A multi-sport athlete is an athlete who competes or trains two or more different sports. Most of these athletes played two or more sports from a young age – especially in high school – before deciding to usually concentrate on just one sport professionally.
Playing multiple sports appears to improve performance through development of foundational transferable athletic skills. A large majority of elite young adult athletes, such as NCAA Division I athletes and first-round NFL draft picks, were multi-sport athletes, even if they specialized in a single sport during their professional career, and many played multiple sports even through the end of high school. Most elite athletes who eventually specialized avoided early sports specialization, so they did not specialize or begin intensive training until they were older teenagers. Elite athletes in most sports, such as track and field, weightlifting, cycling, rowing, swimming, skiing, are less likely to have done intensive training at a young age than the near-elite athletes. NCAA Division I athletes tended to play multiple sports in high school, and only one in six specialized in a single sport before the age of 12. In the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine, six out of seven invited college athletes were multi-sport athletes in high school.
List of athletes Below is a list of multi-sport athletes who have played in at least one sport professionally, listed by primary athletic occupation, with notes on their secondary sport or sports.
Association football
Clive Allen – played football for Tottenham Hotspur and American football for the London Monarchs as a placekicker Bruce Arena – played for the United States men's national soccer team and also played for the US national lacrosse team which won the 1974 World Lacrosse Championship and finished runner up in 1978. Andrei Bărbulescu – played football at international level for Romania with whom he participated in the 1938 World Cup; also played ice hockey, representing the national team during the 1947 Ice Hockey World Championships. Devin Barclay – former placekicker for the Ohio State Buckeyes, after a five-year stint in MLS.Devin Barclay profile at the official Major League Soccer website Can Bartu – played football for Fenerbahçe, Fiorentina, Venezia and Lazio. He scored 211 goals in 426 matches. Played 26 times for Turkish national football team. He also played for Fenerbahçe Basketball Team in his early career. And played 6 times for Turkish National Basketball Team. George Biehl – better known for playing football from 1988 to 1999 in the Chilean Primera División and previously he competed in 110 metres hurdles and decathlon from 1980 to 1987. Santiago Cañizares – played football from 1988 to 2008, most prominently for Valencia, before beginning to compete in the Spanish Rally Championship. Petr Čech – football goalkeeper from 1999 to 2019 with 443 appearances in the Premier League who became a goaltender in the English ice hockey leagues after retirement and played in the Elite Ice Hockey League for Belfast Giants. Sever Coracu – played football including for Romania's national team; also won the Romanian national title at 200 metres sprint in 1939. Félix Corte – known for his football career in Italy and Chile, at the same time he developed a professional career in fencing. Vintilă Cristescu – played football for Colțea București, and was also a long-distance runner who won five national marathon championships and competed during the 1928 Summer Olympics. Aldo Donelli – member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Played 11 games in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the early 1940s.Al Donelli profile at the official NFL website Alfred Eisenbeisser – played football at international level for Romania's national team, and he was also a figure skater who competed in two editions of the European Figure Skating Championship and during the 1936 Winter Olympics. Luis Enrique – completed three marathons between 2006 and 2008 and also completed Frankfurt Ironman. Olga Færseth – played both for the Iceland women's national football team and the Iceland women's national basketball team. Mihai Flamaropol – played football (from 1938 to 1953), won league titles and earned caps for Romania; also played ice hockey (from 1936 to 1959), won league titles and represented for Romania's ice hockey national team. Chuni Goswami – played football for India national football team and Mohun Bagan A.C. as striker (during 1946 to 1968) and Cricket for Bengal as an All-rounder (during 1962–1973). He captained both the football and cricket teams. Knut Anders Fostervold – Had a 12-year-long football career, including playing in the Champions League, and also participated in the Cycling Road World Championships in 2006 Toni Fritsch – Ex-player for Rapid Vienna and the Austria national team played in the NFL as a kicker from 1971 to 1982, and in the USFL from 1984 to 1985. He won a ring from Super Bowl VI (Cowboys), became an NFL All-Pro in 1979 (Oilers) and a USFL All-League in 1984 (Gamblers). Andy Goram – double internationalist in football & cricket best known as former Scotland Goalkeeper with 43 caps Andy had a long football career with Bury, Hibernian, Rangers, Motherwell and Manchester United also represented Scotland at cricket in the 1989 & 1991 Nat West Trophy Elemer Hirsch – played football including internationally for Romania, and he also played ice hockey and won three Romanian national figure skating titles. Sir Geoff Hurst – World Cup-winning international footballer who also played a first-class match cricket match for Essex. Manuel Ibarra – played football from 1994 to 2008 and represented Chile at the 2000 Summer Olympics, becoming a boxer. Bondoc Ionescu-Crum – played football and won a league title; also competed in the men's long jump during the 1936 Summer Olympics. Harold Jarman – played for Bristol Rovers for most of