboard 2002-08), 4 silvers and one bronze.

SAVOLAINEN HEIKKI ILMARI (gymnastics, Finland, b. Joensuu 28/9/1907, d. Kajaani 29/11/1997). Five appearances (1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952), 2 gold (pommel horse 1948, team all-round 1948), one silver ( 1932) and 6 bronze medals (pommel horse 1928, individual all-round 1932, 1932, team all-round 1932, 1936 and 1952). 1928 0-0-1, 1932 0-1-3, 1936 0-0-1, 1948 2-0-0, 1952 0-0-1. He won his first medal when he was 21, then still a student of medicine, and his last at the age of almost 45, when, 13 years after graduation, he became the second oldest athlete to win a medal for gymnastics (Frenchman Demanet was 45 years and 8 months old when he won the team bronze in 1920). He took part in as many as 39 events in 5 Olympiads, winning 9 medals and another 14 places in the first ten. He finished equal with other Finnish athletes both in the horizontal bar in 1932 (18.07 points, the same score as Terasvirta; and while the judges were trying to decide how to award the medals, the Finnish team announced their decision to give the silver to Savolainen), and in the pommel horse in 1948, when the gold medal was awarded equally to him, Aaltonen and Huhtanen, all with 19.35 points. He won an unofficial World Championship gold medal in 1931, at the championships organised for the 50th anniversary of the international Federation; and a World Championship team bronze in 1950.

SAVÓN FABRE FÉLIX (boxing, Cuba, b. San Vicente 22/9/1967). Three appearances (1992, 1996, 2000) and 3 gold medals (heavyweight 91 kg 1992, 1996 and 2000). 1992 1-0-0, 1996 1-0-0, 2000 1-0-0. After Hungarian László Papp (q.v.) and Cuban (q.v.) Teófilo Stevenson, Félix Savón was the third boxer to win 3 consecutive gold medals. When he was young he practiced track & field events, baseball and basketball, and then took up boxing, and he had his first fight when he was 13. “The match took place at school. I immediately swung a punch at my opponent, who collapsed onto the . Everybody was shouting enthusiastically, but I approached him with a huge sense of worry. ‘Oh my God I’ve killed him’. Luckily he got up”. In 1982 he moved to the top performance centre at Havana to train under coach Alcides Sagarra; there he met his idol Teofilo Stevenson, who became his sparring partner. He grew to reach 198 cm height and 91 kg. In 1986 he won the first of 6 World Championship titles (1986-89-91-93-95-97 and the silver in 1999), and the following year, the first of 3 gold medals at the Pan-American Games (1987-91-95). In 1992 he made his Olympic debut and won gold, demolishing Nigerian David Izonritei in the final with a score of 14-1. His second medal came four years later in Atlanta, where in the final he beat David Defiagbon, a Canadian of Nigerian origin, (20-2). After the Games he turned down a purse of 5 million dollars for a fight against Mike Tyson. “I will never sell out to professional boxing, there is too much corruption. Every time I climb into the ring it’s as if I was going to war. I am a Cuban like

180 The Olympic Dictionary all the others, only I am a little more famous because I win. This is how I defend Cuba”. In 2000 he concluded his career (383 fights, 362 victories and 21 defeats) winning his third Olympic gold, 21- 13 in the final against Russian Sultan Ibragimov. Married and with five children, after retirement he coached Cuban boxers: one of his pupils, Odlanier Solís Fonté, won a gold medal in the heavyweight class at the Athens Games, 2004. In 2001 he was named Cuban athlete of the millennium.

SCARPA DANIELE (canoeing, Italy, b. Venice 3/1/1964). Four appearances (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996), one gold medal (K2 1000 m 1996) and one silver (K2 500 m 1996). 1996 1-1-0. After finishing in the first ten 7 times in 3 Olympiads (the best was 4th place in the K2 500 m in 1984 with Francesco Uberti, 9 hundredths from the Canadian boat which took 3rd place), he at last climbed onto the medals podium in Atlanta, winning gold with Antonio Rossi (q.v.) in the 1000 metres. The day after, he won a silver medal with Beniamino Bonomi (q.v.) in the 500, just 32 thousandths behind the Germans Bluhm-Gutsche. In the World Championships he won 2 gold medals (K2 500 with Bonomi, K2 1000 with Rossi, both in 1995), 2 silvers and a bronze, and he won 39 Italian titles (29 outright, and 10 in his category). He became famous for his disputes: one regarding a prohibited drug that he says was injected without his knowledge before the 1994 World Championships, for which he was expelled from the Italian canoeing federation twice, but he was later permitted to rejoin. In 2007 he married Sandra Truccolo, 2 gold medals at the Paralympics, 2 World Championship gold medals and one European Championship gold medal in archery.

SCHERBO VITALY VENEDIKTOVICH (gymnastics, CIS/BLR, b. Minsk 13/1/1972). Two appearances (1992/CIS, 1996/BLR), 6 gold medals (individual all-round 1992, team event 1992, 1992, parallel bars 1992, 1992, pommel horse 1992) and 4 bronze (individual all-round 1996, parallel bars 1996, horizontal bar 1996, vault 1996). 1992 6-0-0, 1996 0-0-4. His surname has been ALSO spelled Shcherbo or Scerbo. The only gymnast to win 6 gold medals in a single Olympiad, he grew up in Minsk: his mother had been an acrobat, and his father abandoned the family when Vitaly was 5. Quarrelsome and hard to control, his mother took him to the gym when he was 7. “I had neither a special talent nor strong muscles. I was just a very lively child, and my mother hoped that gymnastics would help me become more disciplined and keep me off the streets”. In 1992, at the Barcelona Games, competing for the Commonwealth of Independent States, he amazed the world by winning 6 gold medals (in the pommel horse equal first with North Korean Pae Gil-su) and coming close to the record held by Mark Spitz (q.v.), who in 1972, Munich, had won 7 golds. Success did not bring him wealth: after the collapse of the USSR, prizes for Olympians were reduced by 70%, and the money that he won in Barcelona was stolen by an old friend and training colleague. He moved to the to coach young gymnasts at Pennsylvania State College, but he continued to compete for Belarus. In winter 1995 his wife Irina risked losing her life in a car accident: she was in coma, and Scherbo fell prey to alcohol and depression. When she recovered, the gymnast returned to competition, and for her, he took part in the Atlanta Games, winning 4 bronze medals. Then he fractured his hand in a motorcycle accident and he retired definitively from competition. Among his wins: 12 golds (all-round 1993, team 1991, pommel horse 1992, rings 1992, vault 1993-94, parallel bars 1993-95, exercise 1994-95-96, horizontal bar 1994), 7 silvers and 4 bronzes at the World Championship; 9 golds, 5 silvers and 2 bronzes at the European Championships; one absolute soviet title in 1991.

SCHMIDT FISCHER BIRGIT (canoeing, East Germany/Germany, b. Brandenburg 25/2/1962). Six appearances (1980/ East Germany, 1988/East Germany, 1992/Germany, 1996/Germany, 2000/Germany, 2004/Germany), 8 gold medals (K1 500 m 1980 and 1992, K2 500 m 1988 and 2000, K4 500 m 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2004) and 4 silvers (K1 500 m 1988, K4 500 m 1992, K2 500 m 1996 and 2004). 1980 1-0-0, 1988 2-1-0, 1992 1-1-0, 1996 1-1-0, 2000 2-0-0, 2004 1-1-0. If she had not missed the Los Angeles Olympics because of the boycott, she would probably be the

181 The Olympic Dictionary athlete with most gold medals in the history of the Games. In any case she is the only woman to have won in 6 Olympiads, like Hungarian fencer Aladar Gerevich (q.v.). She competed in 13 Olympic events, and failed to win a medal just once, when she came 4th in the K1 500 in 1996. She was both the youngest (18 in 1980, when she won the K1 500) and the oldest (42 in 2004, first in K4 500) woman to win a gold medal in canoeing. She won her team medals with 11 different companions. Carolin Leonhardt, born on 22 November 1984, who canoed with her in the K4 500 and the K2 500, respectively gold and silver in 2004, was born 113 days after the first won by the girl who was then Miss Fischer (she was later married, from 1984 to 1993 with canoeist Jorg Schmidt, World Champion gold medallist in C1 1.000 m in 1982, and Olympic silver medallist in the same event in 1988). She paused in 1986 to have her first child, and in 1988 she retired after her second was born, and she decided to stop again after Sydney 2000, abandoning competition for three years in order to coach the National team, but on every occasion she then returned to competitive canoeing. She won the remarkable figure of 27 World Championship gold medals (K1 500 m 1981-82-83-85-87-93-94, K2 500 m 1981-82-83-85-87-97, K4 500 m 1979-81- 82-83-85-87-93-94-95-97-98, K2 200 m 1997, K4 200 m 1997, K2 1.000 m 1997), also winning 6 silvers and 4 bronzes, one of which – in the K2 200 m, 2005 – racing with her niece Fanny, who in 2007 won 2 World Championship gold medals in the K2 200 and 500 metres.

