Eddie Eagan

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Edward "Eddie" Patrick Francis Eagan (April 26, 1897 – June 14, 1967) was an American sportsman. He was the first person to win medals at both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games. As of 2004, he is the only person to have won a gold medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

Eagan was born into a poor family in Denver. He studied law at Harvard University and later at the University of Oxford. In 1920, Eagan competed as a boxer in the first post-war Olympics, and won the gold medal in the light-heavyweight division. Eagan's other boxing awards include the 1919 AAU title and a British amateur title. He also competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics, but failed to medal. He lost in the first round to Arthur Clifton of the heavyweight division.

Eagan returned to the Olympics eight years later, this time as a member of the bobsleigh crew of Billy Fiske, who steered to victory at the Lake Placid Olympics. Eagan's performance meant he became the first Olympian to win medals in both Winter and Summer Games, and he is still the only American to have become Olympic champion in both seasons.

Later, Eagan became a lawyer, and served in the army as a colonel during World War II. He died at age 70, in Rye, New York.

[edit] References

• Bobsleigh four-man Olympic medalists for 1924, 1932-56, and since 1964
• Wallenchinsky, David. (1984). The Complete Book the Olympics: 1896-1980. New York: Penguin Books. pp. 181, 560.