One hundred years ago, William Stevenson ’1922 took to the track in the Olympic Stadium in Paris. It was the Olympic Games that would be immortalized in the movie “Chariots of Fire” for the heroics of British sprinters. But on July 13, 1924, Stevenson joined three other Americans to race the Brits and four other teams in the 4x400 relay final. Running the second leg of the relay, the Rhodes scholar and future president of Oberlin College dashed around the track to help the Americans claim gold while setting a new world record. Stevenson was one of only four Tigers to compete at the 1924 Summer Olympics, including fencer Henry Breckinridge ’1907, shot-putter Ralph Hills ’1925 (who won bronze) and sprinter John Coard Taylor ’1923.
***GOLD MEDAL ALERT: Maia Weintraub ’26 recorded two wins in the team foil final against Italy to help the Americans win their first-ever team fencing gold medal on Aug. 1. Watch the matches here. ***
***GOLD MEDAL ALERT: Nick Mead ’21 and the American men’s four rowing team claimed gold, holding off New Zealand in the final on Aug. 1 by 0.85 seconds. It was the first American gold medal in this discipline in 64 years. Watch the exciting finish here.***
On Aug. 11, Mead was one of two American flagbearers at the closing ceremonies.
***GOLD MEDAL ALERT: Hannah Scott ’21 and her Great Britain team won gold in quadruple sculls, nipping second-place Netherlands in the final on July 31 by 0.15 seconds. Watch the comeback victory here.***
***MEDAL ALERT: Tom George ’18 and teammate Oliver Wynne-Griffith won the silver medal for Great Britain in men’s pair rowing on Aug. 2.***
As the eyes of the world turn back to Paris for the 33rd Summer Games, 26 Tigers representing 10 different nations will be competing for medals. Twenty-six Olympians is a new Princeton record, surpassing the 19 that competed at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. Princeton Athletics has launched a comprehensive Olympics website that includes details about the University’s current Olympians and will track their success in the coming weeks.
Some of the Princeton athletes are returning medalists while others are participating in the Olympics for the first time. Learn more about them below and then set your alarm clocks to wake early — Paris is six hours ahead of Princeton time — and root for the orange and black, no matter which country’s flag they are competing under.
Mo’ath Alkhawaldeh, who works for Princeton as a financial manager in Washington, D.C., will run the marathon for Jordan. Featured by Runner’s World as one of the top “50 Most Influential People in Running,” Alkhawaldeh holds a marathon personal best of 2:18:26.
Alkhawaldeh finished 65th in the marathon on Aug. 10, with a time of 2:20:01, a seasonal-best time.
Obiageri Amaechi ’21, a two-time All-American in the discus throw, will compete for Nigeria. At Princeton, she set school and Ivy League records in 2019, and earlier this year, she threw a personal best of 62.92 meters.
Amaechi finished 16th in her qualification group on Aug. 2.
Lizzie Bird ’17, a two-time Ivy League champion at Princeton and the British record holder in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, will compete again for Great Britain following her ninth-place finish at the 2021 Games in Tokyo. At Princeton, she also ran cross-country and currently holds the indoor school record in the mile, along with top-five times in the steeplechase, the 3,000, the 4x800, the 4x1500 and a top-10 time in the 1,500.
Bird set a new British national record (9:04.35) and finished seventh in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Aug. 6. Previously, she qualified for the final by finishing fast to claim fourth place in her heat on Aug. 4 with a time of 9:16.46.
Maia Chamberlain ’22, the 2018 NCAA saber champion and three-time All-American, will fence for Team USA. Chamberlain took time off from Princeton to train for the 2020 Olympics, but came up just short of making the American team. Three years later, the hard work paid off. “The key with fencing is mental toughness,” Chamberlain said. “At the collegiate level, or national or international level, everyone has a similar skillset. It’s all about experience and mentality.” She’s currently ranked No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 14 in the world.
Chamberlain and the American team lost to South Korea, 45-35, on Aug. 3. Later in the day, Chamberlain went 2-1 in her matches to help Team USA defeat Algeria, 45-28, and 1-2 against Hungary in the Americans’ 45-39 victory to claim fifth place.
