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Olympians Who Committed Suicide (197)

Athlete Nation(s) Sport(s) Role(s) Era Notes
Bill Agee USA ATH Olympics 1928 Committed suicide by connecting car exhaust to the interior of the car.
John Albrechtson SWE SAL Olympics 1968—1976 Committed suicide.
Aleksandr Alenitsyn RUS TEN Olympics 1912 Committed suicide while in prison after being arrested and tortured by the Bolsheviks.
George Alexander GBR LAX Olympics 1908 Committed suicide by slitting his throat with a carving knife
Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya AUS FSK Olympics 2018 Committed suicide.
Percy Almstedt SWE SAL Olympics 1920 Committed suicide by shooting himself.
Charles Aman USA ROW Olympics 1904 Committed suicide.
Gonçalo Amorim POR CRD Olympics 2004 In 2012 he was found dead at his home in Santarém. He committed suicide apparently with a shotgun.
Alfred Annan USA GLF Olympics 1904 Committed suicide.
St George Ashe GBR ROW Olympics 1900 Committed suicide during temporary insanity.
Yevgeny Babich RUS
URS		 IHO Olympics 1956 Committed suicide by hanging himself.
Eugène Balme FRA SHO Olympics 1908 Committed suicide.
Franz Barwig AUT ART Olympics 1928 Committed suicide by shooting himself
Johanna Bassani AUT MIX/NCB YOG 2020 Committed suicide.
Rex Beach USA SWM/WPO Olympics / Non-starter 1904 Committed suicide two years after the death of his wife.
Heidi Becker-Ramlow GDR DIV Olympics 1972—1976 Committed suicide.
Frederick Bedborough GBR FFG Non-Medal 1900 Commiited suicide by shooting himself in the head during a period of temporary insanity according to the coroner's inquest.
Yevgeny Belosheykin RUS
URS		 IHO Non-starter 1988 Committed suicide.
Ota Benga COD ATH Non-Medal 1904 Shot himself in the heart due to depression
Werner Beumelburg GER ART Referee 1936 Committed suicide being politically discredited after the fall of the Nazi regime.
Ahmet Bilek TUR WRE Olympics 1960 Committed suicide.
Mikhail Biryukov RUS TEN YOG 2010
Leszek Błażyński POL BOX Olympics 1972—1976
Willi Boltze GER ATH Olympics 1928 Boltze committed suicide in 1937 for unknown reasons.
Edith Bonlieu FRA ALP Olympics 1956 Committed suicide as member of the Order of the Solar Temple.
Franco Bontadini ITA FBL Olympics 1912 Committed suicide after a disappointment in love.
Erich Borchmeyer GER ATH Olympics 1932—1936 Committed suicide.
Hugo Borja MEX BKB Olympics 1936 Committed suicide after his daughter died of an infection
Günter Böttcher FRG HBL Olympics 1976 In 2012 Böttcher had a car accident and was severely injured. He suffered pulmonary bruises, head injuries, and vertebral injuries, and fell into a coma for several days. A few months later he committed suicide in a rehabilitation clinic.
Enrico Bovone ITA BKB Olympics 1968 Committed suicide.
Walter Brödel SAA FEN Olympics 1952 Committed suicide.
Jürgen Brümmer FRG GAR Olympics 1988 Committed suicide by jumping from a bridge after having killed his son.
Rembrandt Bugatti ITA ART Olympics 1912 Committed suicide by poisoning with gas in his Studio.
Sabahattin Burcu TUR BOX Olympics 1976 Shot himself in the head due to a deteriorating finacial situation
Ricardo Cardoso BRA JUD Olympics 1988 Committed suicide in 1991 after a love disappointment.
Kelly Catlin USA CTR Olympics 2016 Committed suicide.
Henry Chaney GBR SHO Olympics 1908 Committed suicide by shooting himself in the temple during temporary insanity, according to the coroner's report.
Aurelio Chu Yi PAN JUD Olympics 1964 Committed suicide.
Edwin Everett Codman USA ART Olympics 1932 Committed suicide by shooting himself.
Joseph Collomb FRA CTR Non-Medal 1900
Harry Connolly GBR BOX Non-starter 1928 Committed suicide by poisoning himself during state of depression.
Richard Corts GER ATH Olympics 1928 Committed suicide.
Bob Craig ANZ
AUS		 RGB Olympics 1908 Committed suicide by hanging, while under treatment for mental illness.
Ivan, Viscount d'Oyley USA FEN Olympics 1900 Died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Rui de Abreu POR SWM Olympics 1976—1980 Found dead with a trash bag around his head. Coroner ruled the death a suicide.
Sigi Denk AUT CRD Olympics 1972 Committed suicide by hanging.
Ronald Desruelles BEL ATH Olympics 1976—1984 Committed suicide.