SCHMIDT OSCAR DANIEL BEZERRA (basketball, Brazil, b. Natal 16/2/1958). Five appearances (1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996). He holds the record for the number of Olympic appearances in basketball, 5, the same number as for Puerto Ricans Cruz and Ortiz and the Australian Gaze. He never won a medal (5th in 1980, 1988 and 1992, 6th in 1996, 9th in 1984) but he scored a record 1093 points (in 38 matches, average 28.7). He was top scorer in 1988 (338 points, average 42.2), 1992 (198 points) and 1996 (219), he holds the record for a match in the Games (55 points against Spain in 1988) and he made 7 of the 10 “over 40” scores in the whole of Olympic history. He holds the world record for points scored in basketball: 49.737 in 1.615 matches, average 30.7. In detail: 2033 with Palmeiras, 4.351 Sirio, 9143 Caserta, 4814 Pavia, 2009 Valladolid, 3.570 in miscellaneous events (Italian Cup, Spanish Cup, European cups, Paulista selection, All Star), 4270 Corinthians, 4613 Barueri, 7241 Flamengo, 7693 for Brazil. He also holds the record for a foreigner in the Italian championship (13.957 points in 403 matches, average 34.6) where he played with Caserta from 1982 to 1990 (winning the Italian Cup in 1988) and with Pavia from 1990 to 1993. He ended his career at the age of 45, in 2003, with Flamengo: he won a clubs world championship and a South American championship (with Sirio, both in 1979), 3 Brazilian championships, 4 Paulista and 2 Carioca leagues. In the Brazilian team he won the 1987 Pan- American Championships, scoring 46 points in the final against USA, a World Championship bronze (in 1978: at the World Championships he holds the record of 52 points in a match, against Australia in 1990) and 3 South American championships (1977-83-85). He was selected in the 1984 draft by the New York Nets, but he never played in the NBA. His nephew Bruno won the under-21 beach volleyball world championship.

SCHOLLANDER DONALD ARTHUR “DON” (swimming, USA, b. Charlotte, North Carolina, 30/4/1946). Two appearances (1964, 1968), 5 gold medals (100 freestyle 1964, 400 freestyle 1964, 4x100 freestyle relay 1964, 4x200 freestyle relay 1964 and 1968) and one silver (200 freestyle 1968). 1964 4-0-0, 1968 1-1-0. He took after his mother, who was an excellent swimmer and stood in for Maureen O’Sullivan in the swimming scenes of some Tarzan films with (q.v.) Johnny Weissmüller. His father played American football. began swimming when he was 7 in Lake Oswego, near Portland, to where the family moved from his hometown of Charlotte. He emerged in youth races very young, and when he was 15, he followed his parents’ advice and moved to California and the Santa Clara Swim Club, the best in America, to perfect his style. In 1963 he was already one of the top swimmers in the world: on 27 July he was the first to break the 2 minute barrier (1:58.8) in the 200 freestyle, a speciality that became part of the Olympic programme

182 The Olympic Dictionary only in 1968. He was one of the most promising swimmers prior to the Games, but he had to deal with problems regarding the packed calendar, with the US championships in July, the Trials in August and the Games in October. It would have been impossible to compete in top condition in all the events, and so he concentrated on the US championships, where he set a new record for the 200 freestyle. He had more difficulty at the trials, and, not in top form, he nonetheless succeeded to qualify with second places in the 100 and 400, and reached the Games in optimum condition. Here he showed that he was well equipped psychologically as well as physically: he knew that one of his principal rivals, the French swimmer Alain Gottvalles, world record holder in the 100 freestyle, suffered in his presence, and so he exerted a sort of psychological terrorism, always sitting in front of him at the restaurant in the Olympic Village, using the same pool for training, and always standing behind him in the queue for the urinals. He also fooled his opponent by using different tactics, with slow starts in heats and very fast in finals, or vice versa. These tactics worked: in Tokyo he won the 100, turning with the others at the 50 metre mark and then drawing away to win in 53.4 (Gottvalles came only 5th). Three days later he won the 400 as well, with a slow start, then swimming the last 100 m in 1:01.7 and winning in 4:12.2. He concluded his Olympiad with another 2 gold medals: 4x200 freestyle (setting a world record, 7:52.1) and 4x100 freestyle (3:33.2, another world record); he withdrew from the 4x100 medley because he was tired and he wanted to give his place to the emerging swimmer Steve Clark. He was only 18, but his career did not last long: in 1965 he stopped competition due to mononucleosis and enrolled in a business faculty at Yale University in New Haven; in following years he continued to compete though with less motivation, but remained at top levels, improving the world record for the 200 freestyle another 5 times (to 1:54.28) and that for the 400 freestyle once. He carried on until the Mexico City Games, 1968, where he came second in his speciality, 200 freestyle, behind the Australian Michael Wenden, and he won the 4x200 freestyle, still capable of swimming the best leg of his team in the final, while the worst was swum by Mark Spitz (q.v.), who would be the star of the Munich Games four years later. At Mexico City Games he took part to 2 relays: 4x100 fs and 4x100 medley which both won the gold, (but he didn’t receive medals because he competed in QUALIFYING ROUNDS only).

SCHUMANN RALF (shooting, East Germany/Germany, b. Meissen 10/6/1962). Five appearances (1988/East Germany, 1992/Germany, 1996/Germany, 2000/Germany, 2004/Germany), 3 gold medals (rapid fire pistol 1992, 1996 and 2004) and one silver (rapid fire pistol 1988). 1988 0-1-0, 1992 1-0-0, 1996 1-0-0, 2004 1-0-0. When he arrived in Seoul he was the world record holder with 697 points, he scored one point less and was beaten by Kuzmins who scored 698 and also set the new record. “I was 597 to 598 in the preliminary round, then he scored 100 and I scored 99. My son asked me: Daddy, why didn’t you win?” In Barcelona, his rival had “transferred” from USSR to Latvia, while he had done the same from East Germany to Germany, and he took his revenge, beating him by 3 points. In Atlanta he won another gold, 5.9 points ahead of Bulgarian Milev, and he said that he encountered his principal difficulties after the contest, in the procedures for the anti- doping checks. In Sydney he came 5th, 4.3 behind the winner, Russian Alifirenko, who kept a photo of Schumann at the range where he trained. He won his third gold in Athens – he was the first to win three golds in the same shooting speciality – ending 2.2 ahead of Poliakov and 2.6 ahead of Alifirenko, with whom he had finished the preliminary rounds with an equal score. He also won 4 gold medals (individual 1990-98, team 1998-2002), a silver and 2 bronze medals in the World Championships, and 13 European Championship gold medals. He has held the world record from 1994 with 699.7 (596+103.7), while the following year he set the record for the 600-point contest with 597, and in 2007 did likewise for the 800-point contest with 788.8. To achieve his success, he fired an average of 20.000 shots per year, a training schedule made possible by his company heads (he is a precision machine tool operator) and his sponsor, with 3 months paid leave, which become 6 months in Olympic years.

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SCOTLAND (Europe, capital Edinburgh, area 77.925 km2, population 5.094.800). It took part with a team in the field hockey competition in the 1908 Games (winning the bronze medal) and at the cycling road racing event in 1912. Otherwise, the country’s athletes have taken part in the Olympics with Great Britain.

SEMIONOVA ULJANA LARIONOVNA (basketball, USSR, b. Medumi, Latvia, 9/3/1952). Two appearances (1976, 1980) and 2 gold medals. 1976 1-0-0, 1980 1-0-0. With the Soviet Union, she won the first 2 Olympics in which women’s basketball was included in the programme, and in both cases she dominated 11 matches out of 11: in Montreal she scored 19.4 points per match, and made 12.4 rebounds, and in Moscow the averages rose to 21.8 points per match and 12.5 rebounds. Due to a glandular problem, when she was 14, when she made her debut in the top division of the Soviet championship in the Daugawa Riga team, she was already 1.93 tall; when she was 24, and she had reached 2.07, the problem worsened, and she was bed-ridden for 60 days, after which she had grown another 5 cm. She stopped growing at 2.12, at a weight of 123 kg. At her debut in the Soviet championship she was striking for her size, but technically she was not brilliant: however, years of training honed her skills and she became a good shooter. For nearly all her sports career she remained with Daugawa Riga, winning 15 national titles (1968-69-70-71-72-73-75-76-77-79-80- 81-82-83-84), 11 Champion’s Cups (1968-69-70-71-72-73-74-75-77-81-82) and a Ronchetti Cup (1987); for her last 2 seasons, she played in Tintoretto Madrid and Valenciennes, closing her career in 1989 with more than 15.000 points scored. With the Soviet National team, she won 3 World Championship titles (1971-75-83) and 10 European titles (1968-70-72-74-76-78-80-81-83-85), becoming the most successful female player of all time: she is the first not-American included in the Hall of Fame.

