A multi-sport athlete is an athlete who competes or trains two or more different sports. Most of these athletes played two or more sports from a young age – especially in high school – before deciding to usually concentrate on just one sport professionally.
Below is a list of multi-sport athletes who have played in at least one sport professionally, listed by primary athletic occupation, with notes on their secondary sport or sports.
Arthur Wharton – an all-round sportsman – in 1886, he equalled the amateur world record of 10 seconds for the 100-yard sprint in the AAA championship. He was also a keen cyclist and cricketer, playing for local teams in Yorkshire and Lancashire. However, Wharton is best remembered for his exploits as a footballer; Wharton was the first mixed-heritage footballer to turn professional.
Luis Enrique – completed three Marathons between 2006 and 2008 and also completed Frankfurt Ironman.
Lev Yashin – played bandy and ice hockey internationally for The Soviet Union, a goalkeeper in all three sports.
Younis Mahmoud – played basketball for Kahraba Al-Dibis in the Iraqi first and second divisions as a shooting guard until 1996 when he decided to focus on football.[1]
Knut Anders Fostervold – Had a 12-year-long football career, including playing in the Champions League, and also participated in the Cycling Road World Championships in 2006
Toni Fritsch – Ex-player for Rapid Vienna and the Austrian national team played in the NFL as a kicker from 1971 to 1982, and in the USFL from 1984 to 1985. He won a ring from Super Bowl VI (Cowboys), became an NFL All-Pro in 1979 (Oilers) and a USFL All-League in 1984 (Gamblers).
Dean Brogan – Played for the Adelaide 36ers in the National Basketball League winning a championship in 1998. Became the first player to win an NBL championship and AFL premiership in 2004.
Madison Bumgarner – The pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks revealed in February 2020 that he has competed in rodeos as a team roper during his Major League Baseball career under the alias Mason Saunders.[48]
Carroll Hardy – played MLB baseball for eight years and one season in NFL after being a football, baseball and track letterman at University of Colorado
Bo Jackson – won the Heisman Trophy, and was an all-pro in the National Football League and also played on a semi-pro basketball team in Los Angeles before returning to baseball.
Joe Mauer – played quarterback, point guard, and catcher in high school, and was named USA Today High School Player of the Year twice in the same school year: in 2000 for football and 2001 for baseball.
Kirk McCaskill – played hockey for the University of Vermont from 1979 to 1983. Drafted in the fourth round (64th overall) by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. Dressed for one game with the Winnipeg Jets of the NHL but did not play in the game. Pitched for the Angels and the White Sox 1985–1996.
Bill McWilliams – besides playing for the Boston Red Sox 1931 MLB, he played for the Detroit Lions NFL in 1934.
Cumberland Posey – member of both the Baseball and Basketball Halls of Fame. In baseball, briefly played for the Homestead Grays of the Negro leagues before retiring to become the team's field manager, general manager, and eventual owner, building one of the Negro leagues' strongest organizations. In basketball, was recognized as the best African American player of the first two decades of the 20th century.
Dave Winfield – drafted by four professional teams in three different sports – basketball, baseball and American football, before deciding to concentrate on his baseball career.[50] Played baseball and basketball for the University of Minnesota.
Francis Antetokounmpo – The eldest brother of the famous basketball brothers Antetokounmpo, in addition to playing semi-pro basketball, he also plays professional football, he previously played for Aittitos Sparta in the third division of Greece
Scott Burrell – played in Minor League Baseball for two years before his NBA career. The one of only two athletes in history to have been drafted in the first round in two of the four major professional sports leagues (MLB and NBA)[56]
Wilt Chamberlain – played volleyball in the International Volleyball Association (IVA) for the Seattle Smashers 1974–1979 and was named MVP at the 1975 All Star Game. Went to college on a track and basketball scholarship, competed in high jump, triple jump and shot put as well as running quarter-mile races, and was also offered professional boxing, soccer and American football opportunities.
Elena Delle Donne – 2013 WNBA Rookie of the Year and 2015 WNBA MVP was a top prospect in both basketball and volleyball in high school. She played volleyball in her first year at the University of Delaware in 2008 before returning to basketball the next year.
