Five Olympians who take poker seriously
Forget random famous people playing poker because they are bored, these genuine Olympians are also true poker players.
Audley Harrison
In 2000 British boxer Audley Harrison won the Gold medal in the Super Heavyweight category and went on to become European champion at Heavyweight as a professional.
It also turned out he was a pretty accomplished poker player which he largely kept under-the-radar (other than a former Full Tilt endorsement deal).
He is a regular in the cash games in Atlantic City and has recorded some big results, including $76,895 and $90,298 scores at final tables in the US.
Neymar Jnr
Arguably the most famous poker enthusiast, Neymar Jnr was in the Brazil squad that won Silver in the 2012 Olympics and is playing for them again this year.
Famously he chose not watch his side lose to Germany in the World Cup semi-final so he could play poker instead, something which got him noticed as a poker fanatic.
Since then he has been a huge signing for PokerStars and plays all the time, including quite a lot online.
Petter Northug
Norway's Petter Northug is one of the most accomplished cross country skiers in the world and boasts two Golds, one Silver and one Bronze at the Winter Olympics.
He is also a genuinely sick high stakes online poker player who frequents the $50/$100 PLO tables against the likes of Doug Polk and Ben Sulsky.
While he has opted out of results-tracking he has recorded winning sessions as big as $130,000 in a single day before.
Fatima Moreira de Melo
The Netherlands own Fatima Moreira de Melo has won just about everything there is to win in Field Hockey, including a Bronze, a Silver and a Gold at the last three Olympic's respectively.
Despite such an impressive record, she is perhaps better known in poker circles for being a bonafide PokerStars Pro with almost $500,000 in live winnings alone.
On top of all that, she recently revealed she was a pretty talented singer too.
Michael Phelps
We could argue about whether Neymar Jnr was more famous than him, but in terms of Olympic success Michael Phelps is the most famous poker enthusiast.
At the time of writing (and no doubt it will change by the time you read this) he has 22 Golds, two Silvers and two Bronze Olympic medals.
He is also one of the biggest fans of poker on this list. He is friends with the likes of Phil Hellmuth and Antonio Esfandiari, he regularly plays high stakes cash games and has been spotted at the WSOP and the PCA. If he finally retires from swimming this year he likely has a sponsorship deal or two waiting for him in poker.
Did we miss a famous poker playing Olympian? Let us know in the comments.
