25 Olympic Gold Medalists With Long Island Roots

Sue Bird competes for Team USA during the 2012 London Olympics. Photo: Samantha Beddoes, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Long Island has produced and developed Olympic champions across basketball, figure skating, track and field, boxing, soccer, swimming, weightlifting, rugby, and sailing. Some were born in Nassau or Suffolk County, others grew up and developed their athletic careers here, and several came through Oyster Bay’s historic sailing culture.

For this list, every athlete had to win at least one official Olympic gold medal and have a substantial Long Island connection through birthplace, upbringing, schooling, residence during their athletic development, or a major Long Island sports institution. That distinction removes a number of accomplished Long Island Olympians who competed at the Games but never won Olympic gold.

1. Sue Bird – Syosset (Nassau County)

• Sport: Women’s Basketball
• Olympic Gold Medals: 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, 2016 Rio de Janeiro, 2020 Tokyo
• The Long Island Roots: Born and raised in Syosset, Bird attended Syosset High School before transferring to Christ the King in Queens. She became one of the most decorated basketball players in Olympic history, winning five consecutive gold medals with the United States.

2. Sarah Hughes – Manhasset / Great Neck (Nassau County)

• Sport: Figure Skating
• Olympic Gold Medal: 2002 Salt Lake City
• The Long Island Roots: Born in Manhasset and raised in Great Neck, Hughes attended Great Neck North High School while developing into one of the country’s leading figure skaters. At the 2002 Winter Olympics, she rose from fourth place after the short program to win the women’s singles gold medal.

3. Al Oerter – New Hyde Park / West Islip

• Sport: Track and Field, Discus
• Olympic Gold Medals: 1956 Melbourne, 1960 Rome, 1964 Tokyo, 1968 Mexico City
• The Long Island Roots: Oerter was born in Astoria but grew up in Nassau County and attended Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park. He later lived for many years in West Islip. Oerter became the first athlete to win the same individual Olympic event at four consecutive Games.

4. Derrick Adkins – Lakeview / Malverne (Nassau County)

• Sport: Track and Field, 400-Meter Hurdles
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1996 Atlanta
• The Long Island Roots: Raised in Lakeview, Adkins starred at Malverne High School before competing at Georgia Tech. He won the world championship in the 400-meter hurdles in 1995 and followed it with Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996.

5. Howard Davis Jr. – Glen Cove (Nassau County)

• Sport: Boxing, Lightweight
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1976 Montreal
• The Long Island Roots: Born and raised in Glen Cove, Davis learned boxing from his father and developed through the local amateur boxing scene. He won the lightweight gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and received the Val Barker Trophy as the outstanding boxer of the Games.

6. Charlie McAvoy – Long Beach (Nassau County)

• Sport: Men’s Ice Hockey
• Olympic Gold Medal: 2026 Milano Cortina
• The Long Island Roots: McAvoy is from Long Beach and grew up playing hockey on Long Island before continuing his development through the USA Hockey National Team Development Program and Boston University. He helped the United States win the men’s ice hockey gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

7. Crystal Dunn – Rockville Centre (Nassau County)

• Sport: Women’s Soccer
• Olympic Gold Medal: 2024 Paris
• The Long Island Roots: Dunn was born in Queens but grew up in Rockville Centre and starred at South Side High School. She won Olympic bronze with the United States in 2020 and helped the national team capture the women’s soccer gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games.

8. Raymond Barbuti – Inwood / Lawrence (Nassau County)

• Sport: Track and Field, 400 Meters
• Olympic Gold Medals: 1928 Amsterdam, 400 Meters and 4×400-Meter Relay
• The Long Island Roots: Although born in Brooklyn, Barbuti grew up in the Inwood and Lawrence area and became a standout athlete at Lawrence High School. At the 1928 Amsterdam Games, he won the individual 400-meter title and added a second gold medal in the 4×400-meter relay.

9. Paul Drayton – Glen Cove (Nassau County)

• Sport: Track and Field, Sprints
• Olympic Gold Medals: 1964 Tokyo, 4×100-Meter Relay
• The Long Island Roots: Born in Glen Cove, Drayton became an elite American sprinter and competed collegiately at Villanova. He won silver in the 200 meters at the 1964 Olympics and then ran the opening leg for the United States 4×100-meter relay team that won gold in world-record time.

10. Mitch Kupchak – Hicksville / Brentwood

• Sport: Men’s Basketball
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1976 Montreal
• The Long Island Roots: Born in Hicksville and a graduate of Brentwood High School, Kupchak became an All-American at the University of North Carolina. He played for the undefeated United States men’s basketball team that won Olympic gold in Montreal in 1976.

11. Shannon MacMillan – Syosset (Nassau County)

• Sport: Women’s Soccer
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1996 Atlanta
• The Long Island Roots: Born in Syosset, MacMillan later became one of the major figures in the rise of the United States women’s national team. She won Olympic gold at the inaugural women’s soccer tournament in 1996 and later earned Olympic silver in 2000.

12. Bill Nieder – Hempstead / Lawrence (Nassau County)

• Sport: Track and Field, Shot Put
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1960 Rome
• The Long Island Roots: Nieder was born in Hempstead and attended Lawrence High School, where he became the first high school athlete to surpass 60 feet with the 12-pound shot. He won Olympic silver in 1956 and captured the shot put gold medal in Rome in 1960.

