He's one of Hollywood's most popular action stars, but eight years before his acting debut, British star Jason Statham was a keen diver with Olympic aspirations.
Discovering his love of diving while on holiday with his parents in Florida, the teenager signed up with a British club and within a year was part of the British team. He represented Great Britain at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, but failed to reach the podium.
“I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't make it to the Olympics,” he told the BBC in 2008. “I started too late. Maybe it just wasn't my thing. I should have done another sport.”
Vera Wang
While people dream of wearing a custom Vera Wang wedding dress, the fashion designer herself dreamed of becoming an Olympic gold medalist.
Wang began competing as a figure skater at the age of eight, and by the age of 19 had made a name for herself in the world of figure skating, including competing in the 1968 U.S. Championships in Philadelphia.
“I was totally dedicated to it,” she said. South China Morning Postof Post Magazine But she and her partner missed out on qualifying for the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble. “I was shocked when I wasn't selected for the Olympic team,” she says.
The loss ultimately led to a “nervous breakdown” that ended Wang's skating career. Wang then studied in Paris for a year, where he discovered his love of fashion and is now one of the world's most recognised designers.
Robert Anderson
His acting career spanned more than 50 years and included the following major achievements: Star Wars, Lord of the Ring and Princess Bride But before the late British star found success in Hollywood, he had a competitive career in another sport: fencing.
Anderson took up fencing as a boy and, despite a brief hiatus during World War II when he served with the Royal Marines, he won numerous military fencing titles and taught the skill to his fellow soldiers.
After the war, the actor represented Great Britain at the 1952 Olympic Games in Finland but failed to reach the podium, but had won gold and silver medals at the World Championships two years earlier in 1950. He also failed to place at the 1953 championships.
Geena Davis
from Thelma & Louise To Grey's Anatomy Geena Davis has had a successful career as an actress, playing a number of different roles, but 10 years after winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, she was determined to win another prize: an Olympic medal.
The actress is now 68 years old. People Magazine In 2020, she recalled watching the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and instantly becoming fascinated with archery. “It was so dramatic and beautiful, and I just thought to myself, 'Maybe I could be good at archery?'” she said.
Although she had little to do with sports when she was younger, when she began appearing in films she learned many athletic skills for her roles, including baseball, fencing and taekwondo, and found herself “really good” at almost everything.
In 1997, at the age of 41, she found an archery coach and began training diligently, improving enough to attend the U.S. Olympic Archery Team Trials before the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Unfortunately, she did not qualify, finishing in 24th place, but her efforts were not in vain, as she earned a wildcard berth at the 1999 Sydney International Golden Arrows competition.
Bruce Dickinson
Bruce Dickinson is best known as the frontman for the hugely popular heavy metal band Iron Maiden, but he's also a man of many talents, including a fencer who came close to competing in the Olympics.
talk TimesDespite impressing her coaching staff and becoming a top Olympic contender as Britain's seventh-best fencer, the musician said she retired from competitive swimming at the age of 23 because she felt it was “silly to be fencing with 18-year-olds”.
In 2013, he told a Norwegian newspaper: Aftenposten He still dabbles in the sport: “I love fencing, so as a by-product I get in reasonably good shape. Fencing is actually very similar to how I run around on stage. Or maybe I run around on stage because I fence. Either way, it suits me.”
His most recent update on the sport came in February. timeHe found a “great” club in France.
Bella Hadid
Bella Hadid is one of the most successful supermodels ever, having walked the catwalk alongside Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell, but before she perfected her walk, the 27-year-old model was dreaming of competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
In 2015, USA Today Hadid said, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Yolanda, the star and wife of real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, was a nationally renowned equestrian and was on the verge of competing in the Olympics, but unfortunately, her dreams came to a quick end when she was diagnosed with Lyme disease, a bacterial infection.
“Due to the severity of her condition, Bella has had to give up her professional equestrian career and lifelong dream of competing in the Olympics,” Yolanda said in a Bravo TV blog post in 2016. [of Lyme disease] You will not be able to board the train.”
Cody Simpson
Cody Simpson, 27, became an overnight YouTube sensation in 2009 at just 12 years old. He has since released four solo studio albums, toured with Justin Bieber, launched an acting career and dated A-list star Miley Cyrus.
In 2019, he announced he was taking a step back from the industry to focus on swimming, and by December 2020, the Australian singer qualified for the Australian Olympic Trials in the 100m butterfly. At the trials, the star enjoyed further success, recording a personal best of 50.22 seconds, but did not make it to the final.
Simpson continued to pursue his dream, winning silver in the 100m butterfly at the 2023 Aquatics World Cup in Athens last year and gold in the 4x100m relay at the World Cup in Budapest last year. But he finished fifth at the 2024 Australian Swimming Trials, just half a second away from qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
Simpson now plans to return to music.
Lily Lohan A London-based journalist covering lifestyle and entertainment news. Herald 2020. Specializing in reality TV, movies, and music in general.
