{"id":7689,"date":"2023-03-03T23:53:49","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T23:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usc.edu\/?page_id=7689"},"modified":"2025-08-21T11:38:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T18:38:46","slug":"olympic-heritage","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.usc.edu\/we-are-usc\/the-university\/our-history\/olympic-heritage\/","title":{"rendered":"Olympic Heritage"},"content":{"rendered":" \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Olympic Heritage<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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USC has produced more Olympians and overall medalists than any other university in the United States.<\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n \n\n
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USC Trojans in the Olympics<\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n
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512<\/h3>\n \n

The number of Trojans who have appeared in a Summer or Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n <\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n

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326<\/h3>\n \n

The number of medals overall won by Trojans in the Olympics.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n <\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n

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153<\/h3>\n \n

The number of Olympic gold medals won by Trojans going into Paris.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n <\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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USC\u2019s participation in the Olympics dates back to 1904, when\u00a0Emil Breitkreutz\u00a0\u201906 traveled to St. Louis, becoming the first USC student to compete in the Olympic Games. Breitkreutz took home a bronze medal in the 800-meter run \u2014 marking the beginning of a Trojan Olympic legacy that today is unrivaled.<\/p>\n

Since then, USC has produced more Olympians\u00a0 and overall medalists than any other university in the United States.<\/p>\n

USC\u2019s star-studded Olympic roster includes 512 Trojans who attended the university before, during or after their Summer or Winter Olympic appearances. These athletes have represented 65 countries and participated in 30 different sports, ranging from those generally associated with USC, such as track and swimming, to more unusual sports, such as team handball, canoeing and bobsled. While Trojans traditionally have found their place in the sun during the Summer Olympics, USC athletes also have competed in the Winter Olympics 11 times.<\/p>\n

All told, USC\u2019s Olympians have won 711 places on Olympic teams, and have taken home 153 gold medals, 96 silver and 77 bronze.<\/p>\n

But these achievements amount to more than medals and an abiding place in sports history. In the words of USC President Carol L. Folt, \u201cEvery one of these Olympic performances represents more than a moment in time for our Trojan athletes \u2014 each race, game and match is also a tribute to the years of sacrifice and dedication that made them Olympians, as well as the support and love they received from those around them. These Trojans show the world what it means to \u2018Fight On!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Going into the 2020\u00a0Olympic Games, if USC were a country entering its athletes in the Olympic Games, its 305 all-time Summer Olympics medals would place it 13th among all participating countries. And in 11 different Olympics, USC\u2019s medal count would have positioned it among the top 10 12 competing nations.<\/p>\n

Equally impressive is USC\u2019s history of winning Olympic gold. Ever since USC\u2019s first gold medalist, freshman\u00a0Fred Kelly\u00a0\u201916, earned the gold in the 110-meter high hurdles in Stockholm in 1912, Trojan athletes have won at least one gold medal at every Summer Olympics. This includes the U.S.-boycotted 1980 Moscow games, when swimmer\u00a0Michelle Ford\u00a0\u201984, competing for her native Australia, captured the gold in the 800-meter freestyle.<\/p>\n

USC\u2019s Olympic heritage includes seven Trojans who have been inducted into in the\u00a0U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame\u00a0\u2014 Janet Evans\u00a0\u201995 (swimming),\u00a0Sammy Lee\u00a0MD \u201947 (diving),\u00a0Lisa Leslie \u201994 (basketball), John Naber\u00a0\u201977 (swimming),\u00a0Parry O\u2019Brien\u00a0\u201954 (track and field),\u00a0Charles \u201cCharley\u201d Paddock\u00a0\u201923 (track and field) and\u00a0Frank Wykoff\u00a0\u201933 (track and field) \u2014 as well as hundreds more who have brought gold and honor to their countries and their university.<\/p>\n

USC Athletics’ Olympic Website<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Louis Zamperini<\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n
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Perhaps the most widely recognized USC Olympian whose life demonstrated these ideals was\u00a0the late\u00a0Louis Zamperini\u00a0\u201940. Zamperini represented the United States in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, running a phenomenal final lap at 56 seconds. His career took a dramatic turn when the U.S. entered World War II, and Zamperini joined the U.S. Army Air Corps as a bombardier. During a routine mission over the Pacific in 1943, Zamperini and his crewmates on a B-24 crashed into the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n