SENEGAL (Republic of Senegal, Africa, capital Dakar, area 196.722 km2, population 12.378.532). One medal (the silver won by El-Hadj Amadou Dia Ba in the 400 hurdles in 1988). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1961, received IOC recognition in 1963. Since 1964 it has taken part at all Olympics.

SENSINI ALESSANDRA (sailing, Italy, b. Grosseto 26/1/1970). Four appearances (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004), one gold (windsurf, Mistral class, 2000) and 2 bronze (windsurf, Mistral class 1996 and 2004) medals. 1996 0-0-1, 2000 1-0-0, 2004 0-0-1. She is the most successful Italian sailor of all time, including men. She began windsurf following the example of her older sisters and encouraged by her father, who gave her first board when she was six. At the age of 15 she won her first junior Italian title, and at 17 her first junior world title. Her first World Championship gold came in 1989, in Texas, in the Mistral class. She made her Olympic debut in Barcelona 1992, with a seventh place, and four years later, in Atlanta, she won her first medal: she won the third regatta and climbed to second place, and then finished third behind Lee Lai-Shan, Hong Kong and Barbara Kendall, New Zealand. She won her Olympic gold in the bay of Sydney in 2000. The German Amelie Lux won the first regatta and led the overall rankings up to the eighth; Sensini won the ninth regatta and reached her, but in the tenth the German once again drew ahead. The last regatta became a duel between Lux and Sensini, and the Italian won by 7 seconds and took the gold medal, in front of the German and Kendall. Sensini was unable to repeat this success in 2004, when in Glyfada Bay ahead from the second to the tenth regatta, closed the last match at the seventh place and won the bronze medal behind Faustine Merret (France) and Jian Yin (China). She has decided to concentrate on Peking 2008. Up until now, in the World Championships Sensini has won 10 individual titles (Team Mistral 1988, Individual Mistral 1989, 2000-04, Overall 1990, Funboard 1990, Pro racing 1994, ISS 2002, RS:X 2006-08), 3 silver medals and a bronze; in the European Championship, 5 titles (Mistral 1997, 2000-01-02-03), 3 silvers and one bronze; in addition, 19 Italian titles.

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SERBIA (Republic of Serbia, Europe, capital Belgrade, area 88.361 km2, population 9.858.426). Eight medals: 2 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze. Best Olympics: Atlanta 1996, one gold, one silver and 2 bronze medals. Best sport: shooting, one gold medal, one silver and one bronze. Most decorated athlete: Jasna Sekaric, shooting, one gold medal (10 m air pistol 1988), 3 silvers (10 m air pistol 1992, 2000 and 2004) and one bronze (sport pistol 1988), including those won in 1988 for Yugoslavia and in 1992 with the Unified Team. After the participation of Momcilo Tapavica (he was studying in Budapest, but was Serbian) in the 1896 Games, and two other Serbian athletes in the 1912 Games, the country became part of the Kingdom of Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, what would later become Yugoslavia, which took part at all Olympiads from 1920 to 1988. In 1992, with the civil war raging in the country, at the Barcelona Games the IOC allowed the participation of an Independent Team, formed of Slav athletes competing individually (and winning one silver and 2 bronze medals). In 1996, 2000 and 2004, it participated in the Games as Serbia-Montenegro.

SEYCHELLES (Republic of Seychelles, Africa, capital Victoria, area 455 km2, population 86.606). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1979, received IOC recognition that year. Since 1980 it has taken part at all Olympics except for the 1988 Games. Yet to win a medal.

SHAKLIN BORIS ANFIYANOVICH (gymnastics, USSR, b. Omsk, Russia, 27/1/1932, d. Kiev, Ukraine, 31/5/2008). Three appearances (1956, 1960, 1964), 7 gold (team event 1956, pommel horse 1956 and 1960, individual all-round 1960, parallel bars 1960, vault 1960, horizontal bar 1964), 4 silver (team event 1960 and 1964, rings 1960, individual all-round 1964) and 2 bronze (horizontal bar 1960, rings 1964) medals. 1956 2-0-0, 1960 4-2-1, 1964 1-2-1. Born in Siberia, he was orphaned of both his parents when he was 12, and was brought up by his grandparents. His total of 13 medals has been bettered, in the history of the Games, only by two other Soviet athletes, Latynina (q.v.) with 18, and Andrianov (q.v.) with 15: and in terms of medal rankings, he is on a par with both of them, with 6 individual gold medals, in second place, behind the Czechoslovakian Caslavska (q.v.) with 7. Shaklin was called “the iron man”, and he was rather large for a gymnast, 171 cm and 70 kg, which in fact prevented him from winning medals in the floor exercise, the only speciality in which he never came close to the Olympic podium (he came only 28th in 1956). After his eighth place in 1956 in the all-around, he won gold medal in 1960 5 hundredths of a point ahead of the Japanese Ono (q.v.), and he came second in 1964 – together with the other Soviet Lisitsky – 55 hundredths ahead of the Japanese Endo (q.v.). In the World Championships, he won 6 gold (team 1954-58, individual 1958, pommel horse 1958, parallel bars 1958, horizontal bar 1958), 6 silver and 2 bronze medals; in the European Championships, 6 gold medals (including the all-round in 1955), 2 silvers and one bronze; in the Soviet Championships, he won 19 gold (including 5 all- round: 1954-57-58-59-63), 13 silver and 8 bronze medals. After his retirement he became a judge and member of the Technical Commission of the International Federation, taking part in 12 Olympiads and 22 World Championships, including those in which he participated as a gymnast. He sold nearly all his trophies to help his younger brother’s family when his brother died. A curiosity: in 1977 he remarried his wife Larissa, from whom he had divorced 3 years before.

SHERIDAN MARTIN JOSEPH (track & field, USA, b. Bohola, Ireland, 28/3/1881, d. New York, NY, 27/3/1918). Three appearances (1904, 1906, 1908), 5 gold (discus 1904, 1906 and 1908, shot put 1906, Greek discus 1908), 3 silver (standing 1906, standing 1906, stone throw 1906) and one bronze medal (standing long jump 1908). 1904 1-0-0, 1906 2-3-0, 1908 2-0-1. He emigrated to the USA when he was 16, and took up athletics following the example of his older brother Richard (2 US discus titles, one in the hammer). He won his first Olympic gold in St. Louis for the discus throw, with the only tie-break in the history of the speciality in the Games: the contest had ended with him and Ralph Rose (q.v.) equal at 39.28, and in the 3 extra throws he achieved a 38.97, while Rose reached just 36.74. At the Intercalated Athens Games, he took part in seven events, winning 2 gold and 3 silver medals: in addition he came fourth in the Greek discus

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(competing contemporaneously in the standing high jump, in which he came second) and 25th in the pentathlon, in which he was favourite, but hampered by an injury that forced him to abandon the competition after the first event. Returning to the USA, he was acclaimed as the best athlete of all time. In 1908, London, he won another 2 gold medals and pronounced the famous phrase “this flag dips to no earthly king” when Rose refused to dip the flag on passing the royal box where Edward VII was standing. He set 15 unofficial world records for the discus before those ratified by the IAAF, of which the best was 43.54 in 1905. He won 11 US titles, including 3 in the all-round (the decathlon of that time, again setting a world record). He was a policeman, and personal bodyguard to the governor of New York when he was in the city. He died of pneumonia the day before his 37th birthday.

SHOOTING The sport has always been included at the Games, with the exception of St. Louis 1904 and Amsterdam 1928. It is governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF, www.issf-shooting.org.

SIDYAK VIKTOR ALEXANDROVICH (fencing, USSR, b. Anzhero-Sudzhensk, Russia, 24/11/1943). Four appearances (1968, 1972, 1976, 1980), 4 gold medals (individual sabre 1972, team sabre 1968, 1976 and 1980), one silver (team sabre 1972), one bronze (individual sabre 1976). 1968 1-0-0, 1972 1-1-0, 1976 1-0-1, 1980 1-0-0. He won his individual gold medal in Munich, with 4 victories and one defeat in the final round, a 3-5 against Nazlymov (who ended up with bronze) “nullified” by the two defeats suffered by his team-mate, 2-5 against the Hungarian Maroth (second) and 4-5 against Maffei (q.v., fourth). During the match with the Italian, won 5-1, a sabre fragment entered his eye and in the team competition he fenced with a bandage, losing the final 9-5 with Italy. This was the only time in his 4 Olympics in which he did not win team gold with USSR, because he won gold in Mexico City, Montreal and Moscow, on all occasions beating Italy, respectively 9-7, 9-4 and 9-2. In the World Championships he won 7 gold (individual 1969, team 1969-70-71-74-75-79), 2 silver and 2 bronze medals, and he won the World Cup twice (1972-73).

