Ranker

Anime Underground

Button Mash

Graveyard Shift

Total Nerd

Unspeakable Times

Weird History

Weird Nature

Weirdly Interesting

Sports

Music

Entertainment

Living

Culture

Food

Makeup

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Holidays

Watchworthy

HBO Max

pageType

safe_grapeshot

edit_update_annually

exclude_RLblocks

ticker_exclude

site_wide_RL_exclude

non_votable_list_of_all

scale_cleanup

srch

no_amp

Asia

<a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/australia-olympic-athletes/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">List of Olympic athletes</a> born in Asia, listed alphabetically with photos when available. These famous Olympians from Asia have achieved some of the highest honors in sports history just by qualifying for the Olympics, as most athletes will never be chosen to represent their countries. These are the most prominent people from Asia who have competed in the Olympics, although not all of them have taken home an Olympic medal. While these popular Asia Olympians were born in Asia, they didn't necessarily compete for their originating country. List includes Anna Kournikova, Yao Ming, more. This list answers the questions, "Which Olympians are from Asia?" and "Which Olympians were born in Asia?"

List of Olympians from Asia | Olympic Athletes Born Here

Olympic Athletes Born in Asia

Olympic Athlete

Best Rankings of Sports Teams and Players, Interesting Sports Facts, and Moments in Sports

sports

Reference

Gender

Age 30 and over

Gen Xers

Age under 50

Region

American

West Coast US

Us States

Abbas Jadidi

Abbas Jadidi (Persian: عباس جدیدی‎, born January 13, 1969, in Tehran) is an Iranian wrestler who competed in the Freestyle Heavyweight (90–100 kg) category at the 1996 Summer Olympics, losing to Kurt Angle and winning the silver medal. He was elected as a member of Tehran City Council in 2013 local elections.

Paradorn Srichaphan

Paradorn Srichaphan (Thai: ภราดร ศรีชาพันธุ์; RTGS: Pharadon Sichaphan; pronounced [pʰā.rāː.dɔ̄ːn sǐː.t͡ɕʰāː.pʰān]; born 14 June 1979) is a retired professional tennis player from Thailand. He was the first men's singles player from Asia to be ranked in the top 10 of the ATP rankings, reaching a career high world no. 9. His nickname is "Ball". He graduated as a Bachelor of Social Science from Ramkhamhaeng University.

Yao Ming

Yao Ming (born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and retired professional basketball player who played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBA Team five times. At the time of his final season, he was the tallest active player in the NBA, at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in). He is the only player from outside of the United States to lead the NBA in All-Star votes.Yao, who was born in Shanghai, started playing for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager, and played on their senior team for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), winning a championship in his final year. After negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to secure his release, Yao was selected by the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. He reached the NBA Playoffs four times, and the Rockets won the first-round series in the 2009 postseason, their first playoff series victory since 1997. In July 2011, Yao announced his retirement from professional basketball because of a series of foot and ankle injuries which forced him to miss 250 games in his last six seasons. In eight seasons with the Rockets, Yao ranks sixth among franchise leaders in total points and total rebounds, and second in total blocks.Yao is one of China's best-known athletes, with sponsorships with several major companies. His rookie year in the NBA was the subject of a documentary film, The Year of the Yao, and he co-wrote, along with NBA analyst Ric Bucher, an autobiography titled Yao: A Life in Two Worlds. Known in China as the "Yao Ming Phenomenon" and in the United States as the "Ming Dynasty," Yao's success in the NBA, and his popularity among fans, made him a symbol of a new China that was both more modern and more confident.In April 2016, Yao was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson.In February 2017, Yao was unanimously elected as chairman of Chinese Basketball Association.

Abbos Atoev

Abbos Atoyev (born 7 June 1986) is an Uzbek amateur boxer, best known for winning gold in the light heavyweight competition at the 2007 World Championships and at middleweight in 2009.  He also won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He fights southpaw and was born in the village of Qulkhatib of Vabkent District of Bukhara Province.

