Tamara and Irina Press13 Medal-Worthy Olympic Stories (cont)
By Ethan Trex
August 14, 2008
By Ethan Trex
August 14, 2008
12. Soviet Sisters or Communist Brothers?
No one ever questioned the athletic prowess of Tamara and Irina Press, two Russian sisters who were unstoppable in track and field. People did question their sex, though.
At the 1960 Games in Rome, the Presses became the first sisters to win gold at the same Olympics. Tamara set an Olympic record in shot put, and Irina won the 80-meter hurdles. At Tokyo’s 1964 Games, they were even more dominant. Tamara won the gold in both discus and shot put (beating her own record), while Irina won the first women’s Olympic pentathlon.
Given their hulking stature and mannish features, rumors started to spread about their gender. Rivals derisively labeled them “the Press Brothers.” But the whispers turned into shouts after the International Amateur Athletic Federation announced that it would begin gender testing at the 1966 European championships. Both sisters promptly withdrew from the event and disappeared from competitive track and field.
At the 1960 Games in Rome, the Presses became the first sisters to win gold at the same Olympics. Tamara set an Olympic record in shot put, and Irina won the 80-meter hurdles. At Tokyo’s 1964 Games, they were even more dominant. Tamara won the gold in both discus and shot put (beating her own record), while Irina won the first women’s Olympic pentathlon.
Given their hulking stature and mannish features, rumors started to spread about their gender. Rivals derisively labeled them “the Press Brothers.” But the whispers turned into shouts after the International Amateur Athletic Federation announced that it would begin gender testing at the 1966 European championships. Both sisters promptly withdrew from the event and disappeared from competitive track and field.
The Western media gleefully interpreted their retirement as a tacit confession. A Soviet spokesman dismissed the accusations as jealousy and claimed the sisters had stayed home to care for their ailing mother. The truth remains an Olympic mystery.
Olympic Cheating: The Creativity PrizeThis Old Sword:
We’ve all heard of marathon runners hitching rides and athletes dosing up on performance enhancers, but who knew Olympic chicanery could come in the form of hacking? During the fencing competition at the 1976 Games in Montreal, the electronic scoring system started giving Soviet Boris Onishchenko credit for hits even when he didn’t make contact with his opponent. Turns out, the clever comrade had rewired his sword with a hidden circuit breaker so that he could give himself points at the touch of a button.
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