SIERRA LEONE (Republic of Sierra Leone, Africa, capital Freetown, area 71.740 km2, population 5.865.872). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1964, received IOC recognition that year. The marathon runner Albert Massquoi took part in the 1960 Games for Liberia, while Sierra Leone first appeared at the Olympics in 1968, then attending all Olympiads from 1980 to 2004. Yet to win a medal.

SILIVAŞ DANIELA (gymnastics, Romania, b. Deva 9/5/1972). One appearance (1988), 3 gold medals (parallel bars, and floor exercise), 2 silvers (individual and team all-round) and a bronze (vault). In the all-round she was in the lead, ahead of Shushunova, until the last exercise: then she received a score of 9.95 in the vault, and was overtaken by 25 thousandths by the Soviet gymnast, who was given 10. She took her revenge in the parallel bars, floor and beam, always finishing ahead of her rival and winning 3 golds. In Seoul, in total, she received a “10” seven times (like Nadia Comăneci [q.v.] in 1976) and closed with a perfect 20 out of 20 in the parallel bars. In the World Championships she won 7 gold medals (balance beam 1985-89, parallel bars 1987-89, floor exercise 1987-89, team 1987), 2 silvers and a bronze; in the European Championships, 5 gold (including the 1987 all-round), 3 silver and 2 bronze medals. An operation on her knee and the closure of the Deva National Training Centre in 1991 brought her career to an early end. In 1985 the Romanian Federation had falsified her date of birth, moving it back to 1970, so that she could take part in the Montreal World Championships (otherwise, at the age of 13, this would not have been possible), as revealed by Silivaş only in 2002.

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SIMEONI SARA (track & field, Italy, b. Rivoli Veronese, Verona, 19/4/1953). Four appearances (1972, 1976, 1980, 1984), one gold (high jump 1980) and 2 silver (high jump 1976 and 1984) medals. 1976 0-1-0, 1980 1-0-0, 1984 0-1-0. She started jumping in Verona when she was 12, clearing 1.25 using the straddle technique. When she was young she also worked on the pentathlon, but the promising results obtained in the high jump convinced her to concentrate on this speciality. After 1968 she adopted the Fosbury (q.v.) technique and in 1970, at Padua, she jumped 1.71, the first of 26 Italian open-air records (21 indoor). She made her Olympic debut in 1972, Munich, and with no specific preparation, she came sixth with 1.85. Under the guidance of Erminio Azzaro, whom she would later marry, in 1974 she won her first international medal, a bronze at the European Championships. In 1976, at the Montreal Games, she jumped 1.91 and won silver, behind East German Rosemarie Ackermann. “After the silver medal in Montreal, I said to Erminio: ‘Let’s try moving to the Formia centre and take things seriously’. The first winter-spring of specific training was 1976-77. A year and a half later I broke the world record”. It was on 4 August 1978 that she jumped 2.01 in Brescia, the new world record. Less than a month later, she won the European Championships, equalling her record. In 1980 she achieved her most important success, winning the Olympic gold in Moscow at 1.97, ahead of Urszula Kielan (Poland) and Jutta Kirst (East Germany). She won bronze at the European Championships, 1982, sustained an injury in the qualifications for the first edition of the World Championships, in 1983, and a year later she took part in her last Olympiad, Los Angeles, where she carried the flag for Italy, jumped 2.00, a result that she had not reached for six years, and won the silver medal, behind Ulrike Meyfarth (q.v., West Germany). Two years later, she retired. Her record also includes 4 European indoor titles (1977-78- 80-81) and 25 outright Italian titles (14 outdoor high jump, 10 indoor high jump, one pentathlon). Her Italian record was beaten only in 2007 by Antonietta Di Martino.

SINGAPORE (Republic of Singapore, Asia, capital Singapore, area 704 km2, population 4.436.283). One medal (the silver won by Howe-Liang Tan in weightlifting, lightweight 67.5 kg, 1960). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1947, received IOC recognition in 1948. From then on it missed just the 1980 Games, though in 1964 it took part under the name , in a combined team with Malaysia and North Borneo.

SINGH UDHAM “KULLAR” (field hockey, India, b. Sansarpur 4/8/1928, d. Sansarpur 23/3/2000). Four appearances (1952, 1956, 1960, 1964), 3 gold medals (1952, 1956, 1964) and one silver (1960). 1952 1-0-0, 1956 1-0-0, 1960 0-1-0, 1964 1-0-0. He is one of the 2 players to have won 3 gold medals and one silver in field hockey: the other is Leslie Claudius (q.v.), who won 3 of his 4 medals with him, after his gold medal in London 1948, an Olympiad that Singh was forced to miss due to hand problems. They were both born in Sansarpur, a small village of 4000 inhabitants in Punjab where as many as 14 players – they learnt the game from the soldiers of the British Army, stationed there – were born, all nicknamed Kular, and subsequently played in the Olympics: 9 for India, 4 for Kenya and one for Canada. Singh was the top goalscorer in Melbourne, with 15 goals, 7 of which scored against the USA in a single match. He played in the 1960 final, which put an end to India’s series of 6 consecutive gold medals losing 1-0 against Pakistan, and in Tokyo, 1964, he played just the match drawn 1-1 with Spain, and was not on the field in the final, again with Pakistan.

SLOVAKIA (Slovak Republic, Europe, capital Bratislava, area 49.034 km2, population 5.390.035). 14 medals: 4 gold, 6 silver, 4 bronze. Best Olympics: Athens 2004, 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze. Best sport: canoeing, 4 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze. Best athletes: the twins Pavol and Peter Hochschorner, canoeing, 2 gold medals in the C2 slalom (2000 and 2004). From 1920 to 1992, Slovak athletes took part in the Games for Czechoslovakia. After separation from the Czech Republic and the 1993 IOC recognition of its Olympic Committee formed the preceding year, Slovakia took part in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics.

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SLOVENIA (Republic of Slovenia, Europe, capital , area 20.273 km2, population 2.001.510). 10 medals: 2 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze. Best Olympics: Sydney 2000, 2 gold. Best sport: rowing, one gold, one silver and 2 bronze medals. Most decorated athlete: Iztok Cop, rowing, one gold medal (double scull 2000), one silver (double scull 2004) and one bronze (coxless pair 1992). Up until 1988 Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia: under that flag, the record for medals belongs to a Slovenian, Leon Stukelj, who, in gymnastics, won 3 gold (individual all-round 1924, horizontal bar 1924, rings 1928), one silver (rings 1936) and 2 bronze medals (individual all-round 1928, team combined exercise 1928). When it declared its independence in 1991, it formed an Olympic Committee that received IOC recognition in 1993. It took part in the 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 Games.

SMITH MICHELLE MARIE (swimming, Ireland, b. Rathcoole 16/12/1969). Three appearances (1988, 1992, 1996), 3 gold medals (400 m freestyle 1996, 200 m medley 1996, 400 m medley 1996) and one bronze (200 m butterfly 1996). 1996 3-0-1. At the 1988 Seoul Games was eliminated in the 400 medley heat, and in Barcelona, 1992, she took part to 3 competitions, did not survive the first rounds in the 200 backstroke and 200 and 400 medley. There she met the Dutch discus thrower Erik de Bruin (later disqualified for 4 years for having used steroids) who became her trainer and then her husband. At Atlanta 1996 she became the first Irish woman to win an Olympic medal, and she won 4 in a week: gold in the 400 medley pulling back in the freestyle leg and overtaking the previous Olympic champion Krisztina Egerszegi (q.v.) and the American Allison Wagner, gold in the 400 freestyle ahead of Dagmar Hase (Germany), gold in the 200 medley, again returning strongly during the final leg, and bronze in the 200 butterfly behind the Australians Susan O’Neill (q.v.) and Petria Thomas (q.v.). Two years later she underwent a surprise anti-doping test: the analysis of the sample revealed the presence of a large amount of whisky, evidently an attempt to alter the sample. She was disqualified for 4 years and retired, but her medals were not confiscated. She also won 4 gold medals (200 butterfly 1995, 200 medley 1995, 200 freestyle 1997, 400 medley 1997) and 3 silvers in the European Championships.

SMITH THOMAS C. “TOMMIE” (track & field, USA, b. Clarksville, Texas, 6/6/1944). One appearance (1968) and one gold medal (200 m). He won the gold medal at Mexico City with a world record time of 19.83, beaten only 11 years later by Pietro Mennea (q.v.) with 19.72: on the podium, he bowed his head, and raised his right hand, a fist in a black glove, while on his feet he was wearing black socks and no shoes, like the bronze medallist John Carlos (who, like him, came from the San José State College in California, held the world record before the Games with 19.92, and had beaten Smith in the Trials with a time of 19.7 that was not ratified as a record due to the “irregular” shoes that he had used). This was “black power”, a movement for racial equality, in the year in which Martin Luther King was assassinated. Smith and Carlos were expelled from the Olympic Village for that gesture. In 1966 Smith had already set the world record for the 200 with 20 seconds dead in the 220 yards (a distance that he had run in 19.5 on a straight track). With a running start leg of 43.8, he had contributed to the USA’s world record in the 4x400 with a time of 2:59.6, the first time below 3 minutes; and in 1967 he had set the world record for the 400 metres, 44.5. After the Olympiad he played as a professional in the NFL (American football) with the Cincinnati Bengals (but only two matches, in 1969). Later he found it difficult to find employment as a result of that protest in Mexico City.