Scott English – He played in the NBA and ABA prior to joining the IVA
Keith Erickson – He attended UCLA on a shared baseball and basketball scholarship and also played on the 1964 U.S. Men's Olympic Volleyball Team, then going to the NBA.
Constantin Herold – played basketball, winning one Romanian League and playing for Romania's national team, also competing in 13 other sports: Athletics – school, junior, university and national champion in several events, national junior record breaker (110 metres hurdles, pole, triple jump), national champion in seniors (110 metres hurdles in 1933 and 1934), national decathlon champion (1934), record holder for 14 years in decathlon, member of the national team; Football – player at B.M.T.E. Brașov, Astra Brașov and Telefon Club București (from the establishment of the club until it reached the second division); Handball in 11 – member of the national team and participant at the 1937 World Cup from Germany; Volleyball – player and captain of the national team; Shooting sports – the third place at the national rifle championships, with the performance of 391 points out of 400 possible; Alpine skiing – champion in the military patrol competition; Rowing – participant in the city championships of Bucharest as part of the Telefon Club București team; Water polo – goalkeeper at Telefon Club București in the city championship; Table tennis – trade union champion of the Capital in the mixed doubles event from 1946, together with Mariana Bunescu; Tennis – played in the second category championship and qualifiers of Bucharest for the C.C.A. and Justice team; Rugby – player at Telefon Club București; Fencing – university champion of Bucharest at foil and sabre in 1934; Gymnastics – member of the model team of ANEFS at the demonstrations from the student camp organized on the occasion of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.[58][59][60][61][62][63][64]
Kris Humphries – his first success in sports came in competitive swimming, where he was the top 10-year-old in the nation in six events, first, beating young Michael Phelps in the remaining events. Kris Humphries held the US national record for the 50-meter freestyle for 10 and under boys for 18 years. At age 12 he gave up swimming to pursue a career in basketball.
Allen Iverson – at Bethel High School, Iverson started as quarterback for the school football team while also playing running back, kick returner and defensive back. During his junior year, Iverson led the football team to a Virginia state championship and earned the Associated Press High School Player of the Year award in football.
Nate Robinson – played football at the University of Washington. Robinson's college football career is most remembered for his interception in the final minutes of regulation of the 2002 Apple Cup against the Washington State Cougars, who were at the time ranked No. 3 in the AP poll
Alexey Voyevoda – world heavyweight 5 time world champion armwrestler before switching to bobsleigh. Olympic gold medals in two different bobsleigh categories in the same year.
Eddie Lubanski – USBC Hall of Fame member, pitched for three seasons for farm clubs of the St. Louis Browns. He compiled an enviable 50–18 win–loss record, winning 20 games in his second season, but quit baseball entirely after a dispute with the owner of the Muskogee Reds.[69] He returned to Detroit to become a full-time pro bowler, an occupation he had started at age fifteen.
Walter Ray Williams Jr. – seven-time PBA Player of the Year, Williams has also won six Men's World Horseshoe Pitching titles.
Ray Mercer – had two professional K-1 kickboxing bouts in 2004 and 2005, losing both.[71] In 2009, Mercer had his first and only bout in pro MMA, defeating former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia.[72]
Anthony Mundine – Australian winner of multiple boxing titles, who was also the highest-paid Rugby league player in the NRL
Vitali Klitschko – had an extensive decade-long career in kickboxing, both amateur and professional, before becoming heavyweight boxing champion.
Holly Holm – started as a kickboxer winning a national amateur kickboxing title. Went on to fight professionally as a kickboxer and boxer, becoming one of the most highly decorated female boxers and defending titles in three different weightclasses, going both up and down in weight. Due to being a dominant champion for a long time is still ranked as all-time best pound-for-pound by boxrec automated ranking.[73] Started fighting in MMA while boxing and after retiring from boxing became the first athlete to be world champion in both boxing and MMA.
Eric Esch – retired boxer with an impressive 91–10–4 win–loss record who also fought professionally in kickboxing and mixed martial arts, creating a 7–4 and 28–10–1 win–loss record respectively.
