From: Big Ten Mailing List Manager mailing-lists@office.bigten.org Subject: Big Ten Celebrates Historic Effort At 2020 Tokyo Olympics Date: August 12, 2021 at 2:29 PM To: [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 12, 2021 View Online: https://bit.ly/2020tokyorecap Contact: Chris Masters Big Ten Conference 847-696-1010 [email protected] Big Ten Celebrates Historic Effort At 2020 Tokyo Olympics Conference sets records with 51 total medals, including 22 golds ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference enjoyed its finest performance at a single Olympic Games at the recently-complete 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, as athletes with Big Ten ties set conference records by earning 51 total medals and 22 gold medals during the 17-day competition. All 14 Big Ten member schools had an athlete win at least one medal in Tokyo, also a first in conference history. This year’s results surpass the previous Big Ten records for total medals and gold medals in a single Olympiad, set at the 2016 Rio Games when conference-affiliated athletes collected 47 medals (including 19 golds). In addition, during the past four Summer Olympics, the Big Ten has posted record-setting total medal counts each time, starting with 30 at the 2008 Beijing Games and 35 at the 2012 London Olympics. No fewer than 43 Big Ten competitors combined to earn the 51 medals at this year’s Tokyo Olympics, representing eight different National Olympic Committees (NOC) — Canada, Great Britain, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Netherlands, San Marino and the United States. Another 18 coaches and staff from Big Ten institutions helped individuals or teams from four NOC to medals (Hong Kong, Japan, San Marino and the United States), but technically these individuals do not receive Olympic medals themselves. Of the 43 Big Ten medalists at this year’s Olympics, 26 were women (60.5%), who earned 31 of the Conference’s 51 medals (60.8%) and 13 of its 22 golds (59.1%). A Big Ten female athlete was also chosen as the United States flag bearer at the Closing Ceremonies on Aug. 8, with former Purdue All-American and four-time Olympic javelin thrower Kara (Patterson) Winger selected for the prestigious honor by a vote of her fellow Team USA Olympians. The Big Ten had a record-setting 155 athletes from 40 National Olympic Committees and all 14 member schools compete in 25 sports during the Tokyo Games. With the inclusion of coaches/staff members and team alternates, the Big Ten sent a 190-person delegation to the 2020 Games, led by 92 representatives for Team USA. Other NOC that featured Big Ten competitors included American Samoa, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, San Marino, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey and Yemen. Conference athletes earned medals in 11 sports during the Tokyo Olympics, led by a massive Big Ten contingent on the USA women’s volleyball team, as eight conference players and an assistant coach helped the Americans to their first-ever Olympic gold in the sport. The other sports that saw Big Ten athletes collect medals included baseball, basketball, diving, field hockey, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming, track & field and wrestling. Along with these medal-winning sports, Big Ten athletes also competed at the 2020 Tokyo Games in 3x3 basketball, beach volleyball, cycling, fencing, golf, gymnastics, rugby, shooting, sport climbing, synchronized swimming, also competed at the 2020 Tokyo Games in 3x3 basketball, beach volleyball, cycling, fencing, golf, gymnastics, rugby, shooting, sport climbing, synchronized swimming, tennis, triathlon and water polo. A complete rundown of Big Ten medalists at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics follows, while additional information on the full Big Ten delegation in Tokyo can be found on the official Big Ten Olympics page at bigten.org/2020tokyo. 