SMYRNA A football team consisting of 5 British players, 4 French, a Greek and an Armenian took part in the 1906 Intercalated Games under the name of this city (then Greek: today it is Izmir in Turkey), winning the silver medal behind Denmark.

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SNELL PETER GEORGE (track & field, New Zealand, b. Opunake 17/12/1938). Two appearances (1960, 1964) and 3 gold medals (800 metres 1960 and 1964, 1.500 metres 1964). 1960 1-0-0, 1964 2-0-0. He won the 800 in Rome – where he improved his personal best 3 times in 3 days – overtaking the Belgian Moens, world record holder, who was looking the other way, in the final stages, beating him by just 7 hundredths according to the electric chronometer. After crossing the finish line with his eyes shut, he asked Moens: “Who won?”, and he answered: “You did”. In Tokyo he won the 800 again, and also won the 1500 (the first time that he had run this race, though he had run many one mile races), therefore succeeding in a double that had last been achieved in 1920, by British athlete Albert Hill. He set world records in the 800 m (1:44.3 in 1962), 1000 m (2:16.6 in 1964) and the mile (3:54.4 in 1962, then 3:54.1 in 1964); his times for the 800 and 1000 m are still New Zealand records. He won 2 gold medals at the and 6 New Zealand titles. Then he moved to the USA, graduating in physiology of movement when he was 38, and becoming an American citizen in 1993. In 2003 he was orienteering champion in the US over 65 championships.

SOCCER Sport present at the 1900 Games, absent in 1904, but ever-present since except of in 1932. Internationally regulated by FIFA (www.fifa.org)..

SOFTBALL Softball, together with rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming, is an exclusively female sport. It is governed by the ISF (International Softball Federation – www.internationalsoftball.com). It made its Olympic debut at Atlanta in 1996, but the IOC has voted for its exclusion from the Games from 2012.

SOLOMON ISLANDS (Oceania, capital Honiara, area 28.370 km2, population 495.660). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1983, received IOC recognition that year. Since 1984 it has taken part at all Olympics. Yet to win a medal.

SOMALIA (Somali Democratic Republic, Africa, capital Mogadishu, area 637.657 km2, population 8.698.534). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1959, received IOC recognition in 1972. It took part in the 1972, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2004 Games. Yet to win a medal.

SOTOMAYOR SANABRIA JAVIER (track & field, Cuba, b. Limonar 13/10/1967). Three appearances (1992, 1996, 2000), one gold medal (high jump 1992) and one silver (high jump 2000). 1992 1-0-0, 2000 0-1-0. He missed the 1984 and 1988 Olympics because of the Cuban boycotts, and he won his gold medal in Barcelona with 2.34 metres: the same height as another 4 athletes, but he was the only one to succeed at the first attempt. At Atlanta he came only 11th because of an inflamed knee. In 1999 he tested positive for cocaine at the Pan-American Games, and was disqualified for two years, but he was reinstated by the IAAF on 2 August 2000, 53 days before the final in Sydney where he won the silver medal with 2.32 behind the Russian Klyugin, the only athlete to jump 2.35 before a deluge that hindered the other competitors. In 2001 he announced his retirement on his 34th birthday, just before the announcement of another positive dope test, this time for nandrolone, discovered in an anti-doping test performed in July. In the World Championships, he won 2 gold (1993-97) and 2 silver medals, plus 4 gold (1989-93-95-99), a silver and a bronze for indoor events; he won 3 gold medals at the Pan-American Games and 3 gold medals at the Central American Games. He set 3 world records: 2.43 in 1988, 2.44 in 1989 and 2.45 in 1993, still standing today, as is the indoor 2.43 set in 1989. Amongst the 24 jumps of 2.40 and over in the history of this speciality, 17 were his.

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SOUTH AFRICA (Republic of South Africa, Africa, executive capital Pretoria, judicial capital Bloemfontein, legislative capital Cape Town, area 1.220.813 km2, population 48.576.764). 69 medals: 20 gold, 23 silver, 26 bronze. Best Olympics: Stockholm 1912, 4 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze (in Antwerp 1920, the country won more medals, 10 as opposed to 8, but fewer golds, 3 instead of 4, plus 4 silver and 3 bronze medals). Best sport: track & field, 6 gold, 10 silver and 6 bronze medals. Most decorated athletes: Charles Winslow, tennis, 2 gold medals (men’s singles and doubles 1912) and one bronze (singles 1920), and Penelope Heyns, swimming, who also won 2 gold medals (100 and 200 breaststroke 1996) and one bronze (100 breaststroke 2000). From 1904 to 1960 it missed just the 1906 Intercalated Games. From 1964 to 1988 it was not admitted to the Games due to its apartheid policy. The IOC then recognized the Olympic Committee in 1991, and from 1992 South Africa has taken part in all the Games. Cape Town was an unsuccessful candidate city for the 2004 Games.

SOUTH KOREA (Republic of Korea, Asia, capital Seoul, area 99.646 km2, 48.223.854 inhabitants). 184 medals: 55 gold, 64 silver, 65 bronze. Best Olympics: Seoul 1988 with 12 golds, 10 silvers and 11 bronze medals. Best sport: archery, with 14 golds, 7 silvers and 4 bronze medals (more medals have been won both in wrestling and judo, but included less golds, 10 and 8 respectively). Most decorated athlete: Kim Soo-Nyung (q.v.), archery, with 4 golds (individual 1988, team 1988, 1992 and 2000), one silver (individual 1992) and one bronze (individual 2000). Many Korean athletes took part in the 1932 and 1936 Olympics for , which occupied their country during that time. Sohn Kee-Chung and Nam Seung-Yong won the gold and bronze respectively in the 1936 marathon. The Olympic Committee was founded in 1946 and was recognised by the IOC in 1947. South Korea took part in its first Games in 1948, the year of independence and separation from North Korea, and has only missed the 1980 Games due to the boycott. Seoul hosted the Olympics in 1988.

SPAIN (Kingdom of Spain, Europe, capital Madrid, area 505.957 km2, population 44.279.182). 95 medals: 29 gold, 39 silver, 27 bronze. Best Olympics: Barcelona 1992, 13 gold, 7 silver and 2 bronze medals. Best sport: sailing, 10 gold, 4 silver and one bronze. Most decorated athletes: Luis Doreste Blanco, sailing, 2 gold medals (470 in 1984, Flying Dutchman in 1992); Theresa Zabell Lucas, sailing, 2 gold medals (470 in 1992 and 1996); Gervasio Deferr, gymnastics, 2 gold medals (vault 2000 and 2004). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1912, received IOC recognition that year. It took part in the 1900 and 1906 Games, and then in all Olympiads from 1920 except for 1936 (in 1956 Spain did not go to Melbourne, but took part in the equestrian events in Stockholm). It hosted the 1992 Games in Barcelona, while Madrid and have been unsuccessful candidate cities.

SPINKS MICHAEL (boxing, USA, b. St. Louis, Missouri, 13/7/1956). One appearance (1976) and one gold medal (middleweight 75 kg). He won the gold medal in Montreal fighting just 2 matches: Emebe (Cameroon) withdrew from the semi-quarter-finals, then in the quarter finals he beat Pasiewicz (Poland) on points, he beat the Romanian Nastac without a fight, and in the final he took his revenge on Soviet Riskiyev, who had beaten him six months previously with a terrible punch to the stomach that induced the referee to halt the match after 1:54 of the 3rd round. As a professional, he became WBA light heavyweight champion in 1981, beating Eddie Mustafa Muhammad on points in 15 rounds; he also took the WBC crown in 1983 (on points, 15, against Dwight Muhammad Qawi) and the IBF title in 1984 (on points, 12, Eddie Davis). In 1985 he became the first light heavyweight world champion to win the IBF heavyweight title, winning against the unbeaten Larry Holmes on points in 15 rounds. He won the rematch, and went on to attain 31 consecutive victories before the only defeat in his career, which convinced him to retire: in 1988 against Mike Tyson (KO after 1:31 in the first round), for the WBC-WBA-IBF title. His brother Leon – 3 years older – fought after Michael and won gold medal in the light heavyweight

190 The Olympic Dictionary category in Montreal (he also won by TKO, against Cuban Soria, after 1:09 in the 3rd round), and he became WBA-WBC heavyweight world champion before him, in 1978, beating Muhammad Ali (q.v.) on points (a split decision) at his eighth professional match. He lost the title seven months later in the rematch, on points in 15 rounds. The rest of his career was discontinuously successful, and he retired with 26 victories (14 KO), 17 defeats and 3 draws: they are the only two brothers to have won the world heavyweight title.