Claire Collins ’19, a four-time Ivy champion and three-time All-American, will row with the women’s eight for the United States. Collins and her teammates finished seventh in the women’s four at the 2021 Games in Tokyo. Previously, Collins won bronze at the 2018 World Rowing U23 Championships and collected silver the year prior. At Princeton, she was named the winner of the C. Otto von Kienbusch Award and was nominated for the NCAA’s Woman of the Year honor.
Collins and Team USA finished fifth in the women’s eight final on Aug. 3. Previously, they placed second in their heat on July 29 and won their Repechage race on Aug. 1.
Sabrina Fang ’27, a second-team Ivy League fencer as a first-year Princeton student, will compete in foil for Canada. She won back-to-back gold medals in the women’s team foil event at the 2022 and 2023 Pan American Championships, and she’s currently ranked No. 4 in Canada and No. 54 in the world.
Canada defeated France, 38-36, before falling to the U.S., 45-31, in the team foil semifinals on Aug. 1.
Tom George ’18 will row for a Great Britain men’s pair team following a bronze medal in the men’s eight at the 2021 Games in Tokyo. He’d been a member of that team since 2018, helping to win a gold and two World Cup silver medals, two World Championships bronze medals and the 2021 European gold. At Princeton, George helped the varsity eight to three medals at Eastern Sprints, including a silver in 2016.
George and teammate, Oliver Wynne-Griffith, won the silver medal for Great Britain in men’s pair rowing on Aug. 2. Previously, their boat won its heat on July 28, and placed second in their semifinal on July 31.
Simen Guttormsen ’23, an All-American in the pole vault at Princeton, will represent Norway in Paris. He finished fourth at the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships in 2022, and earlier this year, he finished 17th at the European Championships.
Guttormsen cleared 5.60 meters during the qualifications on Aug. 3, but did not advance to the finals.
Sondre Guttormsen ’23, the elder Guttormsen sibling by 18 months, is a three-time NCAA champion and the Norwegian record-holder in the pole vault. At the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships, he cleared 6.00 meters to win the title and set a new personal best and Norwegian national record. That mark surpassed the 5.50 meters that he vaulted at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, where he finished 24th.
Guttormsen finished eighth in the pole vault, clearing 5.80 meters.
Mohamed Hamza ’23 returns for his third Olympic Games, following a seventh-place team finish for Egypt in foil at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro and an eighth-place finish in 2021 in Tokyo. In 2023, he became the first Egyptian male foil fencer to win gold at a World Cup event when he claimed victory in individual foil at an event in Mexico. At Princeton, Hamza was a three-time All-American, and he’s currently ranked No. 4 in the world.
Hamza reached the foil quarterfinals before falling to eventual silver medalist Filippo Macchi of Italy, 15-9, on July 29. Earlier in the day, he won his first foil match, 15-14, against Jan Jurkiewicz of Poland and then defeated Carlos Llavador of Spain, 15-12.
Kat Holmes ’17 returns to the Olympics after helping the Americans to fifth-place finishes in team épée fencing at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2021 Games in Tokyo. A four-time All-American and the 2017 NCAA épée runner-up while at Princeton, Holmes also helped the U.S. women’s épée team win its first Senior World Championship title in 2018. She’s currently ranked No. 4 in the U.S. and No. 50 in the world.
Holmes went 0-1 in the women’s épée team’s 31-29 loss to Poland on July 30. She rallied to go 1-1-1 in the team’s loss to South Korea, 45-39.
Hadley Husisian ’26 was the top-ranked junior woman épée fencer in the world before she arrived at Princeton, and she quickly established herself as a collegiate All-American, finishing third in the NCAA championships. As a junior competitor, she became the first Team USA fencer — woman or man — to repeat as world épée champion. She is now ranked No. 2 in the U.S. and 19th in the world.
Husisian got a win in her Olympic debut on July 27, opening with a women’s individual épée round-of-32 win for Team USA over Switzerland’s Pauline Brunner, 12-11, before a 15-12 loss to Hong Kong’s Vivian Kong Man Wai, the eventual gold medalist, in the round of 16. Husisian went 1-1-1 in the women’s épée team competition on July 30, but the Poland team advanced, 31-29.