Surviving for 47 days on open waters, he was later captured and held under brutal conditions in a Japanese POW camp for two and a half years. Struggling to overcome the traumatic events during his captivity, Zamperini rebuilt his life upon his return to the U.S., and later became a renowned public speaker, frequently discussing the topics of motivation and reconciliation. His remarkable story is recounted in the bestselling book,\u00a0Unbroken<\/em>,\u00a0which was later adapted into full-length feature film in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n

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\n\n \n \n \nIn Memoriam: USC Olympic Legend Louis Zamperini<\/a>\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Notable Facts about USC and Olympics<\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n \n
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\n USC Firsts\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Emil Breitkreutz<\/strong>
\nUSC\u2019s first Olympic athlete \u2014 also the university\u2019s first medal winner \u2014 was\u00a0Emil Breitkreutz\u00a0\u201906, who won a bronze in the 800-meter run at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics.<\/p>\n

Fred Kelly<\/strong>
\nTroy\u2019s first Olympic gold medalist, Fred Kelly\u00a0\u201916, was a USC freshman when he won in the 110-meter high hurdles at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.<\/p>\n

Alma Richards<\/strong>
\nHigh jumper\u00a0Alma Richards\u00a0LLB \u201924 followed by winning another gold medal in the 1912 Games.<\/p>\n

Charles \u201cCharley\u201d Paddock
\n<\/strong>USC\u2019s first double gold medalist was\u00a0Charles \u201cCharley\u201d Paddock\u00a0\u201923, who won two gold medals \u2014 in the 100-meter dash and as a member of the 400-meter relay team \u2014 along with a silver in Antwerp in 1920.<\/p>\n

Clarence \u201cBud\u201d Houser<\/strong>
\nThe first Trojan to win double gold medals in individual events at a single Olympic Games was\u00a0Clarence \u201cBud\u201d Houser\u00a0DDS \u201926, who took home the gold for shot put and discus in Paris in 1924, and again for discus in Amsterdam in 1928 \u2014 setting Olympic discus records both times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n USC\u2019s First Women Olympians Competed in the 1928 Amsterdam Games\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Lillian Copeland<\/strong>
\nLillian Copeland won a silver medal in discus in 1928 \u2014 the first year the women\u2019s discus throw was included in Olympic competition \u2014 going on to win the gold, while also setting an Olympic discus record, in Los Angeles in 1932<\/p>\n

Helene Mayer<\/strong>
\nHelene Mayer in 1924 had won the German foil championship at age 13 \u2014 took the gold medal in fencing in 1928.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n A Few Trojan Olympic Firsts\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Sammy Lee<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>
\nSammy Lee was the first male diver to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals won a gold medal in the 10-meter platform diving at the London Olympic Games in 1948 and a second gold in the same event in Helsinki in 1952. (Incidentally, Lee had waited eight years before his first Olympic competition, as both the 1940 and 1944 games were cancelled due to World War II.)<\/p>\n

Paula Jean Myers Pope<\/strong>
\nAt the Rome Summer Olympics in 1960, four-time medalist Paula Jean Myers Pope became the first woman to attempt a double-twisting, one-and-one-half somersault and an inward two-and-one-half somersault from the high platform in diving competition. She won a silver medal in platform diving in Helsinki in 1952, a bronze in Melbourne in 1956, and two silvers \u2014 in platform and springboard diving \u2014 in Rome in 1960.
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\nJanice Lee York Romary<\/strong>
\nSix-time Olympian fencer (attended USC 1948-50) competed in every Summer Olympics from 1948 to 1968 \u2014 the most of any Trojan. She was honored for her extraordinary streak of Olympic appearances at the 1968 Mexico City Games, where she became the first woman to carry the U.S. flag in the opening ceremonies. Romary went on to serve as the U.S. Olympic Committee\u2019s women\u2019s administrator for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, responsible for all U.S. women competitors, and as commissioner of fencing for the 1984 Los Angeles Games.<\/p>\n