SPITZ MARK ANDREW (swimming, USA, b. Modesto, California, 10/2/1950). Two appearances (1968, 1972), 9 gold medals (4x100 m freestyle relay 1968 and 1972, 4x200 m freestyle relay 1968 and 1972, 100 m freestyle 1972, 200 m freestyle 1972, 100 m butterfly 1972, 200 m butterfly 1972, 4x100 m medley relay 1972), one silver (100 m butterfly 1968) and one bronze (100 m freestyle 1968). 1968 2-1-1, 1972 7-0-0. The seven successes obtained at Munich in 1972 made him the athlete who won most gold medals in a single Olympiad. Encouraged in swimming by his father, he revealed his remarkable talent from when he was very young. He first made his mark on the international scene in June 1967, when he set the 400 freestyle world record. At the end of that season, he had set 7 world records, also winning 5 gold medals at the Pan- American Games. At the US trials for the Mexico City Games in 1968 he won the 100 freestyle, 100 and 200 butterfly, but at the Olympiad he was unable to exploit his potential to the full, in part due to his personality that lessened his popularity with his team mates. After the gold in the 4x100 freestyle (3:31.7, world record), he went on with the 100 freestyle, winning bronze in 53.0 behind the Australian Michael Wenden and team mate Kenneth Walsh; he won another gold in the 4x200 freestyle but in the 100 butterfly, he got silver (56.4) behind Doug Russel (USA), amidst the cheers of his team mates who were supporting Russel. The humiliation had a psychological effect, and in the 200 butterfly he came just eighth (2:13.5) in the final won by the American Carl Robie. Over the next 4 years he reconstructed his competitive personality above all from a psychological point of view, and by 1972 he was unbeatable. “We swam together”, said the Italian Giampiero Fossati, who trained with Spitz for a few months at Santa Clara, “and when he decided to change gear, he pulled away with consummate ease. He was far better, in a different class, no-one has ever given me that sort of sensation. Not even Schollander (q.v.) came close”. In Munich he achieved something that had never been done previously (and never since), winning 7 gold medals with 7 world records in the space of 8 days. He won the 100 freestyle (51.22), 200 freestyle (1:52.78), 100 butterfly (54.27), 200 butterfly (2:00.70), 4x100 freestyle (3:26.42), 4x200 freestyle (7:35.78), and the 4x100 medley (3:48.16). After the Games he retired, with 24 US titles, 25 individual world records (3 in 100 m fs, 4 in 200 fs, 3 in 400 fs, 7 in 100 butterfly and 8 in 200 butterfly) and 7 relay world records. He surprised everybody when in 1991, at the age of 41, he returned to competitive swimming to try to qualify for the 1992 Barcelona Games. The reason was basically financial: director Bud Greenspan (q.v.) promised him a million dollars if he succeeded in the attempt, which would then be immortalized in a film. Contrary to everyone’s advice, he started training: TV and sponsors organized a series of one-on-one races against the strongest swimmers of the day, with 30.000 dollars for the winner and 15.000 for the loser. Spitz lost against – amongst others – Tom Jager (q.v.) and Matt Biondi (q.v.), collecting his purse. After a defeat at Saluzzo against Italian Giovanni Franceschi, he abandoned the project.

SRI LANKA (Democratic Socialist Republic of , Asia, capital Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, area 65.610 km2, population 19.299.189). Two medals (’s silver in the 400 hurdles in 1948, and ’s bronze in the , 2000). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1937, received IOC recognition that year. From 1948 to 1968 it took part in the Games as Ceylon, then, after having changed name, it took part in all the Games from 1972 to 2004 except for the 1976 Games.

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STALEY DAWN MICHELLE (basketball, USA, b. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 4/5/1970). Three appearances (1996, 2000, 2004) and 3 gold medals (1996, 2000 and 2004). 1996 1-0-0, 2000 1-0-0, 2004 1-0-0. She won 3 Olympic gold medals winning 24 matches out of 24: in 1996 (averages 4.1 points and 3.5 assists), 2000 (4/3.6) and 2004 (4.1/2.9). She has a record of 196 victories and 10 defeats in 15 years in the National team, with 10 gold medals (including the 2 World Championships in 1998-2002) and one bronze (at the World Championships, 1994). From 1992 to 1994 she played in France, Italy, Brazil and Spain. From 1997 to 1999 she played in the ABL with Richmond and then with Philadelphia Rage. In 1999 she was selected by Charlotte in the WNBA championship and lost the 2001 final against Los Angeles. In 2005 she transferred to Houston, ending her career the following year, the only player to have been chosen for the All-Star game both in the East and the West.

STAMPS The first postage stamp for the Games was issued on 6 April 1896 (but the cover date is 25 March, according to the Julian calendar that was used in Greece at that time) as part of the campaign to finance the Games. It was a set of twelve subjects, designed by Prof. Émile Gillieron and printed by Louis Eugène Mouchon in Paris. The largest issue of stamps was in 1980, when the Soviet Union published a set of 74 subjects. It is estimated that over 100 countries have issued commemorative stamps for the Games.

STECHER MEISSNER RENATE (track & field, East Germany, b. Süptiz, now Germany, 12/5/1950). Two appearances (1972, 1976), 3 gold medals (100 m 1972, 200 m 1972, 4x100 m relay 1976), 2 silver (4x100 m relay 1972, 100 m 1976) and one bronze (200 m 1976). 1972 2-1-0, 1976 1-1-1. Born Meissner, she became Stecher after marrying hurdler Gerd. She achieved the 100- 200 double in Munich, with 2 world records (11.07 and 22.40 respectively, the latter equalling the world record time), then coming second in the 4x100 behind West Germany. In Montreal she took her revenge in the relay, winning gold, after having won 2 medals in the races, losing the 100 final by just 2 hundredths against her team mate Eckert. In the European Championships, she won 4 gold (4x100 m 1969-74, and the 100-200 double in 1971) and 4 silver medals, plus 4 gold indoor medals (3 in the and one in the 50 metres), as well as 9 East German titles in the 100 and 200. She set 6 world records in the (the first 5 with manual timing, including the 10.9 on 7 June 1973 when she became the first woman to run in less than 11 seconds; and the electrically- timed 11.07 with which she won in the 1972 Games, a time that received official IAAF recognition only 4 years later), 2 in the 200 (the best: 22.1 in 1973) and 4 in the 4x100 with the DDR. From 1970 to 1974 she won 90 consecutive 100 and 200 races. In the 1990s it was announced that she, like many other East German athletes, had used anabolic steroids.

STEVENSON TEÓFILO LAWRENCE (boxing, Cuba, b. Puerto Padre de Las Tunas 26/3/1952). Three appearances (1972, 1976, 1980) and 3 gold medals (heavyweight 1972, 1976 and 1980). 1972 1-0-0, 1976 1-0-0, 1980 1-0-0. He was the first boxer to win 3 Olympic titles in the same category; after him, fellow Cuban Félix Savón (q.v.) achieved the same feat. Hungarian László Papp (q.v.) also won 3 gold medals, but in 2 different categories. Stevenson grew up in a family with 14 brothers and was son of a boxer; he put on boxing gloves for the first time when he was 11. He also tried baseball and basketball, but without good results. His first success arrived in 1968, when he won the Central American championship (he won it 7 times in his career). He grew to 1.97 m and 100 kg, but on the ring he retained excellent agility. In 1970 he was eliminated by Duane Bobick (USA) in the second round of the Pan-American Games, but two years later he took his revenge at the Munich Games when, after having eliminated the Pole Ludwik Denderys in the semi-quarter finals (TKO1), in the quarter-finals he beat Bobick (TKO3); in the semi-final he beat West German Peter Hussing (TKO2); in the final he should have faced Romanian Ion Alexe, who simulated a broken finger, probably to avoid a punishing fight, and did not climb into the ring. After his Olympic gold, he received the first offer to become a pro: a million dollars for a fight against

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Muhammad Ali (q.v.). He received an analogous offer in 1982, with the offer of 2 million dollars for a match against Larry Holmes. Stevenson did not accept the offers. “Professional boxing is a devilish world, I preferred to remain untainted; with all that money, boxers just buy a lot of useless things, but when you’re no longer any use, they throw you away without a thought. I wouldn’t exchange Cuba for all the gold in the world, I even graduated in a faculty for workers and farm labourers”. Ali met him only in 1966, when the former American boxer visited Cuba for humanitarian reasons. In 1974 Stevenson won his first World Championship, beating Dokes (USA) on points. At the 1976 Montreal Games, when he was flag-bearer for Cuba, he won his second Olympic gold: in the semi-quarter finals he beat the Senegalese Mamadou Drame (KO2), in the quarter-final the Finn Pekka Ruokola (KO1), in the semi-final the American John Tate (KO1), then defeating Romanian Mircea Simon, who retired in the third round, in the final. Two years later he won his second world title, beating Yugoslav Vujkovic who abandoned the fight in the first round. After this victory, he was badly burnt in a gas explosion in his kitchen: he risked his life, but recovered, and returned to the ring. Just a year later, he won the Pan-American championships for the second time, beating Puerto Rican Maldonado in the first round of the final, TKO. He won his third Olympic gold in the 1980 Moscow Games: he beat the Nigerian Ataga in the semi-quarter finals (KO1), the Pole Skrzecz (KO3) in the quarter-finals, the Hungarian István Lévai (on points) in the semi-final, and Soviet Piotr Sayew in the final, on points. He ended his Olympic record (in 1984, still at the height of his career, he could not take part at the Los Angeles Games due to the boycott) with a total of 11 matches, all won, 9 by KO and the last 2 on points. He was not successful in the 1982 World Championship, eliminated by the Italian Francesco Damiani, but in 1986, in Reno, after a strict diet to bring him into the 120 kg starting weight category, he won his third World title, beating Garcia (USA, disqualified in the second round) in the final. Then he retired, ending his career with 275 fights, 261 victories and 14 defeats.