Bertrand Clark (1894–1958) - association football, cricket, golf, and tennis.
Denis Compton – played for England at both cricket and football (albeit the latter only in wartime matches which did not have full international status).[74]
Andrew Flintoff – played for England in cricket from 1998 to 2009, made his pro boxing debut against Richard Dawson in 2012.
C. B. Fry – played for England at cricket and football, and equalled the world record for the long jump.
W. G. Grace – one of the greatest players in the history of cricket, who dominated the sport in the second half of the nineteenth century. Won the 440 yards hurdles at Crystal Palace in 1866, captained England at bowls
Percy Sherwell – captained in every Test he played, and one of the few players to captain, keep wicket and open the batting in the same match. Won the South African Tennis Championships in 1904, and played rugby for Cornwall.
Jimmy Sinclair – scored South Africa's first three Test centuries, and one of only two batsmen to score more than 50% of his team's runs across two all-out innings (Andy Flower being the other). Also played football and rugby at international level.
Yuvraj Singh – won the National Under-14 Roller Skating Championship.[81]
Rudie van Vuuren – represented Namibia in 2003 in both the Cricket and Rugby World Cups.
Jeff Wilson – played one-day international cricket and international rugby union for New Zealand, and has become commentator for both sports.
Cycling
Lance Armstrong – began his athletic career at 16 when he became a professional triathlete and national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990.[82] Also well known for winning the Tour de France race a record seven consecutive times before having his placings voided owing to multiple doping offenses.
Michael Woods – formerly a successful middle-distance runner at junior level, becoming Canadian national junior record holder for the mile and 3000 metres and the 1500 metre champion at the 2005 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships before becoming a professional cyclist
Max Aaron – US figure skater who started his skating career as a figure skater, he also represented USA in USA Hockey nationals in both 2006 and 2007, and played U18 AA as well as competing in figure skating at amateur level during that time.
Elvis Stojko – Canadian figure skater in the 1990s, also competed in martial arts and motocross racing.
Babe Zaharias – won three Olympic medals (two gold and one silver) in track & field and was also an All-American basketball player before becoming a founding member of the LPGA.[50]
Josh Booty – played in the Florida Marlins minor league system and played 13 games at the Major League level for the team from 1996 to 1998, including an opening day start at third base.[90]
Jim Brown – All-American in lacrosse, played basketball, baseball, and ran track at Syracuse University. In the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Lacrosse Hall of Fame, and College Football Hall of Fame.
Ronald Curry – won the 1998 McDonald's All-American Slam Dunk contest and was the MVP for the 1998 McDonald's All-American basketball game. Was ranked by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index as the No. 6 best high school senior in basketball for 1998. Played basketball for the University of North Carolina
Bobby Douglass – Chicago Bears quarterback also pitched in the Chicago White Sox minor league system for a very short period
D.J. Dozier – played five seasons with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions from 1987 to 1991, and played one season with the MLB's New York Mets in 1992
Marquise Goodwin – NFL receiver and kickoff returner was an Olympic long jumper and two-time NCAA champion in the sport. He was a four-time All-American in track and field.
Otto Graham – played in the National Basketball League (NBL) for the Rochester Royals from 1945 to 1946. One of only two athletes (Gene Conley) to win a championship in two different major sports: Rochester Royals (NBL) 1946 championship and Cleveland Browns (AAFC) 1946 championship.
Bud Grant – lettered in baseball and basketball at the University of Minnesota, and later played two seasons in the NBA, two seasons in the NFL, and four seasons in the CFL.
Darrell Green – competed as a professional sprinter from 1981 to 1982
Corey Jenkins – played minor league baseball and was former first-round pick for the Boston Red Sox, played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks and then linebacker for the Miami Dolphins
Bradley Marquez – drafted by the New York Mets in 2011 and played two minor league seasons before turning his attention to football. Returned to the Mets organization in 2019 after four NFL seasons.
