George Franklin Tucker is a Puerto Rican

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 physicist

Physicist

A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...

 and former Olympic

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 luge

Luge

A Luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh 21-25 kilograms for singles and 25-30 kilograms for doubles. Luge...

r.

He represented Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico at the 1984 Winter Olympics

Puerto Rico competed in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.The country's only representative was George Tucker, who finished last in the luge event. - Luge:Men-References:**...

 in the luge event at the 1984 Winter Olympics

1984 Winter Olympics

The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from 8–19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Other candidate cities were Sapporo, Japan; and Gothenburg, Sweden...

 in Sarajevo

Sarajevo

Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....

, and was the only Puerto Rican representative at the Games. He was also the country's flagbearer. Tucker was, at the time, a doctoral student

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

 at Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He was later described by Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

as "overweight but quick-witted" and as "the press's favorite loser". He finished last in his event, and reportedly "got a lot more press in the States than Paul Hildgartner

Paul Hildgartner

Paul Hildgartner is an Italian of German descent former luger who competed from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. Competing in five Winter Olympics, he earned two gold medals and one silver medal for his efforts...

, the Italian who won the gold medal". He described himself as "the luger who dripped blood", and Time

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

reported that he "shed alarming amounts of skin bouncing off the wall".

Tucker represented Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico at the 1988 Winter Olympics

Puerto Rico competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada.The country sent nine representatives to the Games; they competed in three sports.- Alpine skiing:MenWomen- Biathlon:Men...

 again at the 1988 Winter Olympics

1988 Winter Olympics

The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...

 in Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, but was, this time, one of nine Puerto Rican competitors. Tucker competed in the luge with team mate Raul Muniz.

According to Puerto Rican bobsled coach Rich Kolko, Tucker in 1984 "set the standard for Caribbean nations competing" in Winter sports - such as the Jamaican bobsled team.