Famous Latter-day Saints

77 Mormons Who Have Competed in the Olympics

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What an incredible way Mormons have let their talents shine on the world stage.

The 2016 Summer Olympics kick off this week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In previous Games, several Latter-day Saints from different countries have competed in various events.

Although not all-inclusive, this list features the triumphs and disappointments of many Latter-day Saint athletes who competed on one of the world's largest stages in the Summer or Winter Games. 

You'll also like: 4 LDS Olympians Who Shared Their Faith on the World Stage

Jack Yerman

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Olympics: 1960 Rome (Italy)

Event: Track and Field

Medal: Gold

Jack Yerman was the lead-off runner in the 4x400 relay in the Rome Olympics. The U.S. team of Yerman, Earl Young, Glenn Davis and Otis Davis set a world record mark of 3:02.2.

Yerman, an Army lieutenant, also played football for the University of California-Berkeley in the Rose Bowl.

When speaking to youths, he often stressed the importance of living the Word of Wisdom.

Lead image of Torah Bright from the Deseret News. All images from the Deseret News.

Fred Etcher

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Olympics: 1960 Squaw Valley, Calif. 

Event: Hockey

Medal: Silver

Fred Etcher played hockey for the Whitby Dunlops team that represented Canada in the 1960 Winter Games. His team won the silver medal after falling to the U.S. team, 2-1, in the gold medal game. Etcher was the leading scorer in the Olympic tournament with 12 goals. He also recorded nine assists for 21 points in just seven games.

Etcher later served as bishop of an LDS ward in Ontario.

LJ Silvester

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Olympics: 1964 Tokyo (Japan); 1968 Mexico City (Mexico); 1972 Munich (Germany); 1976 Montreal (Canada)

Event: Track and Field, discus

Medals: Silver in 1972, Bronze in 1976

Silvester set seven world records in the discus. A native of Tremonton, Utah, he graduated from Utah State, where he also excelled in the shot put. He later earned a master's degree at Utah State and a Ph.D. at BYU. His longevity was remarkable; he remained competitive until he was 39 years old.

Antje Misersky Harvey

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Olympics: 1992 Albertville (France); 1994 Lillehammer (Norway)

Event: Biathlon

Medals: Gold (1992), three Silver (two in 1992, one in 1994)

A German native, Antje Misersky Harvey won gold in the 1992 Olympics in the 15 km race and silver medals in the 7.5 km sprint and in the 3 x 7.5 km relay. In 1994, she took silver in the 4 x 7.5 km relay.

As a teenager, she refused to take steroids and was kicked off the national cross-country ski team, dashing her dreams until she discovered the biathlon.

Harvey and her husband joined the LDS Church about 10 years ago.

In 2012, the Heber City, Utah, resident was inducted into the German Sports Hall of Fame.

Dinah Browne

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Olympics: 2002 Salt Lake City

Event: Luge

Medal: none

Dinah Browne, a member of the LDS branch in St. Croix, Guayama Puerto Rico District, grew up playing under the palm trees on the beaches of the Virgin Islands.

While Browne made Winter Olympic history as the first black female athlete ever to compete in the sport of luge, she finished last in 2002 for the Virgin Islands.

A native of the Caribbean island of St. Croix, Browne was a freshman in college in New Jersey before she saw a snowflake, and 29 years old before she sat on a luge. She became serious about the sport after qualifying for her first World Cup event in December 2000. Taking a leave of absence from her career as an English teacher, she spent winters touring the luge circuit in Europe and North America.

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