We don’t know about you, but we cheered crazy hard for the 25 athletes and coaches from the University of Texas who competed in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, even though a handful of them competed for other nations.
In fact, we’re not at all ashamed to admit that we wept a little when Michelle Carter and Ryan Crouser swept the Shot Put in epic fashion and that Joseph Schooling, who is currently attending UT, nearly gave us a friggin’ heart attack when he beat supposedly indomitable Michael Phelps in the 100m Butterfly.
You can find out all of the details on UT’s #BevoInRio website, but here’s a handy overview of how everyone did:
THE MEDAL COUNT
Regardless of which country they competed for, former and current UT student-athletes earned a total of 13 medals — 10 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze. Amazingly, this magnitude of success isn’t uncommon for UT. According to UT, in both the 2000 Sydney Games and 2008 Beijing Games, Longhorns also scored 10 gold medals and in the 2004 Athens Olympics, they snagged 11.
UT also confirmed that if Texas had entered the Olympics as its own nation this year, UT’s athletes’ performances alone would have put Texas in 7th place overall where gold medals are concerned and 20th place overall for total medals.
All of this means that Longhorn athletes are responsible for a total of 144 medals since the 1936 Berlin Games — 83 gold, 38 silver, and 23 bronze. Niiiiice.
LONGHORN ATHLETES & COACHES WHO COMPETED FOR TEAM USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWKpyXcV0DM
16 athletes and coaches affiliated with the University of Texas in some way or another competed on Team USA in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil — and some of them kicked serious ass.
RACHEL ADAMS competed in Indoor Volleyball on the USA’s Women’s Volleyball team. Her team earned a Bronze by defeating The Netherlands 3-1. Watch USA win Bronze.
MOROLAKE AKINOSUN competed in the 4 x 100m Relay and served as an alternate runner for the 100m on the USA’s Women’s Track & Field team. Her 4 x 100m team earned a Gold by running a 41.77. Watch USA win Gold.
KATE BERTKO competed in the Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls on the USA’s Women’s Rowing team. She did not earn a medal, but she placed 4th. Watch Bertko win the Olympic Trials.
MICHELLE CARTER competed in the Shot Put on the USA’s Women’s Track & Field team. She earned a Gold medal and set an American record of 20.68. Watch Carter win Gold.
JACK CONGER competed in the 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay on the USA’s Men’s Swimming team. His team earned a Gold medal by swimming a 7:06.74. Watch USA win Gold.
RYAN CROUSER competed in the Shot Put on the USA’s Men’s Track & Field team. He earned a Gold medal and set an Olympic record by throwing a 22.52. Watch Crouser win Gold.
KEVIN DURANT competed on the USA’s Men’s Basketball team. His team earned a Gold by defeating Serbia in the finals 96-66. Durant is UT’s first repeat gold medalist. Watch USA win Gold.
JIMMY FEIGEN competed in the 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay on the USA’s Men’s Swimming team. His team earned a Gold by swimming a 3:12.48. Watch USA win Gold.
TOWNLEY HAAS competed in the 200m Freestyle and the 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay on the USA’s Men’s Swimming team. Haas placed 5th in the 200m Freestyle and his 4 x 200m team earned a Gold medal by swimming a 7:00.66. Watch USA win Gold.
MARIELLE HALL competed in the 10,000m Run on the USA’s Women’s Track & Field team. She did not earn a medal, but placed 33rd. Watch Hall qualify at the Olympic Trials.
ROBYNE JOHNSON assistant coached Jumps/Combined Events on the USA’s Women’s Track & Field team.
COURTNEY OKOLO competed in the 4 x 400m Relay on the USA’s Women’s Track & Field team. Her team earned a Gold by running a 3:19.06. Watch USA win Gold.
BYRON ROBINSON competed in the 400m hurdles on the USA’s Men’s Track & Field team. He did not earn a medal, but placed 9th. Watch Robinson qualify at the Olympic Trials.
MARIO SATEGNA assistant coached Throws on the USA’s Men’s Track & Field team.
CLARK SMITH competed in the 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay on the USA’s Men’s Swimming team. His team earned a Gold by swimming a 7:06.74. Watch USA win Gold.
ASHLEY SPENCER competed in the 400m Hurdles on the USA’s Women’s Track & Field team. She earned a Bronze by running a 53.72. Watch Spencer win Bronze.
ERIK SULLIVAN managed the USA’s Men’s Volleyball team. His team won a Bronze by defeating Russia 3-2. Watch USA win Bronze.
LONGHORN ATHLETES & COACHES WHO COMPETED FOR OTHER COUNTRIES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuweNri8E6s
UT is also connected to 8 athletes and coaches who didn’t compete on Team USA, but instead represented their home countries in the games. We’re obviously a little biased toward Team USA, but considering our love for all things UT, we loved watching these folks succeed too:
JOANNA EVANS competed in the 200m, 400m, and 800m Freestyle for The Bahamas’ Women’s Swimming team. She did not earn any medals, but finished 37th, 13th and 23rd, respectively. Listen to an interview with Evans on her performance.
CHRISANN GORDON competed in the 4 x 400m Relay for Jamaica’s Women’s Track & Field team. Her team earned a Silver by running a 3:22.38. Watch Jamaica win Silver.
EDDIE REESE coached athlete Joseph Schooling on Singapore’s Men’s Swimming team in the 100m Freestyle and the 100m Butterfly. He led Schooling to earn a Gold medal and Olympic record in the 100m Butterfly. Watch Schooling win Gold.
MIGUEL REYES VARELA competed in Men’s Doubles on Mexico’s Men’s Tennis team. He did not earn a medal, but advanced to the 2nd Round. Watch an interview with Varela with VAVEL MEXICO.
JOSEPH SCHOOLING competed in the 100m Freestyle and the 100m Butterfly on Singapore’s Men’s Swimming team. He placed 16th in the 100m Freestyle and earned a Gold medal and Olympic record of 50.39 in the 100m Butterfly, beating Michael Phelps in what is widely considered to be Phelps’ “best” event. Watch Schooling win Gold.
BRANDON STONE competed in Individual Stroke Play on South Africa’s Men’s Golf team. He did not earn a medal, but tied for 55th place. Watch an interview with Stone on competing in the Olympics.
JHONATTAN VEGAS competed in Individual Stroke Play on Venezuela’s Men’s Golf team. He did not earn a medal, but tied for 50th place. Watch Jhonattan Vegas’ highlights at the 2016 Barbasol PGA Tournament.
JAMAL WILSON competed in the High Jump on The Bahamas’ Men’s Track & Field team. He did not earn a medal, but tied for 25th place. Watch Wilson jump at the Portland 2016 World Indoor Championships.
Yep, we’re super proud of these guys and gals. Keep up the epicness, y’all. Way to represent UT — and ATX!
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Featured photo: YouTube user The University of Texas at Austin
