Michigan in the Olympics - 2024 University of Michigan Athletics (2024)

Michigan in the Olympics

2024 - Paris

William DeHart Hubbard, 1924

One hundred years ago U-M was represented by four track athletes at the VIII Olymiad in Paris. William DeHart Hubbard won the gold medal in the broad jump and James Brooker bronze in the pole vault. Hubbard was the first African American athlete to win an individual gold medal.

This year at the XXXIII Olympiad, 42 athletes with U-M connections will compete in 13 sports, representing 22 Olympic teams. Three more will be competingin the Paralympic Games.

Chances are good the U-M medal haul will be greater than two.

Elena Olsen

Rugby Sevens - Women

Elena Olsen, U-M LS&A 2018, is the first U-M athlete to compete in Rugby 7s, a sport introduced at the 2016 games in Rio De Janeiro. The Caledonia, Michigan native had never played rugby when she happened to catch the U-M women's rugby club team practicing during her freshman year. She was immediately hooked. She competed for the club team 2014-2018, earning all-American honors in 2015 and 2016. Olsen made her USA Rugby debut in 2019 and was a member of the US team that finished fourth in the 2022 Rugby World Cup (7s) in Cape Town. She has competed professionally for the Southern Headliners in the Premier Rugby Sevens league.

Golf - Women

Ashley Lau

Ashley Lau recorded many "firsts" for women's golf during her U-M career and has now added another -- first Michigan golfer to make the Olympics. She was included in the June Olympic Golf Ranking (Top 60), by the International Golf Federation to represent Malaysia.

Lau was born in Bintulu, Sarawak,Malaysia and attended Hills International prep school in Queensland, Australia. At U-M (2019-2023) she was U-M's first ever Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) First Team All-America, first Big Ten Golfer of the Year, first winner of the Big Ten May Fossum Award for lowest scoring average (71.70) and helped U-M to its first Big Ten Title, all in 2022. Her name is scattered throughout the U-M record book. She joined the professional ranks in 2023 on the Epson Tour and is now playing on the WLPGA Australasia Tour.

Field Hockey

Abby Tamer, at U-M and with U.S. Team

No Michigan athlete had ever made an Olympic field hockey team. Abby Tamer may have been destined to break that drought. Her father Kris played ice hockey for Michigan, 1990-1993 and spent 11 seasons with three NHL clubs. Her mother Keely Libby was a field hockey letterwinner at UM 1990-1993 and now runs the Pinnacle Field Hockey club in Dexter MI, and is executive Director for Great Lakes Regional Field Hockey. Older sister Emma lettered for U-M 2018-2021. Abby played for U-M 2020-2021 and then joined the U.S. national team. She scored the game winning goal in the 2-1 win over Japan in the semifinals of the Olympic Qualifier in January that guaranteed a U.S. berth in Paris.

Swimming - Women

Maggie MacNeil Siobhán Haughey

2020 Tokyo medalists Maggie MacNeil (Canada) and Siobhán Haughey (Hong Kong) lead the U-M women's swimming contingent in Paris. MacNeil, defending gold medalist in 100m butterfly, swam for U-M (2019-2022) and was the first woman to break the 48 second barrier in the event at the 2021 NCAA meet. She also won a silver medal in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay and a bronze in the 4x100-meter medley relay in Tokyo.

Haughey (U-M 2016-2019), is making her third Olympic appearance. She claimed silver medals in the 100 and 200-meter freestyle events in Tokyo.

U-M's Hong Kong connection is kept alive by Natalie Kan. She lettered in 2022-2024, earning second team all-Big Ten recognition in 2023. Kan will likely be swimming in 4x100 medley relay and the 4x100 freestyle relay.

Letitia Sim will be U-M's first Singapore Olympian. Born in Singapore and raised in Spanish Fort AL, Sim won varsity Ms in 2022 and 2023 before taking a redshirt year to train for the Olympics. She is a three-time CSCAA All-American (100-yard Breaststroke, 400-yard Medley Relay, 200-yard Medley Relay.) She clinched an Olympic spot in December 2023 with a Singapore national record of 30.92 in the 50m breaststroke in a preliminary at the Japan Open. She also holds national records in 200m breaststroke and 200m individual medley.