13. Pokey Watson – Mineola (Nassau County)

• Sport: Swimming
• Olympic Gold Medals: 1964 Tokyo, 4×100-Meter Freestyle Relay; 1968 Mexico City, 200-Meter Backstroke
• The Long Island Roots: Lillian “Pokey” Watson was born in Mineola before developing into one of America’s leading swimmers. She won relay gold at the 1964 Olympics and returned four years later to win the individual 200-meter backstroke title in Mexico City.

14. John Davis – Smithtown (Suffolk County)

• Sport: Weightlifting
• Olympic Gold Medals: 1948 London, 1952 Helsinki
• The Long Island Roots: Born in Smithtown, Davis became one of the dominant heavyweight lifters of his era. He won consecutive Olympic heavyweight gold medals in 1948 and 1952 as part of a competitive career in which he went unbeaten for many years.

15. Larry Brown – Long Beach (Nassau County)

• Sport: Men’s Basketball
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1964 Tokyo
• The Long Island Roots: Brown was born in Brooklyn but grew up in Long Beach and starred at Long Beach High School before playing at the University of North Carolina. He was a member of the unbeaten United States men’s basketball team that won Olympic gold in Tokyo in 1964.

16. Alan Valentine – Glen Cove (Nassau County)

• Sport: Rugby
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1924 Paris
• The Long Island Roots: Born in Glen Cove, Valentine played rugby while studying at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and helped organize the United States team for the 1924 Olympics. The Americans defeated France to win the rugby gold medal in Paris.

Long Island’s Olympic history also runs through Oyster Bay and the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club. The club became one of the country’s great centers of international small-boat racing, and its sailors were central to American Olympic victories in the 6-metre class in 1948 and 1952.

17. John Adams Morgan – Oyster Bay / Northport

• Sport: Sailing, 6-Metre Class
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1952 Helsinki
• The Long Island Roots: Morgan was born in Oyster Bay and was listed with a Northport residence on the 1952 United States Olympic team. He crewed aboard Herman Whiton’s Llanoria, which won the Olympic 6-metre gold medal in Helsinki.

18. Eric Ridder – Hewlett / Locust Valley

• Sport: Sailing, 6-Metre Class
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1952 Helsinki
• The Long Island Roots: Born in Hewlett and later associated with Locust Valley, Ridder was part of the Long Island sailing world centered around Oyster Bay. He crewed aboard Llanoria for the United States team’s 1952 Olympic gold medal and later co-skippered the winning yacht Constellation in the 1964 America’s Cup.

19. Mike Mooney – Oyster Bay

• Sport: Sailing, 6-Metre Class
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1948 London
• The Long Island Roots: Mooney was from Oyster Bay and raced for the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club. He was a crew member aboard Herman Whiton’s Llanoria when the boat won the Olympic 6-metre gold medal at the 1948 Games.

20. James H. Smith Jr. – Oyster Bay

• Sport: Sailing, 6-Metre Class
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1948 London
• The Long Island Roots: Smith was from Oyster Bay and sailed for Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club. He joined Whiton, Mooney, Lee Loomis, and Jim Weekes aboard Llanoria for the 1948 Olympic 6-metre victory.

21. Herman “Swede” Whiton – Oyster Bay / Jericho

• Sport: Sailing, 6-Metre Class
• Olympic Gold Medals: 1948 London, 1952 Helsinki
• The Long Island Roots: Whiton was born in Ohio, but his sailing career was deeply rooted in Long Island. He did most of his sailing out of Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club in Oyster Bay and was listed as a Jericho resident on the 1952 United States Olympic team. As skipper of Llanoria, he won Olympic gold in both 1948 and 1952.

22. Lee Loomis – Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club

• Sport: Sailing, 6-Metre Class
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1948 London
• The Long Island Roots: Loomis was born in Tuxedo Park, New York, but his Olympic sailing affiliation was Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club in Oyster Bay. He crewed aboard Llanoria during the United States team’s 1948 Olympic gold-medal campaign.

23. Jim Weekes – Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club

• Sport: Sailing, 6-Metre Class
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1948 London
• The Long Island Roots: Weekes represented Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club in Oyster Bay, where his family had deep ties to the club. He was a member of Whiton’s 1948 Llanoria crew that captured the Olympic 6-metre gold medal.

24. Julian Roosevelt – Oyster Bay

• Sport: Sailing, 6-Metre Class
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1952 Helsinki
• The Long Island Roots: Roosevelt was an active member of Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club and a lifelong supporter of sailing in Oyster Bay. He won Olympic gold as a crew member aboard Llanoria in 1952 and later became a member of the International Olympic Committee.

25. Everard Endt – Llanoria and the Oyster Bay Olympic Sailing Team

• Sport: Sailing, 6-Metre Class
• Olympic Gold Medal: 1952 Helsinki
• The Long Island Roots: Endt was born in the Netherlands and became a United States citizen, so his Long Island connection comes through the Oyster Bay-centered Llanoria program rather than birthplace. He crewed for Herman Whiton alongside Long Island sailors Eric Ridder, Julian Roosevelt, and John Morgan when the United States won the 6-metre Olympic gold medal in 1952.

Quick Reference: 25 Olympic Gold Medalists With Long Island Roots

For more notable Long Islanders, read 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Were From Nassau County, New York and 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Were From Suffolk County, New York.