Ollie Matson – won two medals in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics
Banks McFadden – while at Clemson, he was a 2-time all-American in basketball and named the 1939 Associated Press Athlete of the year
Matt Moore – drafted in the 22nd round of the 2004 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Angels and also played in a Southern California semi-pro baseball league
Johnnie Morton – Following his NFL career, he had a brief MMA career before being banned for testing positive for steroids, lost his only fight by a first-round knockout.
Jan Stenerud – came to Montana State University from Norway on a ski jumping scholarship and was an All-America selection in football and ski jumping. Played soccer in Norway.
Chris Weinke – played six years of minor league baseball before going to Florida State, where he won the Heisman Trophy and led his team to the BCS National Championship Game. Later started in the NFL.
Ron Widby – played pro basketball with the New Orleans Buccaneers of the American Basketball Association and was a punter in the National Football League from 1967-73 part of the Super Bowl VI champion Dallas Cowboys.
Jesse Lumsden – played in the Canadian Football League between 2004 and 2010 for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Edmonton Eskimos, and Calgary Stampeders. Was a CFL East All-star in 2007. After retiring from football he became a bobsledder and made the 2010 Canadian Olympic team in both the two-man and four-man bobsled teams. In 2013 was part of the two-man World Cup two-man winning bobsled team.
Red Storey – played six seasons and won the Grey Cup twice with the Toronto Argonauts, but also was an all-star in the Ontario Lacrosse Association and played with the Montreal Royals minor hockey team. Finally, he was a referee in the Canadian Football League (12 years) and in the National Hockey League (9 years.)
Luc Tousignant – all-star college football player, he was the first French Canadian starting QB with the Montreal Concordes, having previously represented Canada in handball at the 1976 Summer Olympic games in Montreal.
Paul Clatney – Canadian Football League 86-94 won 3 Grey Cups. Gold at 83 Canadian Winter Games in Wrestling. Canadian Bobsled Team 88-90. Bronze in 2 man at 89 World Cup. In-line hockey 93 Calgary Rad’z Ice Hockey 95-96 Madison Monsters
Lionel Conacher – Canada's greatest male athlete in the 1920s, and 1930s, he also excelled in Canadian football, lacrosse, baseball, boxing and wrestling. He, along with Carl Voss is one of only two people to have their names on both the Stanley Cup and Grey Cup.
Bill Ezinicki – played professional golf after hockey, winning several tournaments.
Jon Mirasty – nicknamed "Nasty" by teammates and fans, competed professionally as an MMA fighter. Was provincial and Golden Gloves champion in 1998 and 1999 in Canadian youth boxing.
Jeremy Yablonski – professional hockey player in Europe and North America, he has fought professionally in MMA XFS (Extreme Fight Series). He was also a one-time, novice Golden Gloves boxing champion.
Jenny Williams – World Cup winning (1986) and team captain (1989–92) lacrosse player for Australia who represented South Australia in six sports (lacrosse, indoor lacrosse, touch football, soccer, cricket and Australian football)
Mixed martial arts
Dave Bautista – was a WWE wrestler before becoming an MMA Fighter, returned to the WWE in 2014 and 2019.
Aaron Chalmers – competes in both MMA and boxing events.
Nick Diaz – turned pro in MMA in 2001, then made his pro boxing debut in 2005.[104]
Fedor Emelianenko – four-time world heavyweight champion in combat sambo while being No. 1 ranked heavyweight in MMA from 2003 till 2010. Also medaled in judo at national level.
Dan Severn – UFC Hall of Famer, former All-American collegiate wrestler and former professional wrestler.[105]
Adam Hollioake – turned pro in 2011 having already captained the England ODI side and having already fought as a professional boxer.
Holly Holm – started as a kickboxer winning a national amateur kickboxing title. Went on to fight professionally as a kickboxer and boxer, becoming one of the most highly decorated female boxers and defending titles in three different weightclasses, going both up and down in weight. Due to being a dominant champion for a long time is still ranked as all-time best pound-for-pound by boxrec automated ranking.[73] Started fighting in MMA while boxing and after retiring from boxing became the first athlete to be world champion in both boxing and MMA.