Natalie Kan Letitia Sim Stephanie Balduccini Rebecca Diaconescu

Stephanie Balduccini, a 2024 freshman from Sao Paulo, Brazil, arrived on campus with Olympic experience. She swam at the Rio de Janeiro 2020 games at age 16. She swam the anchor leg on Brazil's 4x100m freestyle relay (12th place) and the last leg of the 4x100m medley relay (14th place). She is a three-time Brazilian national champion. She will compete in the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays.

Incoming freshman Rebecca Diaconescu, from Las Vegas Palo Verde high school, will be swimming for Romania. It is a family tradition. Her mother Lorena was a two-time Olympian for Romania, 1996 and 2000, competing in six events with a best finish of 4th place in the 4x200 freestyle relay in 2000. Rebecca had originally committed to Louisville before switching to U-M.

Swimming - Men

Felix Auböck will represent Austria for the third time, qualifying in multiple freestyle events. In Tokyo he placed fourth in 400m freestyle and 7th in the 800 and 1500m races. He swam for U-M 2017-2020, was a 7-time Big Ten champion, earned 9 all-American honors, and was an NCAA Champion in 2019.

Felix Auböck Gal Groumi Charlie Swanson Yousuf Al Matrooshi

Gal Groumi made the 2020 Israeli team before enrolling at U-M for the 2022 season. In three years of competition for the Wolverines he has won five Big Ten titles and was named Swimmer of the Championships 2024. He competed in three relay events in Tokyo with a best finish of 8th place in the 4x100 Medley Relay. He is scheduled for the 100m fly, 4x100m free relay, 4x200m free relay, and mixed medley relay in Paris.

Charlie Swanson making the Olympic team as a breaststroker was a bit of a surprise. His best event at U-M (2017-2020) was the 400m individual medley and he won a gold medal in the event at the 2019 Pan Am games. After graduation he focused on the breaststroke and it paid off when he touched second in the 100m breaststroke in the U.S. trials in Indianapolis.

Yousuf Al-Matrooshi of the United Arab Emirates received a wild-card invite to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The 18-year old from Dubai finished 50th in the 100m freestyle and carried the UAE flag in the opening ceremony. He enrolled at U-M for the 2022/23 season and earned his first varsity letter in 2024. He will again swim the 100m freestyle.

Eduardo Moraes Eitan Ben sh*trit Nikola Acin Lorne Wigginton

John Jontvedt

Eduardo Moraes swam for U-M as a sophom*ore in 2022/23 after a year at Penn State. He will represent Brazil in the 4x200m freestyle relay in Paris. He is U-M's third male Olympian from Brazil. Eitan Ben sh*trit was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in in 2023. He is Michigan's second Israeli Olympian.

Incoming freshmen Lorne Wigginton and Jon Jontvedt will be representing Canada and Norway. Wigginton earned a spot on the 4x200m freestyle relay team by finishing third in the 200m freestyle at the Canadian trials. Jontvedt is a middle-distance freestyle specialist

Rowing

Abby Dent Paige Badenhorst

Michigan Women's Rowing has sent at least one, and usually multiple, athletes to every Summer Olympics since 2004. Abby Dent (U-M 2021-2023, Canada) and Paige Badenhorst (U-M 2018-201, South Africa) keep the streak alive. Dent, a Kenora, Ontario native, is a two-time Big Ten Champion (2021 2V8, 2023 1V8) and was Big Ten Athlete of the Year in 2023. She took the 2023/24 season off to train with the Canadian National Team and is expected to return to U-M after the Olympics. She won a gold medal with the women's 8 and a silver in the coxless pair at the 2023 Pan American games.

Badenhorst was part of two Big Ten Championship teams (2019, 2021) and was 5th seat on the 2V8 boat that won a conference title in 2021. She went on to get a masters degree from, and row for, Cambridge University. She helped the Cambridge women defeat Oxford in The Boat Race on the Thames, setting a new course record. In South Africa she has rowed for the Tuks Club. She qualified for the single sculls in Paris.

Water Polo

Abby Andrews played one year of varsity water polo for U-M. She racked up 57 goals, 71 assists and 47 steals in 32 games and was named WWPA rookie of the year in 2019. Andrews will be making her second Olympic appearance for the Australian Stingers who finished sixth in Tokyo.

Andrews plays professionally for SIS Roma and is among the Italian League's top goal scorers.