STORCZ BOTOND (canoeing, Hungary, b. Budapest 30/1/1975). Two appearances (2000, 2004) and 3 gold medals (K2 500 m 2000, K4 1000 m 2000 and 2004). 2000 2-0-0, 2004 1-0-0. The day after winning gold in the K4 at the Sydney Games, he won another gold in the K2 500 with Zoltan Kammerer (q.v.), in a race that was postponed 3 times and actually held 5 hours late; they drew away from the Australians Trim-Collins in the last 50 metres. Even in a headwind of over 60 km/h, the time (1:47.055) was 16 seconds better than that in the heats. In 2004 he won his third gold, in the K4, with the same crew as in Sydney: with him there were Kammerer, Gábor Horváth and Akos Vereczkei. He also won 4 gold (K1 500 1997, K1 1000 m 1997, K4 500 m 1997, K4 1.000 m 1999), 5 silver and 2 bronze medals in the World Championships.

STRAULINO AGOSTINO “TINO” (sailing, Italy, b. Lussinpiccolo, now Mali Lošinj, Croatia, 10/10/1914, d. Rome 14/12/2004). Five appearances (1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964), one gold medal (Star class 1952) and one silver (Star class 1956). 1952 1-0-0, 1956 0-1-0. A Naval officer at the Academy of Livorno and later Lieutenant Commander, he formed his first crew in Naples, 1935, with Captain Nicolò Rode (q.v.), also from Lussinpiccolo. A year later, the pair were reserves at home for the Berlin Olympics, and in 1948, they made their Olympic debut in the boat Polluce, coming fifth in the Star class due to 2 disqualifications and the breakage of their mast in the last regatta. Four years later they won gold in Helsinki on board the Merope: Straulino and Rode won the first 2 regattas, but the next 4 were all won by the US boat Comanche, John Price and John Reid, with the Italians always coming second, ahead in the overall rankings on the eve of the last regatta. Straulino and Rode won the race, while the Americans, came eighth, giving gold to the Italians. In Melbourne, 1956, in Port Phillip Bay, Straulino and Rode came second, behind the Americans Herbert Williams and Lawrence Low on the Kathleen. At the Rome Games, Straulino took part with a new crew, Carlo Rolandi, and arrived fourth, same placement at the Tokyo Olimpics in the 5.5 class together with Bruno Petronio e Massimo Minervini. After his participation in Japan, Straulino retired, with 4 World Championship titles (Star class 1952-53-56, 5.5 class

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1965), plus 2 silvers and a bronze; 10 European Championship titles (Star class 1938-49-50-51-52- 53-54-55-56-59) plus one silver and a bronze and 12 national titles.

STRICKLAND DE LA HUNTY SHIRLEY BARBARA (track & field, Australia, b. Guildford 18/7/1925, d. Perth 11/2/2004). Three appearances (1948, 1952, 1956), 3 gold (80 hs 1952 and 1956, 4x100 m relay 1956), one silver (4x100 m relay 1948) and 3 bronze (80 hurdles 1948, 100 m 1948 and 1952) medals. 1948 0-1-2, 1952 1-0-1, 1956 2-0-0. Born into a family of pioneers in Western Australia (her father was a professional sprinter, and was prevented from taking part in the 1900 Olympics purely by economic difficulties), she lived without shoes until the age of 12. She was the first woman to win 7 medals in athletics events, a record beaten by Merlene Ottey (q.v.). In 1948 she won 3 medals in 4 races, but should have won another: only in 1975 were the photo-finish images discovered showing that she had finished third in the 200 metres, and not fourth, with the same time (25.2) as the American Patterson. In 1952 she equalled the 80 hs world record, 11.0, in the heats, ran in 10.8 assisted by the wind in the semi-final, and won the final with the new world record of 10.9; in 1956 she did the same thing, setting the time of 10.7. She was unlucky in the 4x100 in Helsinki (a dropped baton during the last exchange between Cripps and Jackson pushed Australia back to fifth position, after they had improved the world record to 46.1 in the heats), but things went better in Melbourne, winning the gold medal and setting 2 world records, 44.9 in the heats and 44.5 in the final. In 1960, after having had 3 children, she did not succeed in qualifying for her fourth Games, but she competed up until 1962 when she won the last (4x100 yards) of her 8 Australian titles. She also won 3 gold and 2 silver medals at the Commonwealth Games in 1950, and she set 6 world records: one in the 100 m (11.3 in 1955), 2 in the 80 hs and 3 in the 4x100. In 2001 she sold all her memorabilia, collecting 400.000 dollars to finance her grandchildren’s studies, and also to support the struggle against the destruction of the forests, a battle that led to her coming under violent attack (her car was burnt by a Molotov cocktail): a group of businessmen bought her medals and trophies and donated them to the MCG Museum in Melbourne.

SUDAN (Republic of Sudan, Africa, capital Khartoum, area 2.503.890 km2, population 38.560.492). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1956, received IOC recognition in 1959. It took part in the 1960, 1968 and 1972 Games, and then in all the Games since 1984. Yet to win a medal.

SÜLEYMANOĞLU NAIM (weightlifting, Turkey, b. Ptichar, Bulgaria, 23/1/1967). Four appearances (1988, 1992, 1996, 2000) and 3 gold medals (featherweight 60 kg 1988, 1992 and featherweight 64 kg 1996). 1988 1-0-0, 1992 1-0-0, 1996 1-0-0. Born in a village in Bulgaria, into a minority Islamic, Turkish community, Naim Suleimanov – his original name – was the first weightlifter to win 3 consecutive Olympic gold medals. At the age of 10 he won his first competition; at 14 he won his first junior World Championship gold, and at 15 he set the first of his 58 world records. He did not take part in the Los Angeles Games due to the boycott. In the same year the Bulgarian government began its persecution of the Turk minority, and Suleimanov was forced to change name to Naum Shalamanov. In 1986, after having won the third consecutive World Cup for Bulgaria in Melbourne, he defected and sought asylum in Turkey, changing nationality and taking the name Naim Süleymanoğlu. In 1988 he won his first Olympic title in Seoul for Turkey (nation that paid 1 million dollars to the Bulgarian government), lifting 342.5 kg (and winning a prize from the Turkish government equivalent to that weight in gold) and beating a former team mate, Bulgarian Stefan Topurov. Retired for the entire 1990, in 1992 he conquered the second Olympic gold at Barcelona with 320 kg, again ahead of a Bulgarian, Nikolay Peshalov. He retired, but returned to competition in view of Atlanta 1996, where the category was no longer <60 kg but <64 kg. Nonetheless he still managed to win, lifting 335 kg (with 2 world records), coming first, ahead of Greek Valerios Leonidis. He managed to qualify for the 2000 Sydney Games, but was unable to reach the final round. He ended his career with 7 World Championship (1985-86-89-

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91-93-94-95) plus a silver and 7 European Championship (1984-85-86-88-89-94-95) titles and 2 silvers and 3 bronzes.

SUMO It was a demonstration sport at the 1964 Tokyo Games as part of Budo (q.v., along with kendo, Japanese fencing, and kyudo, archery). It is regulated by the ISF (International Sumo Federation – www.amateursumo.com).

SURINAME (Republic of Suriname, South America, capital Paramaribo, area 163.820 km2, population 457.961). Two medals: one gold (1988) and one bronze (1992), won by Anthony Nesty in the 100 butterfly. The Olympic Committee, formed in 1959, received IOC recognition that year. First appeared in the Games in 1968, since when it has missed only the 1980 Games.