Abdollah Movahed

Abdollah Movahed Ardabili (Persian: عبدالله موحد اردبیلی‎, born March 20, 1940) is a retired Iranian lightweight freestyle wrestler. He competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics and won a gold medal in 1968. He served as flag bearer for Iran at the Opening Ceremony of the 1970 Asian Games, and won a gold medal a few days later.

Abdullah Al-Waked

Abdullah Al-Waked Al-Shahrani (Arabic: عبد الله الواكد الشهراني‎) (born 29 September 1975) is a Saudi Arabian football player.
He played most of his career for Al Shabab and Al Ittihad and is playing now with Al-Nasr.
He played for the Saudi Arabia national football team and was a participant at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He participated in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Vassiliy Jirov

Vassiliy Valeryevich Jirov (born 4 April 1974), sometimes known as Vasily Zhirov, is a Kazakhstani former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2009, and held the IBF cruiserweight title from 1999 to 2003. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, as well as consecutive bronzes at the 1993 and 1995 World Championships, all in the light heavyweight division.

Abdullah Zubromawi

Abdullah Sulaiman Zubromawi (Arabic: عبد الله سليمان زبرماوي‎) (born 15 November 1973) is a retired football defender from Saudi Arabia. Between 1993 and 2002, he played 141 international matches and scored 4 goals for the national team. He played at the World Cups in 1994, 1998 and 2002. At the club level, he played mostly for Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal in his home country.
Zubromawi also represented Saudi Arabia at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Tzipora Obziler

Tzipora "Tzipi" Obziler (Hebrew: ציפורה אובזילר‎) (born April 19, 1973) is a former Israeli professional right-handed tennis player.
She reached her career-high singles world ranking of No. 75 in on July 8, 2007, and career-high doubles ranking of No. 149 on April 10, 2000.
In Federation Cup she is a shared world record holder for most ties played, at 61.



Takuro Fujii

Takuro Fujii (藤井 拓郎, Fujii Takurō, born April 21, 1985) is a Japanese competitive swimmer and two-time Olympic medalist. He won the bronze medal by swimming the butterfly leg in the 4 × 100 m medley relay at the 2008 Summer Olympics.  He followed this with a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, again in the medley relay, but this time by swimming the freestyle (anchor) leg.

Abhinav Bindra

Abhinav Bindra (born 28 September 1982) is an Indian businessman and retired professional shooter who is a former World and Olympic champion in the 10 metre Air Rifle event. By winning the gold in the 10 metre Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, he became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games. It was also India's first gold medal since 1980, when the Men's Field Hockey Team won the gold. He is the first and only Indian to have held both the World and Olympic titles at the same time, a feat he accomplished by capturing the Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, after having won the gold at the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships. Bindra also won the Gold Medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
In 2014, Abhinav Bindra joined the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore as a member of their board of advisors. In collaboration with the GoSports Foundation, he will also provide support to India's up and coming talented shooters through the Abhinav Bindra Shooting Development Programme.In May 2016, the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) appointed Abhinav Bindra as the Goodwill Ambassador for Rio 2016 Olympic Games Indian Contingent.In the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, Bindra finished 4th in the finals of the 10 metre Air Rifle Event. On 5 September 2016, Abhinav Bindra announced his retirement.On 30 November 2018, Bindra was bestowed with the prestigious Blue Cross, the ISSF's highest shooting honour.