Wrestling

Two U-M Wrestlers who competed in Tokyo have earned trips to their second Olympic games -- Myles Amine (San Marino 86kg) and Stevan Micic (Serbia 57kg). Joining them in the freestyle competition will be Austin Gomez (Mexico 65kg) and Mason Parris (USA 125 kg). Amine (U-M 2017-2019, 2012-2022) earned a bronze medal in 2020 while Micic will be looking for his first match win after losing in the opening round in Tokyo. Gomez came to U-M as graduate student in 2024 after wrestling for Iowa State (2018-2020) and Wisconsin (2021-2022) with some time off due to injury. He finished 2nd at 149 lbs at the 2024 NCAA meet. He has wrestled internationally for Mexico and earned his Olympic berth at the 2024 Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament in March, including a win over defending Pan AM champion Nick Lee of Canada. Parris (U-M 2019-2023) was NCAA heavyweight champion in 2023 and a three time all-American.

Myles Amine Stevan Micic Austin Gomez Mason Parris

Adam Coon

Adam Coon will be U-M's first Greco-Roman wrestler since Steve Fraser won the 198 lb. gold medal in 1984. Coon compiled a 116-15 record while holding down the Wolverine's heavyweight spot 2014-2018, including two second place and one third place finishes in the NCAA tournament. In February 2018 at Crisler Arena he handed Ohio State's two-time NCAA champion and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder his first defeat in nearly three years, ending a 35-0 streak. Coon has considerable international experience going back to the summer of 2014 when he claimed bronze medals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at 120kg/264 pounds at the Junior World Championships. He failed to qualify for the 2020 Olympics. After a couple tryouts with NFL and XFL teams, Coon returned to training for the 2024 Greco-Roman Olympic team

Men' Gymnastics

Fred "Flipper" Richard Paul Juda

U-M will be sending it largest ever contingent of men's gymnasts to the 20204 Paris games -- four athletes and five coaches.

U-M rising junior Fred Richard won the all-around competition, placed first in the high bar, second on parallel bars, and third in floor exercise to secure a place on the U.S. team at the trials in Minneapolis. At 20 years old, he is the youngest gymnast to make the U.S. team since 1972. In two seasons of competition for the Wolverines he has racked up 8 all-American honors, 3 NCAA titles, 3 Big Ten titles and was named Big Ten Gymnast of the year in 2024

Paul Juda, (U-M 2020-2024) placed fourth in the all-around and strong enough in other events to win a spot on the team under the data-driven selection model designed to give the U.S. its best chance to win a team medal since 2008. Juda, whose Polish immigrant parents settled in Deerfield, Illinois, was a three-time NCAA champion (all-around and vault 2022, floor exercise 2024), and was a member of the bronze medal-winning U.S. team at the 2023 World Championships.

Lais Naffar Kevin Penev

Lais Naffar, a co-captain Michigan's 2024 NCAA runner up team, will represent Syria in Paris. He was born in Chicago but spent most of his early years in Syria. His father Maher was a pulmonologist who practiced in Chicago and returned to Syria every few weeks to be with the family. When his older sister entered high school the family settled in Hinsdale, IL, just prior to the outbreak of the Syrian civil war. Lais took up gymnastics at age seven to burn off excess energy and later competed for Lakshore Academy, along with future U-M teammate Ruthik Puri. He began competing internationally under the Syrian flag in 2017. At the 2023 Arab Games he placed first in floor exercise and vault, second in the horizontal bar and 3rd in vault and parallel bars. His Olympic bid came as a "universality place", part of a program designed to help athletes from underrepresented National Olympic Committees.

Kevin Penev competed for U-M as a freshman in 2019, winning second team all-Big Ten honors. Both of his parents had represented Bulgaria in international gymnastics competition. They eventually settled in upstate New York where they operated a gymnastics academy, and where Kevin was born. Kevin and his brother Eddie, who had competed for Stanford and been a member of the U.S. National team, announced in March 2023 that they would be trying out for the Bulgarian Olympic team.

Women's Soccer

Riviere, Zadorsky

2020 soccer gold medal winners Shelina Zadorsky and Jayde Riviere will both compete for Canada in Paris. It will be Zadorsky's third Olympics and the second for Riviere.

Zadorsky played for U-M 2010-2013, earning all-Big Ten First Team honors 2012 and 2013. She was captain of the 2013 team and anchored a defense that gave up just 12 goals in 23 games. She started with the Canadian national U-17 program in 2007 and was captain of the 2012 FIFA U-20 World Cup team. She joined the senior team in 2013. In 2016 she played 90 minutes in Canada's last four games. In 2020 in Tokyo she 90 played 90 minutes the first two matches but then saw action only briefly in the gold medal game.