Pyotr Devyatkin KAZ IHO Olympics 1998 Committed suicide by hanging himself.
Gary Dighton GBR CRD Olympics 1992 Committed suicide.
Herbert Dill GER ATH Olympics 1936 Committed suicide by gas poisoning.
Jacques Dimont FRA FEN Olympics 1968 Committed suicide.
John Donoghue USA ART Olympics 1928 Committed suicide by shooting himself
György Doros HUN ART/FEN Olympics / Referee 1932—1936 Committed suicide by poisoning himself and his wife with gas.
Christophe Dupouey FRA MTB Olympics 1996—2000 Committed suicide.
Knut Torbjørn Eggen NOR FBL Olympics 1984 Committed suicide. Noted of him that he "had come to the point of life where he was more afraid to live than to die"
Änne Ehscheidt GER DIV Olympics 1936 Committed suicide by poisoning with gas.
István Énekes HUN BOX Olympics 1932 Committed suicide.
Craig Fallon GBR JUD Olympics 2004—2008 Committed suicide.
Jackson Fear AUS ARC Olympics 1996 Committed suicide.
Don Fergusson AUS ROW Olympics 1936 Committed suicide by shooting himself in the head
Ragnar Fogelmark SWE WRE Olympics 1912 Committed suicide.
Carl Folcker SWE GAR Olympics 1908 Folcker was a lieutenant in Värmland's regiment three years after the Olympic victory when he committed suicide at Trossnäs field, just west of Karlstad.
Bradford Fraley USA FEN Olympics 1920 Committed suicide by shooting himself in his bedroom.
Mike Fray JAM ATH Olympics 1968—1972 Committed suicide by hanging himself.
Philip Freylinck RSA CTR Olympics 1908 Committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.
Lucien Gaudin FRA FEN Olympics / Non-starter 1908—1928 Committed suicide.
Hans Gill AUT WLF Olympics 1924
Oskar Gloeckler GER ART Olympics 1928—1932 Committed suicide.
Karel Goppold z Lobsdorfu BOH FEN Olympics 1912 Committed suicide.
Lajos Gráf HUN ROW Olympics 1912 Committed suicide by hanging himself.
Allegro Grandi ITA CRD Olympics 1928 Committed suicide at his cycle shop in Caracas
Daan de Groot NED CTR Olympics 1952 Committed suicide.
Max Guilleaume GER EDV Olympics 1900 Shot himself, committing suicide on a porch of his country house
David Guttman SWE ATH Olympics 1912 Committed suicide by hanging himself.
Markku Hakulinen FIN IHO Olympics 1980 Committed suicide when he jumped in front of a train.
Robert Hallaran CAN SWM Olympics 1932 Jumped out of a fourth floor window
Simon Hallenbarter SUI BTH Olympics 2006—2014 Committed suicide.
Howard Hayes USA ATH Olympics 1900 Committed suicide by shooting himself in the head in washroom of Martin's Grill in Chicago.
Jerry Heidenreich USA SWM Olympics 1972 Committed suicide.
Claudia Heill AUT JUD Olympics 2004—2008 Fell from the sixth floor of her flat. It is possible that she committed suicide, per original press reports.
Gabriel Hernández DOM BOX Olympics 1996 He committed suicide by hanging, aged 27, nine days after his last bout against Ralph Monday.
Ondřej Hodboď CZE ATH YOG 2018 Committed suicide.
Lutz Hoffmann GDR GAR Olympics 1980 Committed suicide.
Steve Holcomb USA BOB Olympics 2006—2014 Had a fatal combination of a prescription sleep aid and a 0.18 percent blood alcohol concentration in his system at the time of his death. History of previous suicide attempt 2007.
Robert Howard USA ATH Olympics 1996—2000 Committed suicide after murdering his wife.
Herbert Huber AUT ALP Olympics 1968 Committed suicide by hanging.
Isao Inokuma JPN JUD Olympics 1964 Committed suicide by seppuku.
Yelena Ivashchenko RUS JUD Olympics 2012 Jumped from her apartment window, which was on the 15th floor.
Harald Jährling GDR ROW Olympics 1976—1980
Peter Jaks SUI IHO Olympics 1988—1992 Committed suicide by train.
Jaakko Jouppila FIN ATH Olympics 1948
Pavle Jovanovic USA BOB Olympics 2006 Committed suicide by hanging.
Hamilton Jukes GBR IHO Olympics 1924 Committed suicide.
Jo Kaiser GER
FRG		 ATH Olympics 1960 Committed suicide.
Sami Kallunki FIN NCB Olympics 1992
Joachim Karsch GER ART Olympics 1932 After the Russian Army occupied his residence Groß Gandern in February 1945, destroying his works, he and his wife, Liesbeth, committed joint suicide to avoid deportation.
