Instructive. American statistician Bill Mallon revealed it on his X account, relayed by the site The Sport Examiner: 122.382 athletes participated in the Summer Olympic Games, all sports combined, between Athens 1896 and Tokyo 2020. But, surprisingly, the vast majority of them – 73,3% – were Olympians only once during their career. By adding athletes who took part in two editions of the Games, the percentage rises to more than 92%. Historically, multiple Olympians therefore remain a minority. In fact, only 485 of them have gone through five editions. The record holder: Canadian rider Ian Millar (photo above), the only competitor in history to have competed in ten Olympic editions. He participated in every Games between Munich 1972 and London 2012, with the exception of Moscow 1980, an edition boycotted by Canada. He was 25 years old at his Olympic debut. In London 2012, Ian Millar was 65 years old.