Riviere, from Markham, Ontario, turned down professional offers to play for the Wolverines. She earned varsity letters 2019-2021, but retired from the team at the beginning of her senior year. She was named Big 10 All-Freshman Team year in 2019 and helped win the conference tournament in 2021. Riviere was first called up to the Canadian Senior Team in 2017. In 2023 she signed with Manchester United of the English Women's Super League. In the 2020 Olympics she played in 5 of Canada's seven games, starting three.

Basketball

Brothers Franz and Moritz (Mo) Wagner will take the court for Germany and incoming freshman Syla Sword will play for Canada.

Mo Wagner Franz Wagner Syla Swords

Mo Wagner (U-M 2016-2018) helped U-M to two conference tournament titles, 2017 and 2018, and the NCAA championship game in 2018. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018 and currently plays for the Orlando Magic. Mo was on the 2020 German Olympic team. Franz Wagner followed his brother to U-M. He played two seasons (2020-2021) before being selected by Orlando with the eighth pick of the 2021 NBA draft. Franz played on the 2023 national team that won Germany's first FIBA Basketball World Cup Championship.

The 18-year old Syla Sword was born in France, where her father was playing professional ball, and raised in Sudbury, Ontario., She the youngest player ever to make the Canadian Olympic squad and the second Wolverine--joining Krista Philips (2012). Shawn Swords was a member of Canada's 2000 men's Olympic basketball squad. Syla spent two years playing with the under 17 and under 19 national teams before moving up to the Senior Team. Canada qualified for the fourth consecutive Olympics by finishing third in one of the four FIBA qualifying tournaments last February.

Track and Field

Ben Flanagan

Ben Flanagan had a standout career as a cross country and distance runner at U-M, 2013-2018, capped by an outdoor 10,000-meter NCAA Championship. A race in which he was seeded 23rd of 24 entrants. But he also had Olympic dreams.

Two spots on the 2020 Canadian 5,000 meter team were sewn up by Mo Ahmed and Justyn Knight, the two fastest North Americans at the distance of all time. Flanagan made a calculated move to skip the Canadian trials in favor of an Oregon race which he thought would give him a better chance to chase the Olympic standard and secure Canada's third slot. The move failed and his Olympic dreams seemed dashed. He never second-guessed his decision, but reassessed his training and sponsorship and in 2022 moved back to Ann Arbor to reunite with his old coach Ron Warhurst and his Very Nice Track Club to pursue a 2024 Olympic bid. It paid off. Flanagan won the 5,000 meter race at the 2023 Canadian Track and Field Championships and performed well in a series of road and track races. He went after the 13:05.00 qualifying mark at the January 26, 2024 John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston. At the 4800 mark he needed a last lap of :28.22 or faster. He turned in a :27.85 for 13:04.62. He was eligible for selection to the Canadian team. Olympic dreams restored.

Ayden Owens-Delerme

Ayden Owens-Delerme will be competing in the decathlon for Puerto Rico, but took a very circuitous path to get there, including a two-year stop in Ann Arbor. He was born in Pittsburgh PA and attended athletic powerhouse North Allegheny High School in suburban Wexford. He was Pennsylvania 2018 state champion in the 110 meters hurdles, 300 meters hurdles, and 200 meters, and finished second in the long jump. He enrolled at the University of Southern California and was 2019 Pac 10 Freshman of the Year. He transferred to Michigan but lost a year to COVID and then in 2021 won the conference decathlon title, was named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year, and finished 2nd in the NCAA. All while completing a degree in Biomedical Engineering. He then transferred to Arkansas where he won the NCAA decathlon championship, was named SEC Field Athlete of the Year and earned an MBA. Owens-Delerme was a three-time NCAA Champion and nine-time all-American. His ties to Puerto Rico are through his mother's family and he visited the island annually as child. He has previously competed for Puerto Rico internationally.

Dubem Amene Cindy Sember Savannah Sutherland Sophie Linn

Dubem Amene hails from Farmington Hills MI but will be running for Nigeria in the 4x440 meter relay in Paris. He ran for U-M 2021-2024, captured the Big Ten 440 meter title in 2022, the school indoor record of :45.5, and was part of the school record setting indoor distance medley relay team. He has been competing for Nigeria since 2021 and recently won his first national championship in the 400-meter with a time of 45.44. The Nigerian 4x400 relay team, with Amene running second, secured its Olympic ticket with a 3:01.70 time at the 2024 World Relays in May.