2020 Big Ten Olympic Medalists (listed alphabetically by school – USA athletes unless noted) Gold (22) Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, Illinois, Women’s Volleyball Jordyn Poulter, Illinois, Women’s Volleyball Zach Apple, Indiana, Men’s Swimming (4x100-meter freestyle relay; 4x100-meter medley relay) Blake Pieroni, Indiana, Men’s Swimming (4x100-meter freestyle relay; 4x100-meter medley relay) *Maggie MacNeil, Michigan, Women’s Swimming (100-meter butterfly – Canada) *Jayde Riviere, Michigan, Women’s Soccer (Canada) Shelina Zadorsky, Michigan, Women’s Soccer (Canada) Draymond Green, Michigan State, Men’s Basketball Bowe Becker, Minnesota, Men’s Swimming (4x100-meter freestyle relay) *Gable Steveson, Minnesota, Wrestling (freestyle 125kg) Jordan Larson, Nebraska, Women’s Volleyball Kelsey Robinson, Nebraska, Women’s Volleyball Justine Wong-Orantes, Nebraska, Women’s Volleyball *Hunter Armstrong, Ohio State, Men’s Swimming (4x100-meter medley relay) Nichelle Prince, Ohio State, Women’s Soccer (Canada) Micha Hancock, Penn State, Women’s Volleyball Erin McLeod, Penn State, Women’s Soccer (Canada) David Taylor, Penn State, Wrestling (freestyle 86kg) Haleigh Washington, Penn State, Women’s Volleyball Annie Drews, Purdue, Women’s Volleyball Coaches/Staff +Erin Virtue, Illinois, Women’s Volleyball (assistant coach) *Ray Looze, Indiana, Men’s & Women’s Swimming (assistant coach) Bob Bowman, Michigan, Men’s Swimming (assistant coach) *Trevor Brandvold, Minnesota, Wrestling (assistant coach) *Brandon Eggum, Minnesota, Wrestling (assistant coach) Joe Russell, Minnesota, Wrestling (manager of men’s freestyle programs) *Ellen Casey, M.D., Penn State, Women’s Gymnastics (team physician) *Casey Cunningham, Penn State, Wrestling (assistant coach) *Cael Sanderson, Penn State, Wrestling (assistant coach) *Cody Sanderson, Penn State, Men’s & Women’s Wrestling (assistant coach) Silver (14) *Andrew Capobiano, Indiana, Men’s Diving (synchronized 3-meter springboard) ^Michael Hixon, Indiana, Men’s Diving (synchronized 3-meter springboard) Lilly King, Indiana, Women’s Swimming (200-meter breaststroke; 4x100-meter medley relay) Jessica Parratto, Indiana, Women’s Diving (synchronized 10-meter platform) Amanda Chidester, Michigan, Softball Siobhán Haughey, Michigan, Women’s Swimming (100-meter freestyle; 200-meter freestyle – Hong Kong) *Maggie MacNeil, Michigan, Women’s Swimming (4x100-meter freestyle relay – Canada) Kyle Snyder, Ohio State, Wrestling (freestyle 97kg) Joe Kovacs, Penn State, Men’s Track & Field (shot put) Todd Frazier, Rutgers, Baseball Patrick Kivlehan, Rutgers, Baseball Mohammed Ahmed, Wisconsin, Men’s Track & Field (5,000-meter run – Canada) Coaches *Drew Johansen, Indiana, Men’s & Women’s Diving (head coach) Rick Bishop, Michigan, Women’s Swimming (head coach – Hong Kong) *Mike Hilde, Michigan, Men’s & Women’s Diving (assistant coach) Tom Hovasse, Penn State, Women’s Basketball (head coach – Japan) *Adam Soldati, Purdue, Men’s Diving (assistant coach) Darren Fenster, Rutgers, Baseball (assistant coach) Bronze (15) Lilly King, Indiana, Women’s Swimming (100-meter breaststroke) Thomas Gilman, Iowa, Wrestling (freestyle 57kg) Grace Balsdon, Maryland, Women’s Field Hockey (Great Britain) Diandra Tchatchouang, Maryland, Women’s Basketball (France) Myles Amine, Michigan, Wrestling (freestyle 86kg – San Marino) Catie DeLoof, Michigan, Women’s Swimming (4x100-meter freestyle relay) *Maggie MacNeil, Michigan, Women’s Swimming (4x100-meter medley relay – Canada) Sara Groenewegen, Minnesota, Softball (Canada) *Federico Burdisso, Northwestern, Men’s Swimming (200-meter butterfly; 4x100-meter medley relay – Italy) Ilse Paulis, Ohio State, Women’s Rowing (lightweight double sculls - Netherlands) Alyssa Naeher, Penn State, Women’s Soccer Carli Lloyd, Rutgers, Women’s Soccer Kelsey Harshman (Jenkins), Softball (Canada) Rose Lavelle, Wisconsin, Women’s Soccer Coaches *Sean Bormet, Michigan, Wrestling (head coach – San Marino) *Erica Dambach, Penn State, Women’s Soccer (assistant coach) * - current/future Big Ten student-athlete or current coach/staff at listed school ^ - graduated from Indiana; currently serves as a graduate assistant at Michigan + - graduated from Illinois; previously served as assistant coach at Michigan and Northwestern #B1G.