Wladimir Klitschko

Vladimir Vladimirovitsch Klitschko (born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held the world heavyweight championship twice, including the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, Ring magazine and lineal titles. A strategic and intelligent boxer, Klitschko is considered to be one of the best heavyweight champions of all time. He was known for his exceptional knockout power, using a strong jab, straight right hand and left hook, as well as excellent footwork and mobility, unusual for boxers of his size.As an amateur, Klitschko represented Ukraine at the 1996 Olympics, winning a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division. After turning professional later that year, he defeated Chris Byrd in 2000 to win the WBO heavyweight title. Klitschko's first reign as champion ended in an upset knockout loss to Corrie Sanders in 2003, which was followed by another knockout loss to Lamon Brewster in 2004. It was during this time that Klitschko hired Emanuel Steward as his trainer, which began an eight-year partnership that lasted until Steward's death in 2012. In particular, Steward was credited with Klitschko's transition from an aggressive puncher to a more defensively-oriented boxer, much as he had done with Lennox Lewis in 1995 to 2003.
In 2006, Klitschko regained a portion of the world heavyweight championship after defeating Chris Byrd in a rematch to win the IBF and IBO titles. He won the WBO title for a second time by defeating Sultan Ibragimov in 2008. Following his defeat of Ruslan Chagaev in 2009, Klitschko was awarded the Ring and lineal titles, and lastly he won the WBA title from David Haye in 2011. In September 2015, Klitschko was ranked as the world's best active boxer, pound for pound, by BoxRec; in November 2014, he reached a career peak of second best on The Ring's pound for pound list.
Klitschko holds the record for the longest cumulative heavyweight title reign of all time, with 4,382 days as world heavyweight champion, and defeated 23 opponents for the world heavyweight championship, the most in history. Until his loss to Tyson Fury in 2015, Klitschko was recognized as the lineal champion by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, while the WBA recognised him as one of its "Super champions", a distinction given to boxers who hold that title in addition to those by other sanctioning bodies in the same division. From 2006 to 2015, Vladimir and his older brother Vitali (himself a former world heavyweight champion) dominated heavyweight boxing, a period typically known as the "Klitschko Era" of the division.

Adam Saitiev

Adam Hamidovich Saitiev, also spelled Saytiev, (Chechen: Адам Хамидович Сайтиев, born December 12, 1977) is a Russian wrestler of Chechen heritage, who won gold at the 2000 Summer Olympics for the Russian Federation at 85 kg cat. Adam also won the Wrestling World Championships in 1999 and 2002.
His elder brother Buvaisar Saitiev, also a wrestler, won gold in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and again in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Adam Sinclair

Adam Antony Sinclair (born 29 February 1984) was a member of the Indian field hockey team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He hails from Coimbatore. He made his international debut in May 2004 during a Four Nation Tournament in Gifu (Japan). Sinclair has played for the Chennai Veerans, Chennai Cheetahs has played club hockey in Germany, and as of September 2011 was playing center-forward for the Indian Overseas Bank hockey team.Sinclair was the best in Field Hockey at Stanes Higher Secondary School, Coimbatore. He was the captain of the school team and under his captaincy the school won many tournaments. He was elected "Head Boy" for 2001. He was also the captain of the "Panthers" and led them to victory in the Intra-School Sports Event in 2001.  He did his further studies in PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore.
Sinclair has also won accolades and medals as an athlete in the triple jump, high jump and long distance running events.  He got engaged to his sweetheart Vyshali Nair on 6 May 2011 and married her on 4 May 2012.There was an accusation made against Adam Sinclair stating that he got into the Indian Hockey Team at the 2004 Athens Olympics by convincing an official to improperly use his clout. This accusation, which was made by Dhanraj Pillay, has been denied by Sinclair.

Marat Safin

Marat Mubinovich Safin (Russian: Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, IPA: [mɐˈrat mʊˈbʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈsafʲɪn], Tatar: Марат Мөбин улы Сафин; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian politician and retired professional tennis player. He achieved the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 1 singles ranking on November 20, 2000. Nobody taller than Safin has ever reached the No. 1 ranking. Safin is the older brother of former world No. 1 WTA player, Dinara Safina. They are the only brother–sister tandem in tennis history who have both achieved No. 1 rankings. On court, Safin was famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper.
Safin began his professional tennis career in 1997, and held the No. 1 ranking for a total of 9 weeks between November 2000 and April 2001. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2000 US Open, defeating Pete Sampras, and won the 2005 Australian Open, defeating Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the final. Safin helped lead Russia to Davis Cup victories in 2002 and 2006. Despite his dislike of grass courts, he became the first Russian man to reach the semifinals of Wimbledon at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. At the time of his retirement in November 2009, he was ranked No. 61 in the world.
In 2011, he became a member of the State Duma representing the United Russia party.
In 2016, he became the first Russian tennis player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Adem Kılıççı