Fritz Kaufmann SUI NCB/SJP Olympics 1932 Committed suicide.
Kentaro Kawatsu JPN SWM Olympics 1932 Committed suicide.
Gustaf Kilman SWE EJP Olympics 1912—1920 Committed suicide by shooting himself.
Per Kinde SWE SHO Olympics 1920 Committed suicide by hanging himself.
Asaji Kobayashi JPN ART Olympics 1936 Committed suicide.
František Kobzík CZE
TCH		 ROW Olympics 1936 Committed suicide to avoid capture during World War II.
Yoshio Kojima JPN ATH Olympics 1956 Committed suicide.
Jeremi Kubicki POL ART Olympics 1932—1936 Kubicki died fairly young at the age of 27 quite unexpectedly shooting himself in the temple.
Christiane Lanzke GDR
GER		 DIV Olympics 1964 Drowned herself in the Baltic Sea near Rostock.
Jani Lehtonen FIN ATH Olympics 1992
Miklós Lendvai HUN FBL Olympics 1996 Committed Suicide
Viljo Leskinen FIN SHO Olympics 1936 In a dispute, killed a woman named Sylvia Savolainen and then turned the gun on himself in a murder-suicide.
Pedro Lima ANG SWM Olympics 1988—1992 Died from drowning following self-inflicted injuries.
Mikael Ljungberg SWE WRE Olympics 1992—2000 Committed suicide.
Clive Longe GBR ATH Olympics 1968 Committed suicide after murdering his girlfriend.
Frank Mackey GBR
USA		 POL Olympics 1900 Committed suicide, shot himself while suffering from a terminal illness.
Lajos Malanotti HUN EJP Olympics 1928
Ferenc Manglitz HUN ATH Non-starter 1908 Manglitz ended his life by a shot in his head.
Kersten Meier FRG SWM Olympics 1972 Committed suicide by jumping from a bridge.
Christa Merten FRG ATH Olympics 1972 Committed suicide in Marbella, Spain.
Eugenio Monti ITA BOB Olympics / Other 1956—1968 Committed suicide.
Miljan Mrdaković SRB FBL Olympics 2008 Committed suicide.
Nero, Emperor of Roma ROM AAR/ACB/AEQ Ancient 67
Herbert Niemann GDR
GER		 JUD Olympics 1964 Committed suicide.
Takeichi, Baron Nishi JPN EJP/EVE Olympics 1932—1936 Possibly committed suicide during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Jack Page GBR FSK Olympics 1924—1928 Committed suicide by gassing himself in his office "While the balance of his mind was disturbed."
Arnaldo Pambianco ITA CRD Olympics 1956 Committed suicide by jumping.
Marco Pantani ITA CRD Olympics 2000 Committed suicide.
Alexandru Papană ROU BOB Olympics 1932 Committed suicide by taking poison.
Dušan Pašek TCH
SVK		 IHO Olympics 1984—1988 Committed suicide by shooting himself.
Mark Pavelich USA IHO Olympics 1980 His death was ruled a suicide by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office in Anoka County.
Alan Pennington GBR ATH Olympics 1936 Committed suicide by shooting himself in the head while staying at a luxury hotel in Lisboa.
Víctor Peralta ARG BOX Olympics 1928 Committed suicide, shot himself while suffering from terminal prostate cancer
Itzhak Peretz ISR FBL Olympics 1976 Committed suicide.
Nils Persson SWE SAL Olympics 1912 Committed suicide by hanging himself.
Jeret Peterson USA FRS Olympics 2002—2010 Died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, found in Lambs Canyon, Utah.
Alois Petřina CZE
TCH		 BOX Olympics 1948
Antonio Pettigrew USA ATH Olympics 2000 Committed suicide by an overdose of pills containing diphenhydramine.
John Pike GBR SHO Olympics 1908 Committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at his home.
Dan Pippin USA BKB Olympics 1952 Committed suicide.
Thomas Pleisch SUI IHO Olympics 1936 Pleisch committed suicide only a few weeks after the 1936 Winter Olympics
Liv Podmore NZL CTR Olympics 2016 Committed suicide.
Vladimír Podzimek CZE
TCH		 SJP Olympics 1984 Committed suicide by hanging himself.
Andrey Prokofyev RUS
URS		 ATH Olympics 1980 Committed suicide by hanging himself.
Gert Puzicha FRG BOX Olympics 1968 Committed suicide.
Pierre Quinon FRA ATH Olympics 1984 Committed suicide.
Fausto Radici ITA ALP Olympics 1976 Committed suicide by shooting himself with a handgun.
Rhoda Rennie RSA SWM Olympics 1928 Committed suicide by shooting herself.
Guy Revell CAN FSK Olympics 1964 Committed suicide.