Jeff Float<\/strong>
\nSwimmer qualified for the U.S.-boycotted Moscow Olympics in 1980 and went on to win a gold medal in Los Angeles in 1984 \u2014 becoming the first legally deaf U.S. athlete to win Olympic gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n …And One Olympic Last\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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George Roth<\/strong>
\nIn Los Angeles in 1932, USC\u2019s was the last person to take home Olympic gold for club swinging, a gymnastic event that was discontinued after that year. Considered a forerunner of rhythmic gymnastics, club swinging was a choreographed four-minute routine in which the athlete whirled or swung a pair of foot-high bowling-pin-shaped wooden clubs around the body and head as part of a complicated routine. (Club swinging was a medal sport in St. Louis in 1904 and in Los Angeles in 1932.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n Most Decorated USC Olympians\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Janet Evans
\n<\/strong>Janet Evans won three gold medals during her first Olympic appearance in Seoul in 1988, setting a world record in the 400-meter freestyle event that stood until 2006. She won a fourth gold medal, along with a silver, at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Although she failed to medal in Atlanta in 1996, she had the honor of passing the Olympic torch to Muhammad Ali during the opening ceremonies.<\/p>\n

Allyson Felix<\/strong>
\nNicknamed \u201cChicken Legs\u201d for her lanky build, track speedster\u00a0took home her first Olympic gold medal for running a leg on the 4\u00d7400-meter relay team in Beijing in 2008. She captured three more golds at the 2012 London Games, individually for the 200-meter race, and as part of the 400- and 1600-meter relay teams, as well as two more gold medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games as part of those same relay teams. She was the first Trojan woman to capture Olympic gold in the 200-meter dash and the first USC runner to win gold in this event since Don Quarrie won the men\u2019s 200-meter in 1976.
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\nLenny Krayzelburg<\/strong>
\nUSC’s swimmer Lenny Krayzelburg won his first three gold medals in each of the events he competed in at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney (100-meter backstroke, 200-meter backstroke and 4\u00d7100-meter medley relay), also establishing new Olympic records in the first two events. He won his fourth gold at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, where he also served as Olympic team captain.<\/p>\n

Lisa Leslie<\/strong>
\nLisa Leslie won her first gold medal with the U.S. women\u2019s basketball team during the Atlanta Games in 1996. She added another gold in Sydney in 2000, a third in Athens in 2004 and one more in 2008 in Beijing \u2014 becoming the first basketball player, male or female, to win gold medals in four consecutive Olympics.<\/p>\n

John Naber<\/strong>
\nJohn Naber was the United States\u2019 most decorated Olympian at the 1976 Montreal Games, where he earned four gold medals in swimming, each in world-record time, as well as a silver medal. In so doing, he also became the first swimmer to earn two individual medals in the same day of Olympic competition.<\/p>\n

Murray Rose
\n<\/strong>Swimmer Murray Rose known as the \u201cSeaweed Streak\u201d because of his vegan diet \u2014 at one time held world records in the 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle. He was 17 years old when he made his Olympic debut in 1956 at the Melbourne Games, where he became the youngest man ever to win three gold medals. At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, he garnered three more medals \u2014 gold, silver and bronze. Overall, he set 15 world records and holds the most Olympic medals of any Trojan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n \u201cWorld\u2019s Fastest Humans\u201d\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Charles \u201cCharley\u201d Paddock<\/strong>
\nUSC\u2019s first \u201cworld\u2019s fastest human,\u201d Charles \u201cCharley\u201d Paddock earned the moniker \u201cCalifornia Comet\u201d for dominating the world of sprinting from 1919 to 1929. He set a total of 13 world and U.S. records \u2014 and his world record of 10.2 in the 100 meters, set in 1921, wasn\u2019t equaled until 1932, and wasn\u2019t broken until 1950. He competed in three Summer Olympics, taking home two gold medals and one silver from Antwerp in 1920 and a silver from Paris in 1924. (An aside: Paddock\u2019s character was portrayed by actor Dennis Christopher in Chariots of Fire<\/em>, the Oscar-winning 1981 film about the 1924 Olympic Games.)<\/p>\n