Ashleigh Johnson ’17 has her eyes on a third medal after helping the United States women’s water polo team to back-to-back golds at the 2016 and 2021 Games. In Tokyo, she was named the top goalkeeper for the second straight Olympics, leading the tournament in saves (80) and save percentage (64.5). She made 11 saves in Team USA’s 14-5 victory against Spain to win the gold medal. Johnson finished her Princeton career with a 100-17 record, along with a school-record 1,362 saves. She was the first player in Princeton women’s water polo history to be named first-team All-American and the third ever to be picked as All-American in each of her four seasons.
Johnson made 10 saves as Team USA defeated Greece, 15-6, on July 27. The team lost to Spain on July 29, 13-11, in a game where Johnson stopped 13 shots. They bounced back with an impressive 10-3 win against Italy on Aug. 1, and a 17-5 victory against France on Aug. 2. Johnson made a tournament-high 17 saves to lead Team USA over Hungary, 5-4, in the quarterfinals on Aug. 6. The Americans lost a 6-5 penalty shootout to Australia to fall, 14-13, in the semifinals on Aug. 8, and lost a close game to Netherlands in the bronze-medal match, 11-10, on Aug. 10.
Jonas Juel ’22 will represent Norway in the men’s quadruple sculls competition. The former captain of the Princeton heavyweight crew team, he earned a bronze medal in single sculls at the 2019 U23 World Championships.
Juel and his team finished second in the Final B on July 31, with the seventh fastest time clocked in the two finals. Previously, they placed fourth in their heat on July 27, and third in the Repechage on July 29.
Emily Kallfelz ’19 will row for Team USA in women’s four, alongside Kelsey Reelick ’14. At Princeton, Kallfelz was an All-American and twice named the USRowing U23 Female Athlete of the Year.
Kallfelz and Reelick finished fifth in the final on Aug. 1. Previously, they placed fourth in their heat on July 28, and won their Repechage race on July 30.
Kareem Maddox ’11, an All-Ivy basketball player and the 2011 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, will compete for Team USA in 3x3 men’s basketball — a halfcourt version of the sport where the winner is the first to reach 21 points. A personnel and player development associate with the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, Maddox achieved his Olympic dream more than a decade after leaving Jadwin Gym. The American team of four non-NBA players is considered a medal contender.
Maddox and Team USA finished their Olympics with a 2-5 record in group play. Maddox led the Americans with 6 points in their 22-14 loss to Serbia on July 30. The Americans dropped their second game to Poland, 19-17, on July 31. On Aug. 1, they fell to Lithuania, 20-18, and Latvia, 21-19. The Americans scored victories against France (21-19) and China (21-17) on Aug. 2. They lost to Netherlands, 21-6, on Aug. 4.
Tim Masters ’15 will row for Australia in its four-man boat after helping its eight-man team to a sixth-place finish at the 2021 Games in Tokyo. At Princeton, Masters stroked the varsity eight to a bronze medal at the 2015 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta, the program’s first such medal since 2006. His boat also won bronze at Eastern Sprints and helped his team win the Rowe Cup for the first time since 2005.
Masters and Australia finished sixth in the final on Aug. 1, after placing second in its heat on July 28.
Nick Mead ’17 will row for the United States men’s-four team following a fourth-place finish with the eight-man boat at the 2021 Games in Tokyo. Previously, he was a member of the American team that finished second at the 2017 World Rowing Championships and fifth at the 2019 Worlds. As a Tiger, Mead collected three medals at the IRA Championships, highlighted by a silver in 2014.
Mead and his American teammates won gold on Aug. 1, holding off New Zealand by 0.85 seconds. Their victory was the first gold medal for an American team in this discipline since 1960.
Tatiana Nazlymov ’27 won a silver medal in saber at the 2023 World University Games with Team USA and finished third at the NCAA regional as a first-year student at Princeton. Her grandfather, Vladimir Nazlymov, is a legendary Russian fencer who scored gold medals in saber at the 1968, 1976 and 1980 Olympics. She is currently ranked No. 3 in the U.S. and 21st in the world.