Jesús Miguel Rollán ESP WPO Olympics 1988—2004 Died after a fall from a balcony of a rehabilitation clinic where he was treated for depression - possibly he committed suicide.
Shizuko Sakashita JPN GAR Olympics 1956 Committed suicide by gas poisoning
Ludwig, Graf von Salm-Hoogstraeten AUT TEN Olympics 1912 Committed suicide by jumping to avoid capture by Nazis.
Robert Sassone FRA CTR Olympics 2000 Committed suicide.
Stephen Scherer USA SHO Olympics 2008 Committed suicide by shooting himself.
Thomas Schleicher AUT JUD Olympics 1996 Committed suicide while in prison.
Uwe Schmitt FRG ATH Olympics 1984 Committed suicide by taking poison.
Andreas Schnieders FRG BOX Olympics 1988 Committed suicide.
Otto Schöpp ROU ATH Olympics 1928 Committed suicide by hanging.
Vladimir Sedov KAZ WLF Olympics 2008 Committed suicide.
Pietro Segantini SUI Administrator 1990—1995
Shamil Serikov KAZ
URS		 WRE Olympics 1980 Committed suicide.
Janet Sheather CAN SWM Olympics 1932 Committed suicide by shooting herself in the head at home.
Narinder Singh IND JUD Olympics 1992—1996 Committed suicide by hanging himself.
Christine Smith AUS ALP Olympics 1964 Committed suicide.
Paget Stewart CAN BTH Olympics 1988 Committed suicide.
Boris Strel SLO
YUG		 ALP Olympics 1980—1984 Committed suicide.
Doc Strong USA WRE Olympics 1936 Committed suicide in a jail cell where he sat for public drunkenness.
Ron Stuart CAN BKB Olympics 1956 Committed suicide by running his car in the garage.
Remig Stumpf FRG CRD Olympics 1988 Committed suicide after killing his wife due to separation disputes.
Willy Sulzbacher FRA FEN Olympics 1900 Committed suicide by shooting himself.
Darren Sutherland IRL BOX Olympics 2008 Committed suicide.
Ferenc Szobota HUN ATH Olympics 1912 In 1939 he committed suicide
Gholam Reza Takhti IRI WRE Olympics 1952—1964 Officially he committed suicide, but a lot of sources mention theories about being murdered for his political activities.
Hidemitsu Tanaka JPN ROW Olympics 1932 Committed suicide.
Harold Thomas NZL BOX Olympics 1932 Committed suicide by jumping from a train few hours after his fiancee's death.
Adán Torres ARG ATH Olympics 1948 Committed suicide upon becoming disabled after being struck by a vehicle, date unknown.
Fritz Traun GER ATH/TEN Olympics 1896 Committed suicide.
Kokichi Tsuburaya JPN ATH Olympics 1964 Committed suicide.
Ernst Udet GER ART Olympics 1936 Committed suicide, shot himself after years of alcoholism and drugs.
Antal Ujváry HUN HBL Olympics 1936 Committed suicide
Tarmo Uusivirta FIN BOX Olympics 1980
Carlos Vaca MEX ARC YOG 2018 Committed suicide by jumping.
Frans Van Looy BEL CRD Olympics 1972 Committed suicide.
Vladimír Vávra CZE
TCH		 WRE Olympics 1928 Committed suicide.
Albert Venn USA LAX Olympics 1904 Committed suicide by hanging himself.
Maura Viceconte ITA ATH Olympics 1996—2000 Committed suicide by hanging herself.
George Vivian CAN SHO Olympics 1908 Committed suicide by shooting himself at his home, for unknown reasons.
Claiborne Walker USA FEN Olympics 1920 Committed suicide aboard ship in Shanghai Harbour, shooting himself.
Sammy Wanjiru KEN ATH Olympics 2008 Committed suicide after being found in love triangle by his wife.
Billy Ward AUS BOX Olympics 2012 Committed suicide.
Eric Wauters BEL EJP Olympics 1972—1996 Committed suicide at his home.
Ludwig Weinacht GER ROW Olympics 1912 Committed suicide.
Mike Whitmarsh USA VBV Olympics 1996 Committed suicide.
Percy Williams CAN ATH Olympics 1928—1932 Committed suicide.
John Wood CAN CSP Olympics 1968—1976 Committed suicide.
Steve Wood AUS CSP Olympics 1988—1992 Committed suicide by hanging himself.
Stephen Wooldridge AUS CTR Olympics 2004 Committed suicide.
Hiromi Yamafuji JPN CTR Olympics 1964 Committed suicide.
Ikuko Yoda JPN ATH Olympics 1964 Committed suicide.
Masami Yoshida JPN ATH Olympics 1984—1992 Committed suicide.
Florin Zalomir ROU FEN Olympics 2012 Committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.