2004 Athens Summer Games
10,625 Athletes, 201 Countries, 301 Events
Returning to Athens, Greece for the first time since the first
modern Olympic Games were held in 1896, the 2000 Summer Games were
a celebration of history and tradition of the Olympic Spirit. The
Marathon was contested on the same course that was used in 1896 and
archery used the same Panathenaic Stadium that was used in the 1896
Olympics. The shot put events took place at the site of the Ancient
Olympic Games in Olympia. In terms of countries (201) and events
(301), the games were the largest to date.
For many Americans, the Athens games will be remembered for
swimmer Michael Phelps’ breakout performance
in which he won six gold medals and tied a record by winning eight
total medals (he went on to win eight gold medals at Beijing and
will attempt to add to his medal count in London). Mariel
Zagunis won Team USA’s first-ever fencing gold when
she claimed the top spot in women’s sabre, an event that was
making its Olympic debut.
All told, 54 Ivy Leaguers made the trip to Athens and won eight
medals. The largest number of Ivy athletes competed in men’s
rowing (14), women’s rowing (7), men’s fencing (4),
women’s fencing (4) and women’s soccer (4).
Three of the four Ivy League women’s soccer players suited
up for the hosts Greece, including Tanya Kalivas
(Princeton ’01), Eleni Benson (Yale
’06) and Sophie Smith (Cornell ’01).
Kristen Luckenbill was Team USA’s backup
goalkeeper and earned a gold medal as the Americans downed Brazil,
2-1, in the championship game - which Abby Wambach
sealed in extra time with a 112th-minute goal.
The Ivy League's second gold medal came in men’s rowing as
Chris Ahern (Princeton ’98) was part of the
gold-medal winning Team USA Men’s Eights boat. The League's
third gold came years later as Adam Nelson
(Dartmouth ’07) was elevated from silver to gold in the shot
put by the International Olympic Committee after
Ukraine's Yuriy Bilonog was stripped of
it for doping in May 2013.
The League's silver medalists included Caryn
Davis (Harvard ’04) and Lianne
Nelson (Princeton ’95) in women’s eights and
Tom Herschmiller (Princeton ’01) as part of
Canada’s men’s coxless four.
Sada Jacobsen (Yale ’05) calimed the
individual women’s sabre bronze. Jacobsen, who went on to win
a silver and a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games, kicked off a new
era of Ivy fencing success at the Olympics with her bronze in 2004.
In 2008, the League combined for five fencing medals, and seven
members of the Team USA fencing teams. Prior to 2004, the last
fencing medalists from the Ivy League were Hugh
Alessandroni (Columbia ’29C & ’31E),
Dernell Every (Yale ’28) and Frank
Righeimer (Yale ’29), who combined for four bronze
medals at the 1932 Los Angeles Games.
Rounding out the 2004 Ivy medalists, Jim Pedro
(Brown ’94) won the bronze in judo. Already a bronze medalist
at the 1996 Atlanta Games, Pedro closed his competitive career with
the Bronze in Athens. He represented Team USA at the Olympics in
1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004.
Name
|
School |
Sport |
Angela "Dawn" Chuck |
Brown University |
Women's Swimming |
Alex Ottiano |
Brown University |
Men's Judo |
Jim Pedro |
Brown University |
Men's Judo |
Erinn Smart |
Columbia University |
Women's Fencing |
Adam Nelson |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Athletics |
Wolfgang Moeser |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
Henry Nuzum |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
Greg Ruckman |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
Nick Sweeney |
Harvard University |
Men's Athletics |
Chris Ahrens |
Princeton University |
Men's Rowing |
Tom Herschmiller |
Princeton University |
Men's Rowing |
Paul Teti |
Princeton University |
Men's Rowing |
Juan Pablo Valdivieso |
Princeton University |
Men's Swimming |
George Gleason |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
Celita Schutz |
Yale University |
Women's Judo |
Matt Taylor |
Yale University |
Men's Kayaking |
Sada Jacobsen |
Yale University |
Women's Fencing |
Emily Jacobsen |
Columbia University |
Women's Fencing |
Dan Kellner |
Columbia University |
Men's Fencing |
Jed Dupree |
Columbia University |
Men's Fencing |
Soren Thompson |
Princeton University |
Men's Fencing |
Kamara James |
Princeton University |
Women's Fencing |
Greg Chang |
Harvard University |
Men's Fencing |
Stacey Borgman |
Columbia University |
Women's Rowing |
J. Sloan DuRoss |
Brown University |
Men's Rowing |
Ben Holbrook |
Brown University |
Men's Rowing |
Danika Holbrook |
Princeton University |
Women's Rowing |
Michelle Guerette |
Harvard University |
Women's Rowing |
Artour Samsonov |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
Pat Todd |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
Lianne Nelson |
Princeton University |
Women's Rowing |
Caryn Davis |
Harvard University |
Women's Rowing |
Simon Carcagno |
Princeton University |
Men's Rowing |
Liane Malcos |
Brown University |
Women's Rowing |
Andreanna Morin |
Princeton University |
Women's Rowing |
Josh West |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
Veljko Urosevic |
Columbia University |
Men's Rowing |
Milos Tomic |
Columbia University |
Men's Rowing |
Isabelle Kinsolving |
Yale University |
Women's Sailing |
Katie McDowell |
Brown University |
Women's Sailing |
Kevin Hall |
Brown University |
Men's Sailing |
Kristen Luckenbill |
Dartmouth College |
Women's Soccer |
Tanya Kalivas |
Princeton University |
Women's Soccer |
Eleni Benson |
Yale University |
Women's Soccer |
Jackie Pangilnan |
Harvard University |
Women's Swimming |
Chinedum Osuji |
Cornell University |
Men's Taekwondo |
Tora Harris |
Princeton University |
Men's Athletics |
Kate O'Neil |
Yale University |
Women's Athletics |
Brenda Taylor |
Harvard University |
Women's Athletics |
Michael Aguilar |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Athletics |
Chris Lambert |
Harvard University |
Men's Athletics |
Benjie Lewis |
Cornell University |
Men's Kayaking |
Sophie Smith |
Cornell University |
Women's Soccer |
Nate Ackerman |
Harvard University |
Men's Wrestling |