SWAHN OSCAR GOMER (shooting, Sweden, b. Tanum 20/10/1847, d. Stockholm 1/5/1927). Three appearances (1908, 1912, 1920), 3 gold medals (individual single-shot running deer 1908, team single shot running deer 1908 and 1912), one silver (team double-shot running deer 1920) and 2 bronzes (individual double-shot running deer 1908 and 1912). 1908 2-0-1, 1912 1-0-1, 1920 0-1- 0. He is the oldest winner of an Olympic gold: in 1912 he won the team single-shot running deer at the age of 64 years and 258 days. He is also the oldest medal-winner at the Games: in 1920 he won a silver for the team double-shot running deer, when he was 72 years and 280 days old. In 1924 he qualified for the Olympics, when he was 76, but an illness prevented him from competing with his son Alfred, who won 3 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals, again in shooting, between 1908 and 1924.

SWAZILAND (Kingdom of Swaziland, Africa, administrative and judicial capital Mbabane, legislative capital Lobamba, area 17.363 km2, population 1.141.423). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1971, received IOC recognition in 1972: from that year on it has taken part at all Olympics except the 1976 and 1980 Games. Yet to win a medal.

SWEDEN (Kingdom of Sweden, Europe, capital Stockholm, area 450.295 km2, population 9.118.954). 476 medals: 140 gold, 158 silver, 178 bronze. Best Olympics: Stockholm 1912, 23 gold, 24 silver and 17 bronze medals. Best sport: wrestling, 28 gold, 26 silver and 27 bronze medals. Most decorated athlete: (q.v.), canoeing, 6 gold medals (K1 1000 m 1948, 1952 and 1956, K1 10.000 m 1948 and 1956, K2 10.000 m 1960), one silver (K1 10.000 m 1952) and one bronze (K1 1000 m 1960). The Olympic Committee, formed in 1913, received IOC recognition that year. It has taken part at all Olympics except for the 1904 Games. It hosted the 1912 Games in Stockholm, where the equestrian events in the 1956 Games were held due to the Australian quarantine laws.

SWIMMING Discipline governed by FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur - www.fina.org), which is now responsible for swimming, water polo, diving and synchronized swimming. Swimming has always been part of the Olympic programme.

SWITZERLAND (Swiss Confederation, Europe, capital Berne, area 41.285 km2, population 7.483.972). 182 medals: 47 gold, 74 silver, 61 bronze. Best Olympics: Paris 1924, 7 gold, 8 silver and 10 bronze medals. Best sport: gymnastics, 16 gold, 19 silver and 13 bronze medals. Most decorated athlete: Georges Miez, gymnastics, 4 gold medals (individual and team all-around 1928, horizontal bar 1928, floor exercise 1936), 3 silvers (pommel horse 1928, floor exercise 1932, team combined exercise 1936) and one bronze (team combined exercise 1924), though Louis Richardet (q.v.) won 5 gold medals and one silver in shooting, but 3 were for team events, and 4 of his 6 medals were won at the 1906 Intercalated Games. The Olympic Committee, formed in 1912, received IOC recognition that year. It has taken part in all the Games since 1896 (one of the five

195 The Olympic Dictionary countries to have done so) because, even though it boycotted the 1956 Melbourne Games to protest against the Soviet invasion of Hungary, it had already taken part in the Olympic equestrian events held that year in Stockholm. It has never hosted the Games, though Lausanne has been an unsuccessful candidate city six times.

SWOOPES SHERYL DENISE (basketball, USA, b. Brownfield, Texas, 25/3/1971). Three appearances (1996, 2000, 2004) and 3 gold medals (1996, 2000 and 2004). 1996 1-0-0, 2000 1-0-0, 2004 1-0-0. She won 24 matches out of 24 at the Games: in 1996 (averages 13 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists), in 2000 (13.4/4.6/3) and in 2004 (9.1/4/1.6). In the US National team, she also won one gold (2002) and 2 bronze medals in the World Championships. She won the NCAA title in 1993 with Texas Tech, scoring a record 47 points in the final against Ohio State, won 84-82, when she was elected MVP. In 1997 she was selected by the Houston Comets for the first WNBA season, but she missed part of it for the birth of her son , named after Michael Jordan (q.v.). She won four championships (1997-98-99-2000), and was MVP three times (2000-02-05). She is the first woman to whom a sports shoe has been dedicated: Nike’s “Air Swoopes”.

SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING At the in 1984, it is governed by FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur - www.fina.org). Cf. Sports, section IV.

SYRIA (Syrian Arab Republic, Asia, capital Damascus, area 185.180 km2, population 19.928.518). Three medals: one gold, one silver, one bronze. Best Olympics: Atlanta 1996, one gold. Best sport: track & field, one gold. Best athlete: Ghada Shouaa, gold in the , 1996. The Olympic Committee, formed in 1948, received immediate recognition: that year a Syrian athlete took part in the Games. In 1960, in Rome, the UAR team comprised athletes from and . From then on, from 1968 to 2004, it missed just the 1976 Games.

SZABO ECATERINA (gymnastics, Romania, b. Zagon 22/1/1968). One appearance (1984), 4 gold medals (vault, beam, floor, team event) and one silver (individual all-round). Overtaken by Retton in the last 2 exercises in the all-round contest – the American received “10” twice, for the floor exercise and the vault, winning by 5 hundredths of a point – she took her revenge 2 days later in the other events, winning 3 gold medals (as opposed to the one silver and 2 bronzes won by Retton), also winning in the team event ahead of the USA. She won her gold medal in balance beam finishing equal first with the other Romanian Pauca; she won the gold for the floor exercise, after an 8-minute black-out during the competition, with a “10” in the second exercise, fundamental for staying ahead of American McNamara. Born to a family of Hungarian origin, 143 cm in height, and just 35 kg weight, in the World Championships she won 2 gold (floor exercise 1983, team 1987), 5 silver and 2 bronze medals; and in the European Championships, 2 gold, 2 silver and one bronze. In 1980 and 1982 she was the first gymnast to win 2 outright titles at the Junior European Championships, and between those 2 gold medals, she was involved in an identity swap at the International Gymnastics Classic in Los Angeles, when her coach Béla Károlyi entered her for the event, but under the name Lavinia Agache. This error was noticed that year in Bucharest by American Bart Conner, future husband of Nadia Comăneci (q.v.), when he saw the real Szabo. A minor scandal in which the Romanian Federation tried to involve another gymnast, Cristina Grigoras, but which did not affect the careers of the Romanian girls.

SZEWINSKÁ-KIRSZENSTEIN IRENA (track & field, Poland, b. Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, Russia, 24/5/1946). Five appearances (1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980), 3 gold (4x100 m relay 1964, 200 m 1968, 400 m 1976), 2 silver (200 m 1964, long jump 1964) and 2 bronze (100 m 1968, 200 m 1972) medals. 1964 1-2-0, 1968 1-0-1, 1972 0-0-1, 1976 1-0-0. Born in a refugee camp in Leningrad to Jewish parents, Polish father and Russian mother, she began athletics when she was 14, and at the age of 18, coached by Andrzej Piotrowski, she took part in the Tokyo Games

196 The Olympic Dictionary competing under her maiden name, Kirszenstein: she won gold in the 4x100 (43.6, world record), silver in the 200 m (23.1, European record, behind American Edith McGuire) and silver in the long jump (6.60, national record, behind British Mary Rand). Four years later, in Mexico City, she appeared with a new coach, Edward Bugala, and a new surname, that of her husband, photographer Janusz Szewinski. She was disappointed in the long jump, failing to qualify by 11 cm, won bronze in the 100 (11.1, European record, behind Americans Wyomia Tyus and Barbara Ferrell), and gold in the 200 in 22.58, world record, assisted by the breeze that was within the maximum permitted to ratify the record. In 1970 she gave birth to Andrej, who went on to become a national volleyball player; she returned to competition the following year, and in 1972 she took part in the Munich Games, where she won the bronze in the 200 in 22.74, behind East German Renate Stecher and Australian Raelene Boyle. “Maternity is absolutely not damaging to an athlete”, she said at the end of her career, “on the contrary, I can confirm that becoming a mother improved my physical condition, as shown by the results that I obtained from 1971 on”. She achieved her best results in the 400, a distance over which, on 22 June 1974 in Warsaw, she became the first woman to break the 50 second barrier (49.9), at her second attempt. In the same distance she won an Olympic gold in Montreal, 1976, with another world record, 49.28, finishing 1.23 ahead of East German Christina Brehmer, second. She made her last Olympic appearance in the 1980 Moscow Games, where she sustained an injury in the 400 semi-final and was forced to withdraw. As well as her 7 Olympic medals, she won 5 European Championship gold (200 m 1966-74, long jump 1966, 4x100 m relay 1966, 100 m 1974), one silver and 4 bronze medals, as well as one silver and 2 bronzes at the European Indoor, 26 national titles and 13 world records (49.28 made in 1976 is still Polish record).

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