Olympic Games' most versatile athletes

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Czech snowboarder Ester Ledecka shocked the alpine skiing world on Saturday when she beat favorites like US ski star Lindsey Vonn and Austria’s Anna Veith to take gold in the super-G at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

A two-time snowboarding world champion, the 22-year-old had raced in less than 20 alpine skiing World Cup events by then, finishing only once in the top 10.

While her win seemed to stun even Ledecka – who stood motionless and mouth open after crossing the finish line – she is not the only Olympic athlete to compete in various disciplines.

Tonga’s Pita Taufatofua – whose oily-chested appearance at the Rio 2016 opening ceremony caused a sensation – is also in PyeongChang, having traded in taekwondo for cross-country skiing.

The Olympic Rings are pictured at the biathlon shooting range ahead of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang on February 7, 2018.

Here is a look at some of the Olympic athletes who have mixed it up – and been successful – over the years.

Winter + summer

Probably hardest of all is to compete in both Summer and Winter Olympics, but dozens of athletes have done just that since the 1920s. Only five however have won medals in both competitions.

Edward Eagan – USA

The only athlete to this day to win gold at both Summer and Winter Games, he was crowned Olympic boxing champion in Antwerp in 1920, then went on to win gold in the four-man bobsleigh in Lake Placid in 1932.

Jacob Tullin Thams – Norway

In another unusual combination, Thams won ski jumping gold in 1924, followed by team silver in yachting in 1936.

Christa Luding-Rothenburger – East Germany/Germany

The first woman to make the podium in both Summer and Winter Olympics, she won four medals, including two gold, in speed skating between 1984 and 1992, as well as silver in track cycling in 1988.

Clara Hughes – Canada

The only athlete to win multiple medals in Summer and Winter Games, she won double bronze in road cycling in 1996, then four medals – including one gold – in speed skating over three Olympics in 2002-2010.

Lauryn Williams – USA

The most recent athlete to combine Summer and Winter success, she followed up gold and silver in track and field in 2004 and 2012, with silver in bobsleigh in 2014.

(From L) US silver medalists pilot Elana Meyers and brakewoman Lauryn Williams and US bronze medalist pilot Jamie Greubel and brakewoman Aja Evans pose during the Women's Bobsleigh Medal Ceremony at the Sochi Winter Olympics on February 20, 2014.

Switching sports

Athletes see the most Olympic success when switching between disciplines that are similar – understandably.

It’s a natural transition from speed skating to cycling, or from athletics to bobsleigh, with athletes using many of the same movements and tactics to win. Just look at Luding-Rothenburger, Hughes and Williams.

The winter disciplines biathlon and Nordic combined are also basically cross-country skiing, with added shooting or ski jumping, which explains the success across these disciplines of athletes like Johan Grottumsbraaten of Norway in the 1920s, Heikki Hasu of Finland in the 1940s, or Anfisa Reztsova of the USSR in the 1980s.

In summer sports, over a dozen Olympians have won medals both in swimming and water polo over the past 100 years, including US star Johnny Weissmuller, best known for the “Tarzan” films.

Clara Hughes of Canada competes in the women's 5000m speed skating event during the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games on February 23, 2002.

But since the 1930s, as sports have become more professional and athletes have increasingly specialized in one discipline, far fewer Olympic medalists have successfully completed a transition, making Ledecka’s win on Saturday all the more impressive.

Two notable exceptions have been Rebecca Romero of the UK, who won rowing silver in 2004 and cycling gold in 2008; and German swimmer Roswitha Krause, who won silver in the women’s 4x100m relay in 1968, then switched to handball and nabbed silver and bronze at the next two Olympics.

One board, two skis

To outsiders, a snowboarder’s win in an alpine race – two disciplines that basically require racing down a mountain at high speed – might prompt a mere shrug of the shoulders.

Ester Ledecka of Czech Republic competes in the women's parallel giant slalom at the FIS Snowboarding and Freestyle Skiing World Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain on March 16, 2017.

But this year is the first time an athlete has started in both sports at the same Olympics. And on Saturday Ledecka defeated a field of rivals who get to focus only on speed disciplines on two skis throughout the year.

Maybe the secret is keeping things simple. "I will just focus on riding downhill, that's all,” Ledecka said after her alpine victory.

This coming Saturday, the Czech athlete is due to race in the snowboard parallel GS, a discipline in which she currently tops World Cup rankings and where she is a firm favorite to win – potentially causing another sensation if she can secure two gold medals in different disciplines at the same Olympics.

(CGTN)