Frank Wykoff<\/strong>
\nFrank Wykoff inherited Paddock\u2019s mantle in 1928, when he tied the world record in the 100-yard dash four times in a single afternoon during the Olympic trials. Wykoff set world records in three straight Olympic Games, running on gold medal-winning 4\u00d7100-meter relay teams in 1928, 1932 and 1936. His world record for the 100-yard dash stood until 1948, when it was broken by another USC sprinting star.<\/p>\n

Mel Patton MS\u00a0<\/strong>
\nSprinter Mel Patton MS\u00a0 nicknamed \u201cPell Mel,\u201d became the third of USC\u2019s \u201cworld\u2019s fastest humans\u201d when he broke Frank Wykoff\u2019s longstanding record in the 100-yard dash in 1948 \u2014 a record that stood until 1962. Patton won two gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n Concurrent World Records\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Janet Evans<\/strong>
\nFour-time gold medalist and U.S. Olympic Hall-of-Famer Janet Evans held concurrent world records in the 400-meter, 800-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle, with her 800-meter time standing as a world record for 21 years.<\/p>\n

Sharon Finneran<\/strong>
\nShannon Finneran (non-degreed, attended 1965-66) held concurrent world records in the 400-meter individual medley, 200-meter butterfly and 800-meter freestyle. She took home a silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n Trojans Competing in Multiple Olympic Sports\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Conn Findlay<\/strong>
\nConn Findlay \u201954 was one of few Olympians to earn medals in two distinct sports,\u00a0won gold medals for rowing in 1956 (Melbourne) and 1964 (Tokyo), bronze for rowing in 1960 (Rome), and bronze for yachting in 1976 (Montreal). At the time, he was the only athlete to compete in four Olympics and win a medal each time out.<\/p>\n

Robert \u201cBob\u201d Hughes<\/strong>
\nAfter competing in water polo in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Robert \u201cBob\u201d Hughes\u00a0(non-degreed, attended 1954-57), helped the U.S. water polo team to a fifth-place finish in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, while also participating in the 200-meter breaststroke. He was the first American athlete since Johnny Weissmuller (1924) to compete in two different sports during the same Olympics.<\/p>\n

Wallace \u201cWally\u201d Wolf<\/strong>
\nWallace \u201cWally\u201d Wolf\u00a0\u201951, JD \u201957 began his Olympic career in London in 1948, winning a gold medal as a member of the 4\u00d7200-meter relay team. He went on to compete in swimming in 1952 (Helsinki), and in water polo in 1956 (Melbourne) and 1960 (Rome).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n Trojans Competing for Multiple Countries\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Terry Place Brandel<\/strong>
\nTerry Place Brandel\u00a0(non-degreed, attended 1976-77) won a place on the U.S. volleyball team for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, then played for West Germany in Los Angeles in 1984.<\/p>\n

Bjorn Zikarsky<\/strong>
\nSwimmer\u00a0Bjorn Zikarsky\u00a0\u201991 competed for West Germany in Seoul in 1988 and for Germany in Atlanta in 1996, when he won a bronze medal.<\/p>\n

Aniko Pelle<\/strong>
\nWater poloist\u00a0Aniko Pelle\u00a0competed for Hungary in 2004 and 2008 and Italy in 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n Trojan Olympic Families\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Byron Black and\u00a0Wayne Black\u00a0<\/strong>
\nPlaying for their native Zimbabwe, brothers\u00a0Byron Black\u00a0\u201991 and\u00a0Wayne Black\u00a0(non-degreed) competed in tennis singles and doubles at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Wayne went on to play in 2000 (Sydney) and 2004 (Athens) as well.<\/p>\n

Joe and Mike Bottom\u00a0<\/strong>
\nAt the 1977 NCAA championships, swimmer\u00a0Joe Bottom\u00a0\u201977 became the first person to break the 20-second barrier in the 50-yard freestyle. He won a silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. His younger brother\u00a0Mike Bottom\u00a0\u201979 qualified for the U.S.-boycotted Moscow Summer Olympics in 1980 and later coached at USC.<\/p>\n

