Legendary Families Who Ruled the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games occur every four years – with the Winter and Summer Games alternating every two – and the top athletes in the world come together to compete for the ultimate prize, an Olympic medal. Many athletes compete in team sports, reveling in the camaraderie and team spirit felt throughout the event, while others compete in individual sports where they can shine solo. But for a few legendary families who ruled the Olympic Games, they managed to create an Olympic legacy.

Being an athlete requires hard work and determination but to become an Olympic athlete takes it to an even higher level. Athletes must train constantly and face an incredible amount of pressure. Having a support system is key and for many, that passion for sports is something they're able to share with their families.

Throughout Olympic history, many families have dominated their sport. In some cases, parents led the way winning medals, and later watched as their children followed in their footsteps. In other cases, it's siblings working together as a team or even competing against each other.

To learn more about legendary families who ruled the Olympic Games, 24/7 Tempo researched past Olympic Games. Having one Olympic athlete is quite the feat, but having multiple is even more impressive. (If you love reading about the Olympics, check out 7 iconic stories of sportsmanship from the Summer Olympics.)

Sisters Serena and Venus Williams are Olympic medalists who dominated the games in 2000, 2008, and 2012 tennis doubles, winning the gold together. Older sister Venus has four gold medals and one silver, while her younger sister Serena has four gold medals.

The athletic sisters were destined to be great tennis players and trained from an early age as their father was determined to turn his daughters into elite tennis players. And with his guidance and their energy he was able to do just that. The incredible story of these two women, their father, and how they revolutionized the game of tennis was captured in the film "King Richard." The Williams sisters are an inspiration to girls everywhere, an example of the sisterly bond, that women can be strong.

The sport of fencing doesn't get as much attention as some other Olympic sports but fencing is one of the oldest Olympic sports dating back to the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century. So it is no surprise that the sport is popular in Italy where some of the best fencers are from.

Italian brothers Nedo and Aldo dominated the sport. Older brother Nedo won his first gold medal in Antwerp in the 1912 Olympics. Eight years later in the 1920 Olympics, he continued to dominate the sport and won individual foil, épée, and sabre golds. That same year his younger brother Aldo won three gold medals and one silver. The silver medal may have started a sibling rivalry as he lost it to Nedo.

In the 2016 Rio Olympics, three sisters competed against each other in the marathon. The athletes were more than just sisters but triplets marking the first time triplets had ever competed against each other in the Olympics.

While the sisters didn't win any medals — only two of them finished — it was still impressive that the women from Estonia made it to the Olympics at all. They said they had only started running when they were 24 years old, which in terms of Olympic athletes seems a little late.

In the same marathon, there were two other sets of sister twins from Germany, Anna Hahner and Lisa Hahner who crossed the finish line together at 80th and 81st place. North Korean sisters Kim Hye-song and Kim Hye-gyong faired the best of the siblings, coming in at 10th and 11th place.

It may seem odd that shooting is an Olympic sport but it makes sense. Shooting takes training and skill just like more common sports. It has been part of the Olympics since the Games started in 1896. That same year, two brothers, John and Sumner Paine, won first place in their shooting events — John in military shooting and Sumner in free pistol shooting. Interestingly, at the time, the only medals given were silver for first place and bronze for second.

At that first Olympics, only amateur competitors could compete and the two brothers were amateurs who just happened to be excellent shooters. The story goes that John wanted to compete in the shooting event and he traveled to Paris where his brother Sumner was working, and convinced him to pack up his guns and ammunition to travel to Athens for the Games. The trip took several days and they arrived the day before the first event. Throughout the event, the brothers sipped whisky and calmly chatted between shots.

While the talented brothers only participated in the 1896 Olympics, the great-granddaughter of John Paine competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. However, she didn't follow in the footsteps of her great-grandfather and instead competed in rowing.

The Joyner family dominated track and field starting at the 1984 Olympics. Jackie Joyner-Kersee won the silver in the heptathlon and her brother Al Joyner won the gold in the triple jump. At the following Games in 1988, Jackie won gold medals in the heptathlon and the long jump.

