Olympic athletes who went for the gold on TV
Boxing champ George Foreman has also been a knockout as a commercial pitchman. Credit: AP / Timothy D. Easley
As the Summer Olympics continue, here are five gold medalists — not named Caitlyn Jenner — who parlayed their triumphs into TV appearances of another sort:
GEORGE FOREMAN The heavyweight gold medalist at the 1968 Olympics, of course, went on to a stellar boxing career before transitioning into a commercial pitchman extraordinaire and the star of his own 1993-94 series (“George”). (And we shouldn’t forget his 1975 appearance on an episode of “The Six Million Dollar Man.”)
MARK SPITZ The swimmer who won seven gold medals at the 1972 Games appeared in a 1974 episode of the action drama “Emergency,” playing a character who accidentally shot his wife (played by Spitz’s real-life wife, Suzy).
FLORENCE GRIFFITH-JOYNER The late sprinter known as Flo-Jo captured two gold medals (and a third as a member of the 4x100 relay team) at the 1988 Seoul games. Four years later, she appeared in the soap opera “Santa Barbara,” playing Terry Holloway, a photographer said to be modeled after Annie Leibovitz.
KERRI WALSH-JENNINGS The 2004 and ’08 beach volleyball medalist had a guest-starring role in a 2006 episode of “CSI: Miami” along with several other AVP Volleyball players.
MICHAEL PHELPS Fresh off his 2008 triumphs, the swimmer hosted (extremely awkwardly, if you recall) the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live,” which was most notable for being the first time we saw Tina Fey’s impression of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Andy Edelstein, Newsday's entertainment editor, supervises coverage of TV, celebrities, movies and pop music. He has written three books on popular culture, including "The Brady Bunch Book."
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