Bruce and Steven Furniss<\/strong>
\nBruce Furniss\u00a0\u201979, who dominated the world of international swimming for 17 years, set 10 world records and won two Olympic gold medals \u2014 for the 200-meter freestyle and 4\u00d7200-meter freestyle relay \u2014 in Montreal in 1976. His older brother\u00a0Steve Furniss\u00a0\u201976 won a bronze medal in Munich in 1972, and competed but did not medal in Montreal in 1976.<\/p>\n

Allen and John “Sandy” Gilchrist<\/strong>
\nCanadian swimmer\u00a0Allen Gilchrist\u00a0\u201956 competed in the London Games in 1948 and the Helsinki Games in 1952; his brother\u00a0John \u201cSandy\u201d Gilchrist\u00a0\u201969, MBA \u201971 swam in Tokyo in 1964 and Mexico City in 1968.<\/p>\n

William Sr and Joyce Horton<\/strong>
\nWilliam Horton Sr.\u00a0\u201953 and daughter\u00a0Joyce Horton Racker\u00a0(non-degreed, attended 1953-54) competed in yachting at the 1952 Helsinki Games.<\/p>\n

Lennox and Inger Miller<\/strong>
\nRunning for Jamaica, sprinter\u00a0Lennox Miller\u00a0\u201969, DDS \u201973 won a silver medal in Mexico City in 1968 and a bronze medal in Munich in 1972. His daughter\u00a0Inger Miller\u00a0\u201995 took home gold for the United States in Atlanta in 1996. They were the first father-daughter pair to win Olympic track and field medals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n USC Olympians on the Silver Screen\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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In his 1927 film,\u00a0College<\/em>, comedian Buster Keaton hired several USC Olympians for a series of track stunts, including one in which 1924 gold medal winner\u00a0Lee Barnes<\/strong>\u00a0(non-degreed, attended 1924-28) pole-vaulted into a second-story window. Barnes and teammates\u00a0Charles Borah<\/strong>\u00a0DDS \u201929, MD \u201935 (gold medal winner for the 4\u00d7100-meter relay in London in 1928),\u00a0Leighton Dye<\/strong>\u00a0\u201926,\u00a0Clarence \u201cBud\u201d Houser<\/strong>\u00a0DDS \u201926 and\u00a0Morton Kaer<\/strong>\u00a0\u201925 also performed Keaton\u2019s cross-campus dash to save a damsel in distress.<\/p>\n

Raised on a pineapple plantation in Hawaii,\u00a0Clarence \u201cBuster\u201d Crabbe<\/strong>\u00a0\u201932 won the gold and also set an Olympic record in the 400-meter freestyle swim in Los Angeles in 1932. He later became known as \u201cKing of the Serials\u201d for his starring roles as Tarzan, Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.<\/p>\n

Swimmer and six-time medalist\u00a0Murray Rose<\/strong>\u00a0\u201962 went into acting following his Olympic career, appearing in the 1968 film\u00a0Ice Station Zebra<\/em>\u00a0and the television series\u00a0The Patty Duke Show<\/em>,\u00a0Magnum, P.I.<\/em>, and\u00a0Matlock<\/em>, among others.<\/p>\n

Pole vaulter\u00a0Bob Seagren<\/strong>\u00a0\u201969 set an Olympic record when he won the gold in Mexico City in 1968. He had to settle for silver at the Munich Olympics in 1972, when a controversial decision banned a new model of pole used by the leading vaulters \u2014 marking the first time a U.S. athlete had not won the Olympic pole vault competition since the beginning of the Games. Seagren is also remembered for playing the character Dennis in the television series\u00a0Soap<\/em>, and for co-hosting the Los Angeles edition of\u00a0P.M. Magazine<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n More Iconic USC Olympians\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Lindsay Benko Mintenko<\/strong>
\nTwo-time Olympic swimmer\u00a0Lindsay Benko Mintenko\u00a0\u201999 was a member of the gold medal-winning 4\u00d7200-meter freestyle relay team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. In Athens in 2004, she won another gold, along with a silver.<\/p>\n

Roy Cochran<\/strong>
\nAlthough his athletic career had been interrupted by military service in World War II,\u00a0Roy Cochran\u00a0PhD \u201950 took home two gold medals from the London Olympics in 1948, in the 4\u00d7400-meter relay and the 400-meter hurdles.<\/p>\n

