The first brothers who won the Olympic gold medals were Americans John and Sumner Paine respectively- they came first in the military pistol and free pistol shooting events in 1896.
Margaret Abbott was the first American female to win an Olympic event, claiming gold medal in golf at Paris 1900.
The United States first had an official U.S. team, official team uniforms, at an ‘unofficial’ Intercalated Games of 1906.
The first African-American athlete to win a gold medal in Olympic was John Taylor, who was part of the US medley relay team in athletics in Olympic Games 1908.
The star of the 1912 Olympic Games was the American Indian Jim Thorpe, who won in both the decathlon and pentathlon events. However, in the next year it was discovered that he once played semi-professional baseball, and he was subsequently taken back his gold medals. It was revealed that he was paid $25 a week for playing baseball in 1909 and 1910. The Olympics are strictly organized for amateur players. In 1982, the man was officially pardoned by the IOC, 29 years after his death. Replicas of his 1912 medals were presented to his family at the beginning of 1983.
Ralph Craig of the USA was 23 years old when he won Olympic gold medals in the 100m and 200m sprints in 1912. He returned to Olympic competition at the 1948 Olympics to compete in the yachting event.
Charley Paddock is an American sprinter who won the 100m in 1920 and died in a plane crash in 1943 while working as a captain in the US Marines.
Eddie Eagan, who was a boxing gold medalist at the 1920 Olympic Games, is the only person to have won gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Games till now. He also won gold medal at the 1932 Lake Placid Games in the team bobsled event.
Sammy Lee was the first Asian American to win an Olympic medal and the first diver to win back-to-back gold medals in two different Olympics Games— one in London in 1948 and another one Helsinki in 1952.
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