Utahn’s hopes alive and well to add Olympic summer medal to winter’s

Photo: Flickr

TOKYO, Japan. — Eddy Alvarez, 2nd baseman for Team USA Baseball, had four at-bats with no runs against The Dominican Republic today in Tokyo but in this team sport,  he still gets to claim the “W”. In his individual winter Olympic sport of speed skating, in which he has a silver medal, that’s not the case.

Team USA beat the team from the Dominican Republic 3 – 1 allowing Alvarez and his teammates to continue to the next of baseball’s elimination rounds. Alvarez, who plays for the Florida Marlins, seeks to become only the third American to have both a medal in the summer and in the winter Olympic Games.

Park City’s Chris Waddell and Utahn Muffy Davis are two Paralympic athletes who’ve already claimed that title.

US Speedskating is based out of Kearns, Utah where Alvarez trained and competed at the Utah Olympic Oval.

USA men’s baseball plays Korea tomorrow, in the semifinals in the Tokyo tournament. Japan just beat Korea putting the ultimate home team squarely in the gold medal game. The loser of the USA, Korea game will play the Dominican Republic for bronze. The winner of USA, Korea goes up against the mighty Japanese in their own Yokohama Stadium to determine Olympic gold and silver on Saturday.

The two American double season medal winners are:

* Eddie Eagan, USA 

SUMMER: Light heavyweight boxing gold (1920)
WINTER: Four-man Bobsled gold (1932)

Eddie Eagan became the first person to win a medal in the winter Olympics and in the summer Olympics in different events. He is the only Summer and winter medalist to win gold medals in different events.

* Lauryn Williams, USA

SUMMER: Athletics 4×100 m relay gold (2012), and 100 m silver (2004)
WINTER: Two-woman bobsleigh silver (2014)

International double season medal winners are:

* Jacob Tullin Thams, NOR 

WINTER: Ski jumping gold (1924)
SUMMER: 8-meter yachting silver (1936)

* Christa Luding-Rothenburger, GDR 

WINTER: Speed skating gold at 500 meters (1984) and gold 1000 m (1988), silver at 500 m (1988), and bronze at 500 m (1992)
SUMMER: Match sprint cycling silver (1988)

She is the only athlete to ever win medals in both winter and summer Games in the same year.

* Clara Hughes, CAN 

SUMMER: Individual road race cycling bronze (1996), and individual time trial cycling bronze (1996)
WINTER: Speed skating gold at 5000 meters (2006), silver at team event (2006), bronze at 5000 m (2002), and bronze at 5000 m (2010)

Clara Hughes is the first person to win multiple medals in both summer and winter Games and holds the highest number of medals of any Olympian to win medals in both the summer and winter Games.