Adem Kılıççı (pronounced [ˈadem ˈkɯlɯtʃˈtʃɯ]; born March 5, 1986) is a Turkish amateur boxer in the middleweight division. At 1.85 m (6.1 ft), he weighs 75 kg (165 lb). He is currently a member of the Fenerbahçe Boxing Club in Istanbul. On 1 February 2017, the IOC disqualified Kılıççı from the 2012 Olympic Games due to an adverse test for turinabol, a finding from the IOC's 2016 wave of retesting of samples from previous Games. Kılıççı had ranked 5th in men's 69–75 kg boxing.

Sergei Makarov

Sergei Makarov or Sergey Makarov may refer to:

Sergei Makarov (ice hockey) (born 1958), Russian ice hockey right winger and two-time Olympic gold medalist
Sergei Makarov (ice hockey, born 1964), Russian ice hockey defenceman
Sergei Vladimirovich Makarov (born 1987), Russian football defender
Sergey Makarov (javelin thrower) (born 1973), Russian javelin thrower.
Sergey Makarov (volleyball) Russian volleyball player
Sergei Makarov (footballer, born 1996) Russian football midfielder

Adolf Pekkalainen

Johan Anders "Juho Arne" Pekkalainen (1895 – March 19, 1958) was a Finnish sailor who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.
He was a crew member of the Finnish boat Nina, which won the silver medal in the 10 metre class.

Cao Lei

Cao Lei (Chinese: 曹磊; pinyin: Cáo Lěi; born 24 December 1983 in Qinhuangdao, Hebei) is a female Chinese weightlifter. She was born in north China's Hebei Province and was raised in northeastern Heilongjiang Province.



Aghasi Mammadov

Aghasi Mammadov (born June 1, 1980) is an Azerbaijani boxer who competed in the bantamweight division (54 kg) at the 2004 Summer Olympics and won the bronze medal.

Bülent Eken

Bülent Eken (26 October 1923 – 25 July 2016) was a Turkish footballer and coach. He played most of his career at Galatasaray SK, but also played for Salernitana and Palermo in Italy. After his career he became a manager and he coached in Italy, In 1967, he went to Turkey as an assistant coach for Galatasaray SK. He coached the Turkey national football team during 1962. He represented his country at the 1948 Summer Olympics and the 1954 FIFA World Cup. Eken died on 25 July 2016, nineteen days after the death of his teammate Turgay Şeren.

Andrei Kirilenko

Andrei Gennadyevich Kirilenko (Russian: Андрей Геннадьевич Кириленко; born February 18, 1981) is a Russian basketball executive and retired professional basketball player, currently the commissioner of the Russian Basketball Federation.
At age fifteen, Kirilenko began playing professional basketball in the Russian Basketball Super League. He spent three years with CSKA Moscow from 1998 to 2001, winning the Russian league MVP award in 2000. In 2001, Kirilenko joined the Utah Jazz, who drafted him twenty-fourth overall in 1999. He became the first Russian player selected in the first round of a draft and the youngest European player drafted. He made the NBA All-Rookie First Team after his first season, was an NBA All-Defensive Team pick three times and played in the 2004 All-Star Game. During the 2011 NBA lockout, Kirilenko spent another year with CSKA Moscow, leading them to the 2012 EuroLeague Final. The same year, he was named the competition's Most Valuable Player, earned an All-EuroLeague first team selection and won the EuroLeague Best Defender award.Since the 2000 Summer Olympics, Kirilenko has been a regular member of the Russian national team. With Russia, he won the EuroBasket title in 2007, earning MVP honors in the process. In 2011, he won his second EuroBasket medal, this time the bronze. He was selected to the All-Tournament Team on both occasions. Kirilenko was named FIBA Europe Men's Player of the Year twice, and won a Euroscar Player of the Year award in 2012.
Kirilenko is nicknamed "AK-47", in reference to both his initials, the jersey number he wore, and the AK-47 rifle. Coincidentally, Kirilenko was born in the city of Izhevsk, in the former Soviet Union (now in Russia), where the weapon was first manufactured. In January 2011, he became an U.S. citizen.