Nazlymov narrowly lost her opening match, 15-14, to Sebin Choi of South Korea on July 29. She also competed for the American saber team against South Korea, losing 45-35 on Aug. 3, and the team finished in fifth place.
Kathleen Noble ’18 was the first rower to represent Uganda at an Olympics, finishing 26th in women’s single sculls at the 2021 Games in Tokyo. Before her sophomore year at Princeton, she had never rowed, but she soon helped the Tigers’ varsity eight to win a silver medal at Eastern Sprints in 2018, Princeton’s best finish since 2011, and a bronze medal at the IRA Championship.
Noble finished with the 26th fastest time in the series of finals on Aug. 3. Previously, she placed fifth in her heat on July 27, finished third in Repechage on July 28, and second in her semifinals heat on Aug. 1.
Kelsey Reelick ’14 will row in the women’s quadruple sculls for Team USA after her team finished fourth place at the 2023 World Rowing Championships. At Princeton, she earned first-team All-America honors and helped the Tigers varsity eight to three Ivy League championships, including back-to-back titles as a junior and senior.
Reelick and Kallfelz placed fifth in women’s quadruple sculls on Aug. 1. Previously, they finished fourth in their heat on July 28, and won their Repechage race on July 30.
Adell Sabovic ’25 will be one of nine athletes representing Kosovo at the Paris Olympics. Sabovic, who has competed in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events at the Ivy League Championships, will swim the 100 in Paris.
Sabovic swam a 51.77 on July 30, good for second place in his heat but not fast enough to qualify for the semifinals.
Hannah Scott ’21 will row quadruple sculls for Great Britain again, following a seventh-place finish at the 2021 Games in Tokyo. She had previously led Great Britain to two silver medals in the World Under 23 Championships. At Princeton, Scott was a two-time Ivy champion and helped the Tigers to two top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, while securing All-American status in 2019.
Scott and her Great Britain team won gold, nipping second-place Netherlands in the final on July 31 by 0.15 seconds. Watch the race here.
Jovana Sekulic ’25, who led the 2023 Princeton women’s water polo team with 76 goals and was named the CWPA Player of the Year, will make her Olympic debut in Paris. She scored four goals to help Team USA win gold at the 2024 world championships in Qatar.
Sekulic scored two goals in Team USA’s 15-6 victory against Greece on July 27. She scored another goal in Team USA’s 13-11 loss to Spain on July 29. Team USA rebounded with a convincing 10-3 win against Italy on Aug. 1, and a 17-5 victory against France on Aug. 2. The Americans defeated Hungary in the quarterfinals, 5-4. Sekulic scored a goal, but the Americans lost a 6-5 penalty shootout to Australia to fall, 14-13, in the semifinals on Aug. 8. In the bronze-medal match, Team USA lost a close game to Netherlands, 11-10, on Aug. 10.
Maia Weintraub ’26 is a two-time All-American at Princeton who finished third in foil at the 2023 NCAA Fencing Championships. In 2021, she attended the Tokyo Olympics as an alternate member of the U.S. team and she’s medaled at three world championships. She’s currently ranked No. 4 in foil in the U.S and No. 13 in the world.
Weintraub, an alternate in Team USA’s two team foil victories that led to the gold-medal match, recorded two wins in the final against Italy to help the Americans win their first-ever team gold medal on Aug. 1. Earlier that day, Team USA defeated China, 45-37, and Canada, 45-31.
Beth Yeager ’25, who started her 50th game as a Team USA starter earlier this summer, has played for the women’s field hockey national team since she was a teenager. In both her seasons as a Princeton midfielder, she was named first-team All-American and the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year.
Team USA finished the Olympics with a record of 1-3-1. They lost to Argentina, 4-1, on July 27, tied Spain, 1-1, on July 29 and lost to Australia, 3-0, on July 31. Great Britain pulled away in the second half to beat the Americans on Aug. 1, 5-2. Team USA edged South Africa, 1-0, on Aug. 3, but did not advance to the medal bracket.
