Gold Medalists: Celebs Who Could've Been Olympians
These A-listers were once top athletes.
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Master P - With the glamour of the Olympics, the world's best athletes are getting a taste of the celebrity lifestyle, but there are quite a few celebs that could have gone for the gold. Our list of would-be celebrity Olympians starts with Master P, whose basketball skills earned him two NBA contracts before he ditched the ball for the mic. (Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
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Mario Lopez - He became every teenager's fantasy as chauvinistic wrestler AC Slater on Saved By the Bell, but Lopez competed for his real-life high school wrestling team. The muscle-icious actor even came in seventh place during a California state tournament. (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
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Jennifer Lopez - When this mother-of-two was trying to get her world-famous booty back in shape after giving birth to twins, she took a page from the ancient Greeks and signed up for a triathlon. Lopez trained for months for the event, an all-day feat of running, cycling and swimming, and the results — a better-than-ever bod — may be better than a gold medal. (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour Magazine)
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Djimon Hounsou - Before Hollywood found him, Kimora Lee's hubby very nearly took up a career in soccer. The Amistad actor admitted he could have gone pro, but he "became passionate about something else." (Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
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Common - This rapper-turned-actor played a basketball player in Just Wright, and was able to reach back to his childhood for inspiration. As a ball boy for the Chicago Bulls in the 1980s, Common saw the arrival of Michael Jordan on the team. The proximity to the Great One helped him with his own semi-pro game. (Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
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P!nk - Anyone who has seen this Philly-born rock star on stage is as impressed with her athleticism as her voice. Her effortless leaps across the stage are the direct result of eight years of rigorous gymnastics training she experienced as a child. Another by-product? Her toned frame. "Gymnasts are short, stocky, muscular powerhouses," she told Shape magazine, downplaying her enviable bod. (Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
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Queen Latifah - Is there anything Dana Owens can't do? The rapper/model/actor/producer/entrepreneur is also a skilled basketball player. After a growth spurt put her at 5'10", she put her height to use as power forward for her high school's girls' basketball team. (Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
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Tom Cruise - If this movie star thing doesn't work out for him, this A-lister can always go back to his first love: sports. In school, Cruise was ruthlessly competitive in floor hockey, basketball, wrestling, soccer and football. Sounds like his Hollywood nickname, "The Laser," applied then, too. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Ellen DeGeneres - Those long, lanky limbs are good for more than just dancing in the aisles of her talk show set. The comedian and television host was an ace tennis player at her Atlanta high school. "I was very much a tomboy," she said of her school days. Some things don't change! (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for GLAAD)
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Boris Kodjoe - His one-in-a-million good looks pretty much destined him for the big screen, but Kodjoe could have easily become a star on the tennis court. The Brown Sugar actor made waves as a tennis champ at Virginia Commonwealth University before he started scoring more points on the red carpet. (Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Photo By Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
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