Princeton’s rich history in academics is no secret, but Princetonians have made their mark in athletics as well — all the way to the biggest stage in the world, the Olympic games. Generations of Tigers have graced Olympic stadiums, with over 154 athletes trading the orange and black for their countries’ flags over the past years — and 25 students and alumni will compete this summer in Paris.
Princeton sent its very first delegation to the Olympic Games at the inaugural iteration of the modern Games in 1896 in Athens, with four members of the Class of 1897 competing for the United States: Francis Lan, Albert Tyler, Robert Garrett, and Herbert Jamison Garrett. The group kicked off a tradition of excellence, bringing home two gold medals, four silver, and a bronze. Since then, almost a hundred medals have been won for Old Nassau.
In the leadup to this summer's Olympic games in Paris, The Daily Princetonian looked at Tiger Olympians past and present. This deep dive dating back to 1896 uncovered several Olympians not previously listed on Princeton Athletics' website, prompting Athletics to update their record.
The number of Princeton Olympians has risen over time. Princeton generally sent between two and eight athletes to the Summer Games from their modern inception in 1896 to 2000. Since the Sydney games at the dawn of the new millennium, at least ten athletes with ties to the Orange Bubble have competed at each Summer Games.
Far fewer Princetonians have competed at the Winter Games. Until 2018, no more than two Princetonians competed at the Winter Games, with many games seeing no Tigers compete. In 2018, Princeton sent three athletes to South Korea, and in 2022, seven Princetonians competed in the Beijing games, the most in a winter games thus far by a wide margin.
Princeton’s athletes don’t merely represent their countries at the games — they also find their share of success on the podium. A total of 216 appearances amounts to 87 medals for those with connections to the orange and black — 32 gold, 27 silver, and 28 bronze. If Princeton were a country, it would have won more medals than 114 out of 156 countries, beating Mexico, Croatia, and Argentina.
Princeton has sent athletes to compete in 23 different sports, 17 of which are a part of the Summer Games. Rowing has produced the most representatives at 43, with Athletics (Track and Field) following behind at 29. Other popular sports are Fencing, Ice Hockey, Swimming, Sailing, and Field Hockey.
Princeton’s history as a male-only institution has contributed to an overall imbalance of 108 male against 46 female athletes, but since co-education began, women’s and men’s Olympic participation has been roughly equal.
While the majority of Princetonians have donned the American red, white, and blue, many have also elected to represent their countries of origin. Track athlete Thorsteinn T. Gislason ’69 GS ’70 was the first to do so at the 1972 Munich Olympics when he represented Iceland in the 800m race.
Twelve years later at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Princetonians faced one another for the first time with Harold Backer ’85, Mike Evans ’80, and Christine Clark ’83 of Canada beating Christopher Penny ‘85 of the United States in the Men’s 8 rowing event. At the next summer Olympics in Seoul, Backer again raced for Canada, while Deborah St. Phard ’87 represented Haiti in shot put. More athletes have represented other nations in recent years, with eight foreign countries represented by ten athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and at least six other countries represented this year.
This year, 25 Princetonians will represent eight countries in the City of Lights across six sports. Rowing is once again the largest, as nine Princeton rowers will represent five different countries: the United States (four), Great Britain (two), Australia (one), Uganda (one), and Norway (one). At least one more Princeton affiliate will compete in the Olympics as Mo Alkhawaldeh will compete for Jordan in the Marathon. Alkhawaldeh is a Financial and Program Manager for the Politics department.
Princeton will also send seven fencers, five of whom will represent the United States. Mohamed Hamza ’23 will represent Egypt for his third Olympics and Sabrina Fang ’27 will represent Canada for her first Olympics.
For the returning athletes, the environment of Paris will be strikingly different from the empty stadiums of the COVID-era Olympics in Tokyo three years ago.
“I think the excitement and hype towards Paris is much bigger than Tokyo since there will be an audience at each event, which will make the competition feel all the more special,” Hamza told the ‘Prince.’ “Having competed in varying environments in Rio and Tokyo, I feel like I’m definitely ready to handle any type of pressure that may come my way in Paris.”
Similar to the usual makeup, “Team Princeton” will be an almost even mix of veterans and newcomers, with ten returning Olympians and 11 first-timers. Two of the veterans are also Olympic medalists. Goalie Ashleigh Johnson ’17 has won back-to-back golds as Team USA’s last line of defense in water polo and Tom George ’18 won bronze rowing with Team Great Britain in the Men 8+. This year’s Tigers spread across class years from the Class of 2011 to the Class of 2027.
Strong showings from Princeton's primary sports — fencing and rowing — add a combined 16 appearances to the two sports’ already high totals — 69 and 34 respectively, prior to this year’s additions. Johnson and rising junior Jovana Sekulic will double Princeton’s previous water polo appearances, while Kareem Maddox ’11 will make a rare basketball appearance in the 3-on-3 event. Rising junior Beth Yeager, who took a gap year, will become the 15th Princeton field hockey athlete at the Games. Team Princeton will be rounded out with a trio of international track and field representatives, Sondre Guttormsen ’23 for Norway, Lizzie Bird ’17 for Great Britain, and Obiageri Amaechi ’21 with the U.S. trials still in progress.
Princeton’s sheer quantity of athletes at the games has given rise to a number of impressive and notable feats. For example, Nathan Crumpton ’08 has completed the exceptionally rare feat of competing in both the Winter and Summer Olympics, where he represented American Samoa in track and skeleton, gaining notoriety along the way for his traditional Samoan dress during the ceremonies.
Princeton Athletics has often struck gold at the Games, with eight athletes taking home first multiple times. Princeton Ph.D. candidate Brad Snyder has been the most dominant Tiger athlete, raking in six golds across swim and triathlon events at the Paralympic games.
Princeton has no doubt had previous success at the games and the Tigers look to be in great shape to see some Tigers up on the podiums. Johnson and Sekulic will be part of a U.S. water polo team that is a favorite and looking to four-peat, while Maddox’s U.S. 3-on-3 basketball team, featuring former college superstar Jimmer Fredette, is an overwhelming favorite for gold.
Even though expectations can be high, athletes combat that pressure with routine.
“I’m just focusing on my training routine and gaining confidence in my abilities from the work I’m putting in now,” Hamza, currently ranked No. 4 globally, added. “I do take great confidence in having competed consistently well this past season, and it gives me more trust in that what I’ve been doing lately has been working.”
Princeton athletes have made their mark on the Olympics in the past and are set to do so again in Paris. These 25 Tigers join over a hundred Princetonians to represent both their home countries and Old Nassau at the world's foremost athletic competition.
Grace Zhao is a senior Data writer for the ‘Prince.’
Tate Hutchins is an associate Sports editor and News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Correction: This piece has been updated to reflect additional athletes who qualified for the Olympics.
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