Fact of the Day

French tennis player René Lacoste won an Olympic bronze medal in the men's doubles at Paris 1924 but is better known for the iconic clothing brand which carries his name

French tennis player René Lacoste won an Olympic bronze medal in the men's doubles at Paris 1924 but is better known for the iconic clothing brand which carries his name. Once, while playing in the United States, Lacoste saw an alligator skin bag he liked. His coach promised to buy it for him if he won the tournament - only for Lacoste to lose in the final. But the story followed him over the Atlantic, where the alligator was transformed into a crocodile. After that Lacoste was known as the "crocodile" and it became the symbol of the clothing company he launched in 1933.

British fencer Judy Guinness sacrificed the chance to win an Olympic gold medal at Los Angeles in 1932 in the individual foil when she pointed out to officials that they had missed two touches scored against her by final opponent, Ellen Preis of Austria,

British fencer Judy Guinness sacrificed the chance to win an Olympic gold medal at Los Angeles in 1932 in the individual foil when she pointed out to officials that they had missed two touches scored against her by final opponent, Ellen Preis of Austria, after they had declared her the winner by one point. The honesty of 21-year-old Guinness cost her the gold medal. Preis later became involved in music, and developed a breathing and movement technique that maximises energy, frees the body of tensions, and lets the voice float freely.

Finland's Tapio Rautavaara won the Olympic gold medal in the javelin at London 1948 and later became a successful singer and film actor, who was supposedly a candidate for the part of Tarzan after Johnny Weissmuller quit.

Finland's Tapio Rautavaara won the Olympic gold medal in the javelin at London 1948 and later became a successful singer and film actor, who was supposedly a candidate for the part of Tarzan after Johnny Weissmuller quit.  He died at the age of 64 in 1979 after falling and hitting his head on a concrete floor while posing for a photograph at a swimming centre. His injuries were not taken seriously, as staff thought he was drunk. His head was bandaged and he was sent home, only to die as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage at his home in Helsinki.

British cyclist Chris Boardman won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 4,000 metres individual pursuit at Barcelona 1992.

British cyclist Chris Boardman won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 4,000 metres individual pursuit at Barcelona 1992. A full carbon-fibre framed bike manufactured by his company, Boardman Bikes, was ridden by Britain's Nicole Cooke when she won gold at Beijing 2008 in the women's road race. Four years later, at London 2012, Alistair Brownlee also used a Boardman Bike as he claimed the gold medal in the triathlon, as did brother Jonathan, who took the bronze in the same event.

South Korean archer Kim Kyung-wook won two Olympic gold medals at Atlanta in 1996,

South Korean archer Kim Kyung-wook won two Olympic gold medals at Atlanta 1996, in the individual and team events, but only after following a training regime which included attending a military base where she had go hiking along an open sewage ditch, sprinting with a car tyre strapped to her back, floating for half-an-hour in frigid ocean waters and rolling commando-style in mud. But she admitted the scariest things she had to do was being blindfolded in the dead of night, taken to a crematorium and told to fetch bones from the ovens and having to pick up a live snake and bite it.

American sprinter Walter McCoy won an Olympic gold medal in the 4x400 metres relay at Los Angeles in 1984 but saw his hopes of adding a second in Seoul four years later dashed when he injured his neck

American sprinter Walter McCoy won an Olympic gold medal in the 4x400 metres relay at Los Angeles in 1984 but saw his hopes of adding a second in Seoul four years later dashed when he injured his neck, he claimed, in an elevator accident at a Holiday Inn in Tampa, Florida, which kept him out of the Games. He sued the hotel and in 1994 was awarded $900,000 in damages.

Germany's Alfred Krupp, winner of a bronze medal in the 8-metre sailing at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, was convicted as a war criminal as the family company he owned was a key supplier of weapons and materiel to the Nazi regime during World War Two

Germany's Alfred Krupp, winner of a bronze medal in the 8-metre sailing at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, was convicted as a war criminal as the family company he owned was a key supplier of weapons and materiel to the Nazi regime during World War Two. Krupp's wartime employment of slave labour, resulted in him appearing at the Nuremberg trials in 1947-1948, following which he served three years in prison. Krupp worked closely with the SS, which controlled the concentration camps from which slave labour was obtained.