his professional football career. Also played first class cricket for Gloucestershire. Florian Kempf – former soccer player for the Philadelphia Fury of the North American Soccer League and the Pennsylvania Stoners of the American Soccer League, and the NFL placekicker. Josh Lambo – former MLS goalkeeper before becoming a placekicker in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans. Lambo last played in the NFL in 2022. Carlos Lampe – Bolivia national football team goalkeeper. Also played basketball for Real Santa Cruz and played Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol. Younis Mahmoud – played basketball for Kahraba Al-Dibis in the Iraqi first and second divisions as a shooting guard until 1996 when he decided to focus on football. Paolo Maldini – widely considered one of best defenders in football history, later became a pro tennis player Alex McGrath – played first-class cricket before switching to football Leon McKenzie – played 40 games in the Premier League for Norwich City and Crystal Palace, scoring 7 goals.http://www.premierleague.com/players/1380/Leon-McKenzie/overview Leon McKenzie Premier League profile Currently has a record of 8–0–1 as a professional boxer.boxrec.com Leon McKenzie BoxRec profile Tony Meola – former soccer player in American Professional Soccer League, Major League Soccer, and Major Indoor Soccer League. After his soccer career he attempted to become a placekicker for the New York Jets but was cut after tryouts. He also played high school basketball and high school baseball and was drafted out of high school by the MLB's New York Yankees, but declined the contract. Alfonso Morales – better known for playing football from 1958 to 1970, he previously played water polo, being called up to the Chile squad in 1958. Kevin Moran – played 71 games for the Republic of Ireland national football team. Also won two All-Ireland Gaelic football championships with Dublin, in 1976 and 1977. Jón Oddsson – was a member of both the Icelandic men's national football team and the Iceland track and field national team. Also played three seasons in the Icelandic top-tier basketball league. Mircea Oprea – played football in the Romanian top-league and also practiced handball in the Romanian second league. Rodrigo Palacio – former Inter Milan player and Copa Libertadores winner, currently playing for a fourth tier Italian basketball team. Sixto Peralta – former professional footballer; also practiced basketball in the Argentine lower leagues. Ivan Perišić – runner-up in the 2018 FIFA World Cup with Croatia. Also represented Croatia in beach volleyball at the Porec Major event. Florentin Petre – played football at international level for Romania; also practiced rallying, and became champion of Bulgaria in 2010. Andrei Rădulescu – played football at international level for Romania; also played basketball in Romanian regional championships. Robert Sadowski – played football at international level for Romania with whom he participated in the 1938 World Cup; also played ice hockey, representing the national team during three World Championships. Harvey Sarajian – forward who also played as a placekicker for Georgia Southern Eagles football. Vanda Sigurgeirsdóttir – played both for the Icelandic women's national football team and the Icelandic women's national basketball team. Clare Taylor – played 121 matches for the England women's cricket team; also played the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup for the England women's national football team. Andrew Thomas – goalkeeper who represented the England cricket team at the U17 level. Ron Tindall – played football for Chelsea and Portsmouth and also played first-class cricket for Surrey. Taylor Twellman – played 30 games for the United States men's national soccer team. Also worked out with the Kansas City Royals who offered him a contract which he declined in favor of a soccer scholarship from the University of Maryland. Rafael van der Vaart – played 109 games for the Netherlands national football team before becoming a darts player on the British Darts Organisation circuit. Arthur Wharton – an all-round sportsman – in 1886, he equalled the amateur world record of 10 seconds for the 100-yard sprint in the AAA championship. He was also a keen cyclist and cricketer, playing for local teams in Yorkshire and Lancashire. However, Wharton is best remembered for his exploits as a footballer; Wharton was the first mixed-heritage footballer to turn professional. Curtis Woodhouse – played 3 games in the Premier League for Birmingham City. Woodhouse was the British light-welterweight boxing champion and retired with a 22–7 record as a professional. Lev Yashin – played football, bandy, and ice hockey internationally for the Soviet Union, a goalkeeper in all three sports.
Australian rules football
Tadgh Kennelly – Irish born three-sport champion, the first player to win an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in gaelic football (for Kerry), and an AFL Premiership in Australian rules football (for Sydney), both effectively the highest available honours in their sports. In addition, he led Ireland to victory over Australia in the international rules football series, a third hybrid sport drawing from both gaelic football and Australian rules football to allow international recognition and competition in both codes which as sports are each heavily centred on their countries of origin, but which share a large number of similar features (in particular the lack of an offsides rule and a multiple form of points scoring). Pat O'Dea – played Australian rules football for the Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA), and college football for University of Wisconsin–Madison as a fullback. Wayne Athorne – competed for Australia in Decathlon at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. George Blake – competed for Australia in running events at the 1908 Summer Olympics.