Yale a consistent college presence in Olympics; largest contingent since 1964

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from NH Register

With over a dozen athletes heading to Tokyo, Yale remains a consistent college presence in the Olympics

Maggie Vanoni
With 16 athletes scheduled to compete in the Tokyo Olympics that have Yale ties, and three more to potentially receive confirmation later this month, the university will continue its presence as one of the top schools consistently represented at the Olympics. Yale’s 2021 Olympic athletes, which include 11 in the rowing events, are made up of former, current and soon-to-be student-athletes and will be the school’s largest contingent since 1964.

Here’s a quick look at Yale’s history in the Olympics

1: Yale’s Edward Eagan remains the only athlete to ever win a gold medal in both the summer and winter Olympics. The 1921 graduate won gold in boxing in the 1920 summer Olympics and won his second gold medal as part of the four-man U.S. bobsledding team in the 1932 Winter Games.

Ed Eagan

6: Following the 2016 Rio Olympics, Yale ranked No. 6 in colleges who have sent the most athletes to the Olympics according to Olympicstats.com. Per the study, and not including the 2018 or 2021 Olympics, Yale has sent 149 athletes and has won 113 medals. Stanford University was the No. 1 school in the study, sending a total of 289 athletes and winning 282 medals.

11: Following Tokyo, Yale athletes will have represented a total of 11 different countries throughout the university’s history in the Olympics. In Tokyo, athletes will represent USA, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, New Zealand, Greece and Israel.

23: Yale sent its biggest contingent of athletes, 23, at the 1932 Olympics. Both the Winter and Summer Game were hosted that year across Los Angeles and Lake Placid, New York. John Bent (class of 1930), John Cookman (1931), Franklin Farrel III (1931), Frank A. Nelson Jr. (1931), and W. Hale Palmer (1930) helped Team USA win silver in ice hockey, while John Madden (1932) helped the “Big Three” (Yale, Harvard and Princeton) win silver in football as a demonstration sport. Karl Warner won gold in the 4 x 400-meter relay for Team USA as it set a then-world record of 3 minutes and 8.2 seconds.

101: According to Olympicstats.com, Yale has won a total of 101 medals, including 52 gold, at the Summer Games.

1924: Twice the school’s men’s eight crew boat has represented Team USA at the Summer Olympics. In 1924 the team won the gold medal in the Paris Olympics.

Notable names:

Edward Egan (1921) Boxing, Bobsled : only athlete to ever win gold at both the Summer and Winter Olympics

Ed Eagan

Don Schollander (1968) Swim: the first athlete to win four gold medals in the same Olympics. Schollander won a total of five gold medals in the sport across the 1964 and 1968 Games. He was one of the first athletes inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

Don Schollander won four Olympic gold medals for the 100 and 400 meter freestyle and swam legs of the winning 400 meter medley and 800 meter freestyle relays in 1964.

Dr. Benjamin Spock (1925) Men’s Crew: before becoming one of the country’s most successful pediatricians, he was a member of the Yale Gold-medal-winning men’s crew team that represented Team USA at the 1924 Olympics.

ILE-Dr. Benjamin Spock, shown in this1985 file photo rowing a canoe on Beaver lake near his Rogers, Ark., home, died Sunday, March 15, 1998, in San Diego. He was 94. The pediatrician, who as a student was a member of the 1924 Yale University rowing team, helped win the team a gold medal at the 1924 Olympics.

Steve Clark (1965) Swim: the two-time Olympian helped the U.S. win three gold medals in relay swim events in the 1964 Olympics. He is also a five-time individual NCAA Champion.


Swimming. New Haven, Connecticut. Yale’s Olympian Steve Clark, looking tired after a titanic effort in the 100-yard freestyle, waves to onlookers at the National AAU Swimming and Diving Championships at Yale Saturday. Clark covered the distance in 45.6, becoming the first swimmer ever to break 46 seconds in the 100.

Sarah Hughes (2008) Figure Skating: won gold at the 2002 Olympics as a 16-year-old, making her at the time the third-youngest American woman to win the singles event.

Figure skater Sarah Hughes is shown March 18, 2003, in New York. Hughes, the 2002 Olympic figure skating gold medalist, will take a one-year leave from Yale to skate with the Stars on Ice tour this season.

Frank Shorter (1969) Marathon: the long distance runner won the Olympic Gold in the marathon at the 1972 Games and the silver medal in the event at the 1976 Games.

Munich – Frank Shorter, 24, of Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, waves from victory stand after receiving his gold medal at the Munich Olympics Sunday for winning the Marathon. The Yale graduate and University of Florida law student was the first American to win the 26-mile, 285-yard race since 1908.

Anne Warner (1976) Women’s Crew: the first Yale woman undergraduate to win an Olympic medal after winning bronze as part of the U.S. women’s eight boat in the 1976 Olympics.

James Stillman Rockefeller

James Stillman Rockefeller (1924) Men’s Crew: Won a Gold medal with Team USA as a part of the Yale men’s eight boat in the 1924 Olympics.

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Bob Brooke (1983) Ice Hockey: The former NHL forward played on Team USA at the 1984 Winter Games.

maggie.vanoni@hearstmediact.com

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