Gemini Athletes

Jim Thorpe was an American athlete who was counted among the most versatile athletes of the modern era. Jim Thorpe won two gold medals at the 1912 Olympics and became the first Native American to give the United States an Olympic gold. He also played American football, professional baseball, and basketball. He was memorialized in the 1951 film Jim Thorpe – All-American.

Ethiopian marathon runner, Abebe Bikil,a became the first black African Olympic gold medalist at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Four years later, he won his second gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. He created world record both the times. A pioneer in long-distance running, he participated in a total of 16 marathons. 

Indigenous Canadian actor Jay Silverheels gained international popularity for playing Tonto, the Native American companion of the protagonist in the American western TV series The Lone Ranger. As a young man, he excelled in athletics and became a lacrosse player. He later quit sports to pursue acting. He bred and raced Standardbred horses as a hobby. 

Peter Norman was an Australian athlete who won a silver medal in the 200 meters event at the 1968 Summer Olympics. He is remembered for supporting fellow athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos by wearing the Olympic Project for Human Rights badge during their medal ceremony; he is the third athlete seen in the popular Olympics Black Power salute photograph.

Zola Budd is a South African former athlete who used to compete in long-distance and middle-distance running. Budd represented Great Britain at the 1984 Olympic Games before representing South Africa at the 1992 Olympic Games. Zola Budd also took part in the 1985 and 1986 World Cross Country Championships, winning gold medals on both occasions.

John Carlos is a former football player and track and field athlete. Carlos won a bronze medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics. After his track career, he helped organize the 1984 Summer Olympics as part of his work with the United States Olympic Committee. In 2003, Carlos was made an inductee of the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame.

Victor Espinoza is a Mexican jockey who competes in the American Thoroughbred horse racing. In 2015, Espinoza became the first Hispanic and oldest jockey to achieve the Triple Crown; he achieved the feat on a famous horse named American Pharoah. A three-time Kentucky Derby winner, Victor Espinoza has also won the Preakness Stakes on three occasions.

Eric Heiden is a former track cyclist, road cyclist, and long track speed skater. At the 1980 Winter Olympics, Heiden won five individual gold medals, setting one world record and four Olympic records in the process. The most successful athlete at the 1980 Winter Olympics, Heiden won more gold medals than all other nations except East Germany and Soviet Union.

Olympic silver medalist Liz McColgan had apparently started training at age 12. The former British track and field athlete secured her first major win representing the University of Alabama at the NCAA Indoor Mile Championship. She is also two-time Commonwealth winner, apart from being a one-time world champion.

Nils Lofgren, the lead guitarist for Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, had also been part of Crazy Horse, Neil Young's backing band. He had also formed his own band, Grin. While he mastered the accordion at 5 and learned the guitar and the piano by 15, he was also a talented gymnast.

Winner of the 200-meter sprint finals at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico, Tommie C. Smith finished the race in 19.83 seconds, thus becoming first to break the 20 seconds barrier. Today however he is better remembered for raising a black gloved fist over his head at the victory stand in protest against the injustice meted out to the blacks.

Three-time Olympian Deepika Kumari has dominated the Indian archery scene for quite some time now. Currently ranked no. 1 in the world, she has bagged several medals, including an Asian Championship gold. The daughter of a auto-rickshaw driver, she grew up practicing archery with bamboo bows and arrows.

Rory Underwood is an English former rugby union player. He predominantly played in the wing position and spent the majority of his career with Leicester Tigers. He also played for Middlesbrough and Bedford Blues. He was previously a pilot with the Royal Air Force and has played for the RAF rugby team as well. 

English rugby player Lewis Moody began his career at the tender age of 18 with the Leicester Tigers. He ended his career with Bath Rugby. The tragic death of a teenage fan named Joss Rowley Stark inspired him to start the Lewis Moody Foundation, which spreads awareness about brain tumors.

Stefan Holm is retired Swedish high jumper who won a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He also won silver medal at the 2003 Paris World Indoor Championship  and the 2002 Munich European Championship.