Tomoyuki Hirase

Tomoyuki Hirase (平瀬 智行, Hirase Tomoyuki, born May 23, 1977) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.

Andrey Kivilev

Andrei Mikhailovich Kivilev (Russian: Андрей Михайлович Кивилёв, 20 September 1973 – 12 March 2003) was a professional road bicycle racer from Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan. In March 2003, he crashed during the Paris–Nice race and subsequently died of his injuries. His death was the trigger for the UCI to implement the compulsory wearing of helmets in all endorsed races.

Aguida Amaral

Aguida (or Agueda) Amaral (born May 27, 1972) is an East Timorese athlete. She was one of the first athletes to represent East Timor at the Olympic Games, when she ran the marathon at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She technically competed as an individual athlete because East Timor was newly independent and had not yet been formally recognized by the International Olympic Committee. With a time of 3:10:55, she finished 43rd out of the 45 runners who completed the race, although eight other runners failed to finish.
The Associated Press reported:

Not realizing she had one more lap to run, Amaral stopped near the finish line and placed her hands together as she knelt to the track. An official gently informed Amaral she was not done, and she took one more lap to rousing applause.The Independent likewise reported that Amaral "completed the course to a standing ovation".The Sydney Olympics followed East Timor's declaration of independence from Indonesia in 1999, and the ensuing violence. Amaral had fled her home in Dili, stayed in a refugee camp, and returned eventually to find it looted and burned. Along with her home and other belongings, her only pair of running shoes had been destroyed in the arson attack. She trained for the Olympics by running barefoot, until shoes were donated to her by Australia.CNN described her arrival in the stadium as "the most moving moment" of the race. The New York Times wrote that her "performance in the Sydney Games inspired the world", and described her as "a source of national pride".Amaral competed again at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, this time formally representing East Timor - the only one aside from fellow marathonist Gil Da Cruz Trindade. She finished with a time of 3:18:25, being 65th of the 66 runners who completed the marathon - her time over half an hour faster than that of Mongolia's Luvsanlkhündegiin Otgonbayar.Amaral is a police officer, and, as of 2004, has four children.

List of Olympic athletes born in Asia, listed alphabetically with photos when available. These famous Olympians from Asia have achieved some of the highest ...

Celebrities

How many celebrities named Donna can you think of? The famous Donnas below have many different professions, including notable actors named Donna, famous athletes named Donna, and even musicians named Donna.

Donna Summer is certainly one of the most famous Donnas on this list. One of the famous singers named Donna, she is known as the Queen of Disco. &ldquo;Love to Love You Baby,&rdquo; &ldquo;I Feel Love,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Bad Girls&rdquo; are among her biggest hits.

Another of the famous people with the first name Donna is Donna Reed. She was an actress who appeared in It&#39;s a Wonderful Life and From Here to Eternity. She also starred in The <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/full-cast-of-the-donna-reed-show-cast-list-for-the-show-the-donna-reed-show/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Donna Reed Show</a> from 1958 to 1966.&nbsp;Donna Bullock, Donna Mitchell, and Donna Orender are also <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/fictional-characters-named-donna/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">famous people named Donna</a>.&nbsp;

Did we forget one of your favorite famous women named Donna? Just add them to the list!