In the 1992 Olympics, she took home the gold again for the heptathlon and the bronze for the long jump. In the 1996 Games, Jackie suffered an injury that kept her out of the heptathlon but she did win a bronze in the long jump. The athletic siblings weren't the only Olympians in the family as Al Joyner married Florence Griffin who later went by her nickname FloJo.

She won the silver in the 200 meters at the 1984 Olympics. But the 1988 Olympics is where she really made an impression. The athlete won three gold medals for the 100 meter, 200 meter, and 4X100 meter relay. She also took home a silver medal for the 4X400 relay. FloJo stopped competing after the 1988 Olympics and unfortunately passed away in 1998 in her sleep from an epileptic seizure. But her legacy lives on and she is still considered the fastest woman.

While the Joyner family of athletes proved their excellence over and over throughout other competitions aside from the Olympics, there were constant rumors about steroids and doping. This was before competitive sports had mandatory drug testing. But both Jackie and FloJo were tested to put the false claims to rest and their results proved they were not doping, they were just amazing athletes.

One of the few mother-son athletic teams that competed in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Nino Salukvadze (pictured, at right) and her son Tsotne Machavariani of Georgia (the country) competed in the shooting events. The Rio Games were Nino's eighth time competing and her son's first.

The Hungarian Gerevich-Bogen family have fencing in their blood and have dominated the field since Albert Bogen of Austria won a silver in the team sabre at the 1912 Games. His son-in-law, Aladar Gerevich, won gold at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles on the sabre team, and his wife, Albert's daughter, Erna Bogen, took home the bronze for individual foil.

Gerevich continued his winning streak with the sabre team and won gold in 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1960. He also won the gold in the saber individual in 1948, the silver in 1952, and the bronze in 1936. And if that wasn't enough he took home the bronze in 1952 as part of the foil team.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree in this family, as Aladar and Erna's son Pal Gerevich took home the bronze for the sabre team in 1972 and 1980.

The triathlon is one of the most challenging events in the Olympics. Athletes must swim, cycle, and run. Since the triathlon became an Olympic event in 2000, the swimming part has caused some concerns. In the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, the concern was sharks as the Syndey coast is a known habitat for great white sharks.

In the 2016 event at Rio's Copacabana Beach, the concern was about contaminated water. But the swimming portion didn't seem to bother the Brownlee family as the Brownlee brothers Alistair and Jonny have dominated the event since the 2012 London Olympics where Alistair won the gold and Jonny won the bronze. (The same concerns occurred at the 2024 Paris games for the Seine River but the Brownlee brothers didn't compete.)

Four years later in Rio, Alistair won the gold again, and this time Jonny got closer and won the silver. In Tokyo, Jonny finally won the gold in the mixed relay. Despite competing against each other, the brothers are not competitive and often train together.

The head of this Belgian household, Jacques Borlée, competed in the 1980 Olympics but unfortunately did not take home any medals. He did take home the determination to train his kids.

Jacques has trained his four children to be athletes and in 2008, his daughter Olivia won gold in the 4X100 meter relay. Her four brothers competed in the Rio Games in the 4X400 meter relay but came in fourth and didn't earn a medal. It is easy to see the competitive streak in the family.

The royal family is not immune to the Olympic buzz and three members of the royal family have competed in the Olympics. Princess Anne competed in 1976 in the equestrian event and her husband, Capt. Mark Phillips, won a gold medal in Munich in 1972 as part of an equestrian team game.

He won a silver in the same event in the 1988 Games. Their daughter Zara (pictured) competed in the 2012 Games, winning a silver medal in a team event.

In 1900, the second time the Olympics were held, women were allowed to participate but only in five events: golf, sailing, equestrianism, tennis, and croquet. That first year, a total of 22 women competed, and among those were Margaret Abbott and her mother Mary.