Cynthia Cooper-Dyke<\/strong>
\nOne of only 13 women to be inducted as players into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame,\u00a0Cynthia Cooper-Dyke\u00a0(non-degreed, attended 1982-84 and 1985-86) was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic women\u2019s basketball team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the bronze-winning team at the 1992 Games in Barcelona.<\/p>\n

Charlie Dumas<\/strong>
\nAt the U.S. Olympic trials in 1956,\u00a0Charlie Dumas\u00a0\u201961 became the first human to high jump over seven feet. Although his Olympic height didn\u2019t break the world record he had set in the trials, it was enough to win him the gold medal in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Michael Riley \u201cMickey Riley\u201d Galitzen<\/strong>
\nDiver\u00a0Michael Riley \u201cMickey Riley\u201d Galitzen\u00a0(non-degreed, attended 1929-32) won silver and bronze medals at the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928, and gold and silver in Los Angeles in 1932.<\/p>\n

Katinka Hosszu<\/strong>
\nSwimming for her native Hungary,\u00a0Katinka Hosszu\u00a0\u201912 competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 Olympics in London.<\/p>\n

Bryan Ivie<\/strong>
\nThe most dominant collegiate men\u2019s volleyball player of his era,\u00a0Bryan Ivie\u00a0(non-degreed) was a member of the U.S. men\u2019s volleyball team that took home the bronze medal from the 1992 Barcelona Games. He also competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Michael Larrabee<\/strong>
\nMichael Larrabee\u00a0\u201957 became an Olympic champion at the age of 30, seven years after graduating from USC. At the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, he won gold medals in both the 400-meter dash and the 4\u00d7400-meter relay, helping set a new world record in the relay.<\/p>\n

Miklos \u201cNick\u201d Martin<\/strong>
\nHungarian-born\u00a0Miklos \u201cNick\u201d Martin\u00a0\u201959 won gold medals in water polo in Helsinki in 1952 and Melbourne in 1956. He defected from Hungary at the 1956 Olympic Games and became a U.S. citizen in 1962.<\/p>\n

Oussama \u201cOus\u201d Mellouli<\/strong>
\nTunisian swimmer\u00a0Oussama \u201cOus\u201d Mellouli\u00a0\u201907 competed in 2012 Olympics in London, where he won a gold medal in the open water Marathon Swimming 10K and a bronze medal indoors in the 1500-meter freestyle. He was also the gold medalist for the 1,500-meter freestyle at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing \u2014 becoming the first African male swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual swimming event. His win also marked the second gold medal his country had ever earned, 40 years after runner Mohamed Gammoundi won the 5000-meter race in the Mexico City Olympics. He previously competed in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Olympics in Athens.<\/p>\n

Cheryl Miller<\/strong>
\nCheryl Miller\u00a0\u201986 led the U.S. Olympic women\u2019s basketball team to a gold medal at the Los Angeles Games in 1984. A three-time Naismith College Player of the Year, she coached two seasons at USC (1994-95) and ultimately pursued a broadcasting career.<\/p>\n

Parry O\u2019Brien<\/strong>
\nParry O\u2019Brien\u00a0\u201954 won gold medals in the shot put at the 1952 Helsinki Games and the 1956 Melbourne Games, took home silver from Rome in 1960, and placed fourth in 1964 in Tokyo, where he also carried the U.S. flag during opening ceremonies. He held the world record going into the 1956 Olympics and became the first world record holder to win the shot put in Olympic competition since 1908 \u2014 a feat that would be repeated in 1964 by USC\u2019s Dallas Long \u201962, DDS \u201966, who won a gold medal in Tokyo and set a new Olympic record at that time. (Long had previously won a bronze medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.)<\/p>\n

