This List of University of Florida Olympians includes over 150 students and alumni of the University of Florida who have competed or coached in the Olympic Games, as well as current or former Florida Gators coaches who have coached in the Olympics. [1] The list includes such notable athletes as swimmer Tracy Caulkins, a three-time gold medalist, swimmer Ryan Lochte, a five-time gold medalist and winner of eleven medals, and distance runner Frank Shorter, a graduate of the College of Law and the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in the marathon. [1] [2]
Swimmer Catie Ball was the first University of Florida alumna to win an Olympic medal, but she did so while she was still a high school student and before she enrolled in the university. [2] Ball was a gold medalist in the 200-meter butterfly who later became the first head coach of the Florida Gators women's swimming and diving team while she was still a university undergraduate. [2] Swimmer Tim McKee was the first University of Florida alumnus to win an Olympic medal while he was still an undergraduate and a current member of a Florida Gators varsity sports team. [2] McKee won silver medals in the 200- and 400-meter individual medley events. [2]
To date, the most successful Gator Olympian is Dara Torres, a twelve-time medalist and the first American swimmer to ever compete in five Olympics. [1]
Anthony Conrad Nesty is a Trinidadian-Surinamese swimming coach and former competition swimmer who was an Olympic gold medallist in the 100-metre butterfly event in 1988. He is currently the head coach of the Florida Gators men's and women's swim team at the University of Florida, where he attended school.
The Mercantile Rowing Club is based in Melbourne, Australia on the Yarra River. It was founded in 1880 and has occupied its current site since 1885. More than 40 Mercantillians have represented Australia at Olympic Games.
Dara Grace Torres is an American former competitive swimmer, who is a 12-time Olympic medalist and former world record-holder in three events. Torres is the first swimmer to represent the United States in five Olympic Games, and at age 41, the oldest swimmer to earn a place on the U.S. Olympic team. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she competed in the 50-meter freestyle, 4×100-meter medley relay, and 4×100-meter freestyle relay, and won silver medals in all three events.
Canada has competed at 28 Summer Olympic Games, missing only the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics and the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics. This count includes the 1906 Olympic Games, deemed unofficial 43 years after they were held. The nation made its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Canada competes under the IOC country code CAN.
Josefa Idem married Guerrini is an Italian canoe sprinter turned politician. Competing in eight Summer Olympics, she has five medals. Winning 35 international medals during her career, Idem was the first Italian woman to win World Championships and Olympic medals in canoe sprint. At the 2009 world championships, she became the oldest medalist in the history of the world championships.
Martín López-Zubero Purcell, also known as Martin Zubero, is a former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. López-Zubero was born in the United States, swam in international competition for Spain, and holds dual Spanish-American citizenship.
Lesley Allison Thompson-Willie is a Canadian rowing coxswain and Olympic champion. Between 1984 and 2016, she has competed at eight Olympic Games, a record for a rower, winning medals in five of them including gold in the eight at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
The Cincinnati Marlins are a non-profit, USA Swimming–affiliated swim team based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, serving Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Founded in 1961, the team competes at the elementary school, high school, and college levels.
Frank Wieneke is a German judoka and olympic champion. He won a gold medal in the half middleweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He is a member of Germany's Sports Hall of Fame.
The North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC) is a swim club based in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1968, it continues to offer training for young swimmers. It is best known for developing a dozen Olympic swimmers, six of whom earned gold medals.
The Florida Gators swimming and diving program represents the University of Florida in the aquatics sports of swimming and diving. The program includes separate men's and women's teams, both of which compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators host their home meets in the O'Connell Center Natatorium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head swimming coach Anthony Nesty and diving coach Bryan Gillooly. Since Florida's swim and dive program was established in 1930, the men's team has won forty SEC team championships and two NCAA national championships. Since the NCAA and the SEC began sanctioning women's swimming in 1981, the Lady Gators have won seventeen SEC team championships and three national championships.
The Florida Gators track and field program represents the University of Florida in the sport of track and field. The program includes separate men's and women's teams, both of which compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators host their home indoor meets in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center and their home outdoor meets at Percy Beard Track, both located on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The Gators track teams are currently led by head coach Mike Holloway.
Real Grupo de Cultura Covadonga is a multisport club based in Gijón, Spain. The club was founded in 1938 and is the biggest sports club in Asturias. It has 33,000 members, more than the most important football clubs of the region.
The Mixed Team tournament in Judo at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics was held on August 21 at the Longjiang Gymnasium.
The UT Arlington Movin' Mavs men's wheelchair basketball team, previously known as the UTA Freewheelers, is the men's college wheelchair basketball team representing the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). Established in 1976 as the UTA Freewheelers, the team played at the club level against other colleges and universities in Texas during the 1970s and 1980s. It has played under the auspices of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) since 1988, when the team was renamed the Movin' Mavs. Its inaugural coach, from 1976 until 2008, was Jim Hayes. The team was coached by Doug Garner from 2008 until 2022 when he retired. In fall of 2022, Aaron Gouge was hired as the new head coach for the team.