Cindy Ofili Sember (U-M 2016-2016) will be making her third Olympic appearance in the 100 meter hurdles for Great Britain, matching the record of her sister Tiffany. She finished 4th in 2016, but following a series of injuries, could only manage a 13th place finish at the Tokyo games. She has now rounded back into form and could challenge for a medal in Paris. She placed 4th in the European Championships in June with a time of 13:56. At U-M she was a five-time Big Ten Champion and won the NCAA indoor 60-meter title in 2016. She still holds the school record in the 60 and 100-meter hurdles and the 100-meter dash.

Rising senior Savannah Sutherland could be in the medal hunt in the 400-meter hurdles for Canada. She won the NCAA title in 2023 and finished second in 2024 with a time of 53.26, a Canadian national record and the fourth fastest time of the year. In April she broke the long-standing Penn Relays record by .22 seconds.

Australian Sophie Linn ran cross country and distance events for the Wolverines 2014-2018. In 2011 she won a silver medal in the 1,500 in the Commonwealth Youth Games. As a 17-year old in 2012 she entered the tryouts for both the Australian swimming and track Olympic teams. She won a track scholarship to the University of Mississippi and was named SEC Freshman of the Year. Linn then transferred to U-M in 2014 and won her only varsity letters in the 2014/15 seasons. She was introduced to triathlon by her U-M track teammate and roommate Avery Evenson. After graduating Linn settled in Boulder CO for work and training and eventually began working remotely with the Australian triathlon coaches and team. In April 2022 she won the Gold Coast Triathlon which earned her a spot in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England where she finished fifth. She scored her first ever World Triathlon Cup win in Napier News Zealand in February 2024. Linn is U-M's third Olympic triathlete, joining Andy Potts (2004) and Valerie Barthelemy (2020).

Cycling

Canadian Cyclist Mike Woods has qualified for his third Olympics. The Ottawa native ran cross (2004-2007) and track (2005-2008) for U-M. He won the Big 10 indoor mile in 2006, but foot injuries derailed his running career. He took up cycling as therapy, but soon was riding competitively, winning his first major road race in 2011. He currently rides professionally with the Israel-Premeir Tech team. He placed 56th in the road race at the 2016 Olympics and 5th in 2020. He won a bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships. In 2023 Woods used his climbing skills to win a stage of the Tour de France. He called it "the most significant victory in my cycling career."

Paralympics

Wheelchair Rugby

Wheelchair rugby legend Chuck Aoki is playing in his fourth Paralympic Games for the U.S. after winning bronze in 2012 and silver in 2016 and 2020. He joined the staff of the University of Michigan Adaptive Sports and Fitness (ASF) department in June of 2022 as the Community Access Navigator.

Track and Field

Sam Grewe,Tokyo Olympics

U-M Medical student Sam Grewe qualified for his third Olympics in the high jump (T63). He won a silver medal in 2016 and a gold in Tokyo. Grewe lost his lower right leg to cancer before his freshman year in high school. He had been a year-round athlete growing up in Middlebury, Indiana and was determined to participate again. After rounds of physical therapy he tried out for several high school teams and eventually discovered he was pretty good at the high jump. He joined the U.S. national paralympic team in 2015 and won the world T42 title in 2015, 2017 , and 2019. He attended Notre Dame University and was member of the varsity track team, graduating in 2021.

Leo Merle

2024 Dental School grad Leo Merle will be competing in the 1500 meter race in Paris. He was selected for the U.S Paralympic Team in the T34 category which includes high functioning individuals with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and/or cerebral palsy (CP). Like many many competitors in the category, Merele has limitations of movement in his lower leg caused by a form of cerebral palsy. Despite this, he competed in track in high school and for the University of California Santa Cruz varsity. Merle discovered para-athlete competition just five years ago watching videos of the 2012 London games. His first para-athlete event was the 2019 U.S. under 23 nationals during his junior year at UCSC. He won the 5,000 meter race, setting a new U.S U23 record. He has had success in international competition including a gold medal in the 1500-meters at the Parapan American Games in November 2023. At the U.S. Paralympics Trial he finished second with a time of 4:06.47, just off his personal best of 4:06.30, which had been the U.S. record earlier in the year.

The U-M Results - 2024 -Paris

Table of Contents | 2022-Beijing | Name Index