When boxer Michael Carruth won the welterweight gold medal at Barcelona in 1992 he became the first Irish competitor to claim an Olympic gold medal since Ron Delaney had won the 1500 metres at Melbourne in 1956

When boxer Michael Carruth won the welterweight gold medal at Barcelona in 1992 he became the first Irish competitor to become Olympic champion since Ron Delany had won the 1500 metres at Melbourne in 1956. To celebrate the occasion, and mark Carruth's return home, pubs in Dublin decided to drop the price of Guinness to what it had cost in 1956, So, all over Ireland's capital that day, drinkers were raising a pint that cost 4p to Carruth.

Britain's Harald Abrahams and New Zealand's Arthur Porritt, who won the gold and bronze medals in the 100 metres at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, struck up such a friendship that until Abrahams' death in 1978 the two of them, along with their wives, had din

Britain's Harold Abrahams and New Zealand's Arthur Porritt, who won the gold and bronze medals in the 100 metres at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, struck up such a friendship that until Abrahams' death in 1978 the two of them, along with their wives, had dinner every year at 7.00pm on July 7 - the day and the hour of that historic final, later immortalised in the Oscar-winning film, Chariots of Fire. Due to Porritt's modesty his name in the film was changed to "Tom Watson",

Italian archer Paola Fantato was the first athlete to compete in both the Olympics and Paralympics in the same year, when she took part in both Games at Atlanta in 1996

Italian archer Paola Fantato was the first athlete to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics in the same year, when she took part in both Games at Atlanta in 1996. Fantato had been afflicted with polio when she was eight and was confined to a wheelchair. At Atlanta she placed 54th in the women's individual competition in the Olympics but took a bronze medal in women's individual and a gold in women's team at the Paralympics. She took part in five consecutive Paralympics, winning a total of eight medals, including five gold.

Thai weightlifter Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon has the record for the longest name of any Olympic champion, at 31 letters

Thai weightlifter Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon has the record for the longest name of any Olympic champion, at 31 letters. She was born Junpim Kuntatean but changed it on the advice of fortune teller she saw in 2007 who told her it would improve her chances of winning an Olympic gold medal. The name means "Good Girl, Prosperous" and was so long that when she won the gold medal in the 53 kilograms category at Beijing 2008 it did not fit onto the scoreboard, which listed her as "J".

Ahmed Boughèra El Ouafi won the Olympic marathon at Amsterdam in 1928, representing France having been spotted after joining the French military in his native Algeria.

Ahmed Boughèra El Ouafi won the Olympic marathon at Amsterdam in 1928, representing France having been spotted after joining the military in his native Algeria, a French territory at the time. He was banned following his victory when the authorities ruled him a professional after touring the United States to take part in races. He was killed in 1961, three days after his 61st birthday, while sitting in a café in Paris by members of the pro-Algeria independence party, the National Liberation Front, after he had refused to support them.

Toshiyuki "Harold" Sakata won an Olympic silver medal in light-heavyweight weighlifting at London 1948, where he competed for the United States

Toshiyuki "Harold" Sakata won an Olympic silver medal in light-heavyweight weighlifting at London 1948, where he competed for the United States. But he found much greater fame when, in 1964, he was given the role of Oddjob in the James Bond movie Goldfinger where he was bodyguard to the villain Auric Goldfinger. His sharpened, steel-brimmed bowler hat became a famous and much-parodied trademark of the Bond series. Sakata appeared in several other movies in similar roles and took on "Oddjob" as an informal middle name.

Canadian sailor Lawrence Lemieux was in second place and poised to win an Olympic medal in the Finn class at Seoul 1988 when he abandoned the race to save Singapore rivals Joseph Chan and Siew Shaw Her, competing in the 470 class, which was sharing the co

Canadian sailor Lawrence Lemieux was in second place and poised to win an Olympic medal in the Finn class at Seoul 1988 when he abandoned the race to save Singapore pair Joseph Chan and Siew Shaw Her, competing in the 470 class, which was sharing the course. They had been thrown into the rough water in Pusan. After he rescued Chan and Siew, Lemieux waited for and transferred the two sailors onto an official patrol boat. He then finished 22nd, missing out on his chance of a medal, but was recognised by the International Olympic Committee with the Pierre de Coubertin medal honouring his bravery and sacrifice.