While Margaret was an avid golfer, Mary was a novelist who just participated for fun. She placed seventh while her daughter won. Over the years women were allowed to compete in more and more events. The 2012 Games were the first Games that women were allowed in every single event, not just the delicate and dainty ones.

Bertil and Gunnar Tallberg from Switzerland won bronze medals in the 1912 Olympics in sailing. Peter Tallberg, the grandson of Bertil and nephew of Gunnar, competed in five Olympic Games in sailing. He competed in the 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1980 Games.

Unfortunately, he never won a medal; the closest he got was in 1964 when he and his brother Henrik came in fourth place. Despite not winning medals, he competed throughout Europe in different sailing competitions. He has served on several boards and the International Olympic Committee.

The first time a brother and sister were in the Olympics was in 1908 when William Dod and his sister Charlotte competed in the men's and women's archery. William won his event and Charlotte came in second in hers. It was only the second Olympics where women could compete in archery.

Another brother and sister duo from Great Britain, Godfrey and Audrey Brown, won at the 1936 Olympics. Godfrey took home the gold in the 400 yards and the silver in the 4X400 relay. Audrey won the silver in the women's 100-yard relay. The siblings celebrated together as they won on the same day.

Running is an individual sport that takes determination and grit to keep going and it helps if you have a sibling to train with. Athlete Bernard Lagat competed in the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics.

Bernard (pictured) won a bronze in 2000 and a silver in 2004 for the 1500 meter. He was lucky enough in 2016 to be joined by his sister Viola. The two have six other siblings. All are runners and have competed on the international circuit.

Field hockey has never been the same since the Keller family. Starting in the 1932 Olympics to the 2012 Olympics, there have been Kellers at the Olympics. The patriarch, Erwin Keller, won a silver in the 1936 Games, and his son Carsten won the gold in the 1972 Games.

Carsten's oldest son Andreas won the silver in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics playing for West Germany. In 1992, his team won the gold playing for Germany. Carsten's second son, Florian, won the gold in 2008 and his daughter Natashca won gold in 2004. She also competed in the 1996, 2000, 2008, and 2012 Games.

And if that wasn't enough, Andrea's wife Anke Wild won the silver in 1992. That is a lot of medals for this field hockey-loving family.

Water polo seems like one of the most fun Olympic sports. It is one of the sports that amateurs can pretend to play in their own backyard pool. But of course, it takes dedication and talent to get to the Olympics in any sport and the Fischer family has done just that.

Mackenzie and Aria Fischer (pictured with former Olympian Janet Evans) took home the gold in Rio and Tokyo and their father competed in the 1992 Games. He must be one proud papa to see his daughters win.

Judo was welcomed into the Olympic Games in 1964 but at the following Olympics in 1968, it was not included. In 1972 it became a permanent event in the summer lineup. In the Tokyo Games of 2020, Japan's Uta Abe and her brother Hifumi Abe each won the gold medal in judo on the same day. It must have felt amazing to win alongside a sibling and in their home country.

Interestingly, when judo became an Olympic event, it was only open to male competitors. Several years later at the 1988 Games, women were allowed to do a judo presentation but not compete. Finally, in 1992, women were able to compete for a medal.

Cycling has been part of the Olympic Games since 1896 but the bicycles looked a little different back then. In the late 1960s, the Pettersson brothers from Sweden were dominating cycling. The four brothers, Gosta, Erik, Tomas, and Sture, worked hard to win the silver in the 1968 Games.

Gosta also earned a bronze in an individual race at the same Games. In the 1964 Olympics, only three of the brothers were on the team and they won the bronze. While their real last name is Pettersson, they changed it to Faglum to represent their hometown.

The shotput and the discus don't get as much attention as some of the other track and field sports but they should as they were a part of the ancient Olympiad. Two brothers who have shown exceptional skill at the discus are the Harting brothers.

The oldest brother, Robert Harting, has won many intonation competitions, and in 2012, he won the gold for the discus. Four years later, his younger brother Christoph took the gold at the Rio Games. (For more Olympic content, here's a look at the biggest wins in Summer Olympics history.)