Keith Jardine – turned pro in MMA in 2001, then made his pro boxing debut in 2003.[106]
Jackie Stewart – 1969, 1971, and 1973 F1 champion and international smoothbore shooter.
Brandon Semenuk -Professional Rally Car Racer, he also is a legend in Freeride (mountain biking), Having won a X-Games MTB Gold Medalist (2021), and X-Games Silver medalist (2013) in the Mountain Bike Slopestyle event.
John Surtees – only man to be a Formula 1 and MotoGP World Champion.
Paul Tracy – professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series. He won the Champ Car World Series in 2003. Paul also raced downhill mountain bikes professionally for Yeti Cycles in 1994.
Laia Sanz – Women's World Trial Champion and Women's Enduro World Champion, has also won the Dakar Rally in the Female Class and finished 9th in the overall classification.
Tove Alexandersson is seventeen times world champion in Orienteering (July 2022). She also has ten world championships in Ski orienteering. In 2018 Alexandersson won the world championships in Sky running after her second skyrunning race ever. In 2020 she took up racing in Ski mountaineering after having trained that for some time (pausing ski orienteering but racing orienteering during the summer). In 2021 she won two world cup races and the combined class of the world championships in ski mountaineering. This made her having world championships gold in four sports.
John Hopoate – after multiple suspensions forced him to retire from rugby league, he pursued a career in boxing, eventually becoming the Australian heavyweight champion.[113]
Graeme Hughes – played 116 First-Grade Games for Canterbury-Bankstown, as well as 20 First-Class Cricket Matches for New South Wales. He is the last man to have played both rugby league and cricket for New South Wales.
Michael O'Connor – represented Australia in rugby league and rugby union. Played for the Wallabies in 13 Tests from 1979 to 1982 and then the Kangaroos in 17 Tests from 1985 to 1990.
Rob Waddell – retired rower, 2000 Olympic gold medalist in single sculls rowing who is a current Team New Zealand crewman as a grinder, he also played rugby union as a lock. He still holds world indoor rowing machine record time over 2000 m and 5000 m.
Kílian Jornet Burgada – Catalan male ski mountaineer who has also won world championships in skyrunning.
Laura Orgué – Spanish female cross-country skier before switching to skyrunning.
Snowboarding
Shaun Palmer – (born 14 November 1968) is an American professional snowboarder, skier, mountain biker, and motocross rider. "Palm Daddy" is known as one of the forefathers of extreme sports.
Hayley Holt (born 1980) - New Zealand former snowboarder and ballroom dancer. Currently a sports anchor and Radio DJ.
Shaun White – Was a two time X-Games Skateboard Vert gold medalist along with two silvers, and one bronze medal in his skateboard career. Having been one of the few athletes to compete in both summer and winter X-Games.
Vanessa Johansen (née Lohrisch) – selected for Australia in the 1989 Pan Pacific and 1990 Commonwealth Games teams for breaststroke and played in the 1993 tennis Australian Open.
Gael Monfils – with 10 ATP titles by his side, the Frenchman won a Paddle tennis title in Las Vegas 2006, also beating the world number 1 back then, Scott Freedman.
Mary Decker – three time Olympian; Won gold medals in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters at the 1983 World Championships; Placed 2nd and 3rd at the 2012 and 2013 ElliptiGO World Championships[128]
Gary Gubner – world shot put records and weightlifter
Destinee Hooker – NCAA high jump champion; 2012 Olympian in volleyball.
Caitlyn Jenner – Olympic gold medalist and record holder who also raced in IMSA and Trans-Am for Roush Racing.
Lolo Jones – World Champion in the 100m Hurdles and competed at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Also won a medal in the 2 woman bobsleigh at the 2012 World Cup.
Carl Lewis – drafted in the 10th round of the 1984 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls (the draft where the Bulls selected Michael Jordan with the number 3 pick), but did not play a game in the NBA. He was also drafted in the 12th round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys as a wide receiver, but was not signed.
^Scott, Nikki. "Reece "Goose" Tatum (1921–1967)". encyclopediaofarkansas.net. The Central Arkansas Library System. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2018.