Lionel Messi, Michael Phelps, Serena Williams, and LeBron James are just a few examples of athletes who have risen to true stardom thanks to their incredible career achievements. While the list of athletes-turned-celebrities is always growing (especially with the 2024 Olympics looming), there have been several examples over the years of successful celebrities who also happen to be incredible athletes.
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For example, Australian singer Cody Simpson enjoyed great success as a singer before retiring from music in 2019 to focus on becoming a professional swimmer. “My dream is to inspire and strive as many people as possible throughout my life,” Simpson said in an interview on July 14. “That's what I've been doing for most of my life, especially the last four years since I came back to the sport of swimming from being a musician. [and] I wanted to realise another dream that had been lingering in my mind for years.”
“When I came back to this sport, I said, 'Whether this is a huge success or a terrible failure, I've shown myself, and others who have followed me on this journey, that trying hard isn't a bad thing,'” Simpson continued. After gaining some recognition at national competitions, the “Surfboard” singer unfortunately failed to secure a coveted spot on Australia's swimming teams for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.
Scroll down to see other famous people, including two members of the royal family, who you may not know have “Olympic athlete” or “near-Olympic athlete” on their resumes.
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Caitlyn Jenner
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Before she became a reality TV star, Caitlyn Jenner was an Olympian. At her first Olympic Games in Munich in 1972, Jenner placed 10th in the men's decathlon. Four years later, at the 1976 Montreal Games, Jenner came back strong, breaking the world record and winning the gold medal.
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Jessica Springsteen
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Since 2012, Bruce Springsteen's daughter Jessica has had her sights set on competing on the Olympic stage. WWDHer Olympic dreams began to become a reality in 2012 when she was selected as an alternate for the U.S. equestrian team in London but ultimately did not compete.
Nine years later, in 2021, she competed in her first Olympic Games in Tokyo and brought home a silver medal. “Representing my country has always been a great source of pride for me,” she told the outlet. “To now be able to do that at the Olympic level is a really big honor for me.”
Jessica did not qualify to compete in the 2024 Olympics.
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Cody Simpson
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Singer Cody Simpson put his career on hold in 2019 because he was too focused on his role as an Olympic swimmer. But despite winning many Australian national honours over the years and training alongside legendary swimmers such as Michael Phelps and Emma McKeown, Simpson failed to make the Australian teams for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.
Following the disappointment after the Paris qualification, Simpson made it clear that his swimming ambitions were coming to an end.
“I did what I could, that's all I could do,” Simpson said. Olympic“I've grown so much in these last four years, more than I ever expected.”
“I started from scratch and saw how far I could go in half or a third of the time that everyone else was training. It was a fulfillment of that childhood of mine of giving up something to pursue something else. It's been an amazing journey,” he continued.
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Zara Tindall
Image credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage
Zara Tindall is not only a member of the British royal family, but she's also quite the athlete. In 2012, Tindall officially became an Olympian when she competed in equestrian eventing. She placed eighth.
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Princess Anne
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Tindall's mother, Princess Anne, also holds an Olympic record. At the 1976 Montreal Olympics, King Charles III's sister competed in the three-day equestrian event. Unfortunately, she didn't make it onto the podium, finishing in 24th place.
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Geena Davis
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Everyone knows Geena Davis, but it might surprise you to hear that she was on the verge of becoming an Olympian. In 1996, when Davis was 41, she became so fascinated with archery that she decided to give it a try herself.
“I found Coach and I was totally hooked,” she said. people in 2020. “Yeah, I started when I was 41 and for a few years it became my life.”
As the 2000 Australian Olympic trials approached, Davis was in contention to qualify, but ultimately finished 24th and missed out.
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Jason Statham
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Like Cody Simpson, Jason Statham was close to becoming an Olympian but sadly missed out.
Statham fell in love with diving when he was 11 or 12 years old and quickly rose through the ranks at national competitions. Olympic, Beekeeper A star athlete, Statham went on to compete in the Olympic trials for the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, but failed to qualify for either event.
Soon after, he quit diving and became the action star he is today.
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Harold Sakata
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The late Harold Sakata, known for his role as the villain Oddjob in the James Bond films, Goldfinger, He was an Olympic weightlifter, winning a silver medal in weightlifting at the 1948 London Olympics.
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Vera Wang
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Before she became one of the biggest fashion designers in the world, Vera Wang thought figure skating was her biggest dream. “I was totally dedicated to it,” she said. South China Morning Post Post Magazine In 2020.
But she and her partner, James Stewart, failed to qualify for the Grenoble Winter Olympics in 1968. “I was shocked when I wasn't selected for the Olympic team,” Wang said.
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Johnny Weissmuller
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Johnny Weissmuller, an actor best known for playing Tarzan in 12 films in the 1930s and 40s, was a highly decorated Olympian. In his Olympic debut in Paris in 1924, Weissmuller won three gold medals in swimming and one bronze medal in water polo.
Four years later, in Amsterdam in 1928, Weissmuller won two more swimming gold medals.
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Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss
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Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the twins who famously co-founded Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg, competed in the coxless pairs rowing event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They finished in sixth place.
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