A multi-sport athlete is an athlete who competes or trains at two or more different sports. A notable two-sport athlete, Deion Sanders achieved the rare feat of playing in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. While he won two Super Bowl titles, a World Series championship eluded him.
The following is a list of professional athletes who have earned recognition as Olympic champions or world champions in other major competitions in at least two distinct sports.
The following is arranged by the earliest to accomplish the feat.
The IOC classifies cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and biathlon as related sports since cross-country skiing is a core element in each, rather than treating them as distinctly different sports (DDS). Likewise, swimming and water polo are both part of aquatics and thus considered related rather than distinct.
ADCC and IBJJF world champions are grouped as BJJ/Submission grapplingâÂÂdistinct in style, but part of the same grappling discipline.
Although Ogawa, Lesnar, and Rousey won championships in professional wrestling, the sport is presented as scripted entertainment rather than genuine competition. Their inclusion is therefore noted as an honorable mention.