What are the origins of this fun-filled festive custom?
Serbian sport shooter Jasna Šekarić participated in the Olympics between 1988 and 2012. She has won a total of five Olympic medals, including one gold.
Jörgen Persson is a Swedish table tennis player who played every Olympic Games from when table tennis was introduced into the program in 1988 until 2012.
Ralf Schumann is a former 25 m rapid-fire pistol shooter and a three-time Olympic Champion from Germany. He participated in the games between 1988 and 2012.
Croatian table tennis player Zoran Primorac participated in seven Olympic Games between 1988 and 2012. He won silver at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.
Dutch equestrian Anky van Grunsven is the only rider to record three successive Olympic wins in the same event. She participated in the Olympic Games between 1988 and 2012.
Jeannie Longo is a French racing cyclist who competed in seven Olympic Games between 1984 and 2008. She has four medals under her belt, including a gold medal.
Jos Lansink is a Dutch equestrian who represented the Netherlands in four Olympics and Belgium in three other games. He competed between 1988 and 2012.
Ragnar Skanåker is a Swedish competitive pistol shooter who had his international breakthrough in the 1972 Olympics, where he won a gold medal. He participated until the 1996 games.
A former track and field sprinter, Merlene Ottey began her career representing Jamaica in 1978, and continued to do so for 24 years, before representing Slovenia from 2002 to 2012. She participated in the Olympics from 1980 to 2004.
Michael Plumb is an equestrian who holds the title of the US Olympic competitor who competed in the greatest number of Olympics. He competed between 1964 and 1992.
The former speed skater and track cyclist for Japan, Seiko Hashimoto participated in four consecutive Winter Olympics from 1984 to 1994 and in three consecutive Summer Olympics from 1988 to 1996.
With a total of nine Olympic medals, including five gold medals, German speed skater Claudia Pechstein competed in eight Winter Olympics.
Oksana Chusovitina is an Uzbek elite gymnast whose career spanned more than three decades. She participated in the games from 1992 to 2020, winning two Olympic medals.
An eight-time Olympian from 2004 to 2022, Brazilian Jaqueline Mourão has participated in both Summer and Winter Olympics as a cyclist, biathlete, and cross-country skier.
Spanish race walker Jesús Ángel García Bragado competed in the Olympics over a span of 29 years, from 1992 to 2020. He retired after the Tokyo Olympics.
Andrew Hoy is an Australian equestrian rider who participated in eight Olympic Games from 1984 to 2020. He has won six Olympic medals, three gold, two silvers, and one bronze.
Japanese ski jumper Noriaki Kasai participated in eight Winter Olympics from 1992 to 2018. He won two silver medals and one bronze medal.
Josefa Idem is a German-born Italian canoe sprinter who participated in eight Olympic Games from 1984 to 2012. She won a total of five medals.
Canada's Lesley Thompson is a rowing coxswain who competed at eight Olympic Games between 1984 and 2016. She won five medals.
Peruvian sports shooter Francisco Boza is another athlete who competed in eight Olympic Games between 1980 and 2016.
Durward Knowles was a sailor and Olympic champion from The Bahamas. He is one of only five athletes who have competed in the Olympics over a span of 40 years, from 1948 to 1988.
Rajmond Debevec is a Slovenian sport shooter who has won three Olympic medals. He participated in the Olympic Games between 1984 and 2012.
Paul Elvstrøm was a Danish yachtsman who participated in eight Olympic Games between 1948 and 1988. He won four gold medals in sailing.
Together with his elder brother Piero D'Inzeo, Raimondo D'Inzeo was the first athlete to compete in eight consecutive Olympic Games, from 1948 to 1976.
At the Rome Olympics in 1960, Raimondo won the gold medal and Piero won the silver in show jumping. Piero also participated in eight Olympic Games from 1948 to 1976.
Georgian sport shooter Nino Salukvadze is a nine-time Olympian and has won medals on three occasions. She first competed in 1988 for the Soviet Union and later for Georgia until 2020.
Austrian Hubert Raudaschl participated in nine Olympic Games between 1964 and 1996. He won two Olympic silver medals, one in Mexico City in 1968 for Finn sailing, and the other one in Moscow in 1980 for Star sailing.
The athlete with the most Olympic participation, Canadian Ian Millar started his Olympic journey at Munich in 1972 and ended at London in 2012. He was only absent from the 1980 Summer Olympics due to Canada's boycott.
Sources: (Olympics) (Britannica)
See also: The marijuana ban, and other questionable rules Olympic athletes have to follow
Swedish fencer Kerstin Palm competed in seven Olympic Games from 1964 to 1988, which is a record for a female fencer.
Ivan Joseph Martin Osiier was a Danish fencer who competed in the Olympics over a span of 40 years. He participated between 1908 and 1948.
Curious? Click on to discover the athletes who participated in the most Olympics ever.
Athletes who participated in the most Olympic Games
Some athletes competed for over 40 years
LIFESTYLE Sports
A small part of the world population has appeared in the Olympics, and an even smaller proportion has competed in more than one Olympic Games. As one can imagine, the Olympic Games' participation differs drastically depending on the athlete's sport. Some categories allow the athlete greater longevity at the elite level, such as equestrianism, shooting, sailing, and fencing.
Curious? Click on to discover the athletes who participated in the most Olympics ever.