This Sunday the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. It is the end of four years of sacrifice where young athletes leave everything to win a medal. From now on, many of them start a path that can definitively unite them to that task or they can be found elsewhere. As it happened to several Hollywood stars who were athletes in different Olympic competitions before entering the entertainment industry.
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From the action hero Jason Statham, to the champion Johnny Weissmüller, many Hollywood figures they were part of some editions of the Olympic sport.
Jason Statham
The actor of The transporter it has an origin far removed from the action. Jason Statham He was born in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, England, to an eclectic couple: Eileen, a dancer, and Barry, a street trader and lounge singer. When he was young, sport was part of his essence. He dedicated himself to swimming in the British National Swimming Team, which led him to the Olympic Games in Barcelona 92.
The “Snatch” actor competed in ornamental jumps at that tournament. (Photo: capture)
In that competition, Statham wore a very remote figure who made him famous on the big screen: had hair. The then athlete competed in ornamental jumps, where he finished in 12th position.
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Later she was a model and, that job, led him to the casting of Games, traps and two smoking guns, the movie of Guy Ritchie 1998 that placed him at the top.
Bud Spencer
In the 70s there was a duo of actors who made spaghetti westerns for all tastes: Bud Spencer y Terence Hill. Far away from that scratchy and rough fictional universe, one of them had an origin linked to the most exalted of sport.
Bud Spencer was the first Italian to swim 100 meters freestyle in less than a minute. He competed with the Italian National Swimming Team in the Olympic Games of Helsinki 52, where he was a finalist, and Melbourne 56. In addition, he was a water polo player before turning to acting.
Johnny Weissmüller
He may be the most sports-related actor in many years. Before starring Tarzan in 1932, Johnny Weissmüller He was one of the most important Olympic swimmers in the early years of the 20th century for the United States: took five Olympic medals.
Weissmüller participated in Paris 24 Y Amsterdam 28, far from what came after, starting in 1932, with his character as Tarzan: They were 14 movies in which he played it.
Estella Warren
He is not one of the top acting stars by any means. Many, perhaps, remember her for having participated in the remake that Tim Burton made of Planet of the Apes, in 2001. But before that, Estella Warren, He also stood out as an athlete.
The Canadian was in the team that competed in the Atlanta 96 Olympic Games in synchronized swimming, with 18 years. After that, her life began to revolve around modeling, which led her straight to Hollywood.
Geena Davis
When Geena Davis she competed for a place in the 2000 Sydney Olympics she was already famous for. In 1991 he had starred in the classic Thelma y Louise and his figure never stopped being valued. But the actress had a hidden passion: bow and arrow.
“When I saw how they won gold medals (at Atlanta 96) I thought it was very dramatic and beautiful and I wondered, ‘Would you be good at this?‘”, The interpreter commented in an interview with the magazine People. Thus, with little experience, he jumped for a spot on the Olympic team for the 2000 tournament, after two years of hard training.
Her 24th position did not qualify her for the Olympic team, but she did a “wild card” position at the Sydney International Golden Arrow Competition in 1999.