Donald \u201cDon\u201d Quarrie<\/strong>
\nDespite being injured at the Mexico City Games in 1968 and again in Munich in 1972,\u00a0Donald \u201cDon\u201d Quarrie\u00a0\u201974, MPA \u201978 persevered, going on to compete in three more Summer Olympics. He won individual gold and silver medals in Montreal in 1976, and a bronze in Moscow in 1980. He took home a fourth medal, silver, as a member of the 4\u00d7100-meter relay team in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. In his hometown of Kingston, Jamaica, Quarrie\u2019s statue stands proudly at the entrance to the National Stadium, and a high school also bears his name. At least two reggae tunes have been composed in his honor as well.<\/p>\n

Kaitlin Sandeno<\/strong>
\nAt the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney,\u00a0Kaitlin Sandeno\u00a0\u201906 won the bronze medal in the 800-meter freestyle. She was a USC student during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where she took home three more medals: gold, silver and bronze.<\/p>\n

Rebecca Soni<\/strong>
\nRebecca Soni \u201909 first became an international swimming sensation while she was still a student at USC, winning a gold medal and two silvers at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. For the\u00a02012 Olympics in London, \u00a0she won gold medals in the 200-meter breaststroke and as part of the 400-meter medley relay and a silver in the 100-meter breaststroke.<\/p>\n

Tina Thompson<\/strong>
\nRetired\u00a0WNBA player\u00a0Tina Thompson\u00a0\u201997 helped lead the U.S. Olympic women\u2019s basketball teams to gold medals in Athens in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008. She had been a team alternate in 2000<\/p>\n

Steve Timmons<\/strong>
\nAlmost as famous for his flaming red flattop haircut as for his athletic achievements,\u00a0Steve Timmons\u00a0(non-degreed) is the first American male to win three volleyball medals. He garnered a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, marking the first Olympic medal for the U.S. men\u2019s team, a second gold in Seoul in 1988, and a bronze in Barcelona in 1992.<\/p>\n

Quincy Watts<\/strong>
\nQuincy Watts\u00a0\u201994 won gold medals for the 400-meter and 4\u00d7400-meter relay at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, setting an Olympic and USC record for the former.<\/p>\n

Louis Zamperini<\/strong>
\nAs an 18-year-old, distance runner\u00a0Louis Zamperini\u00a0\u201940 finished eighth in the 5,000-meter race at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. As a Trojan track star, he set a collegiate mile record that stood for 15 years. As a World War II bombardier, he crashed over the Pacific and drifted for 47 days on a life raft, only to be taken captive by the Japanese, held for over two years and declared legally dead. Zamperini\u2019s larger-than-life saga is the subject of Laura Hillenbrand\u2019s bestselling book\u00a0Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Keena Rothhammer Zorovich<\/strong>
\nWhen 15-year-old\u00a0Keena Rothhammer Zorovich\u00a0\u201979 won a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the 1972 Munich Games, she not only became the youngest swimmer ever to win a gold in that event, but also set a world record. She took home a bronze for the 200-meter freestyle as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n USC\u2019s Oldest Living Olympian\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Iris Cummings Critchell<\/strong>
\nUSC\u2019s oldest surviving Olympian is swimmerIris Cummings Critchell\u00a0(born Dec. 21, 1920) from the 1936 Berlin Games. After being the nation\u2019s top female swimmer in the 200m breaststroke from 1936 to 1939, she enrolled at USC in its first Civilian Pilot Training Program. She became an aviator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n Trojan Coaches at the Olympics\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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In addition to upholding a strong tradition of nurturing Olympic athletes at USC, Trojan coaches have a storied legacy of broader involvement with the Olympic Games. USC-affiliated coaches have served on the Olympic staff in a variety of capacities, and coached Olympic teams not only for the United States, but also for nations as far flung as Tunisia, in diverse sports ranging from diving to volleyball<\/em><\/p>\n

Fred Cady<\/strong>
\nFred Cady\u00a0\u2014 USC\u2019s aquatics coach for more then 30 years, from the mid-1920s until his retirement in 1956 \u2014 coached the U.S. diving teams in four consecutive Olympiads: 1928 (Amsterdam), 1932 (Los Angeles), 1936 (Berlin) and 1948 (London).<\/p>\n

Dean Cromwell<\/strong>
\nCalled \u201cthe maker of champions,\u201d USC track coach\u00a0Dean Cromwell\u00a0produced Olympic champions in every Olympiad held from 1912 until his retirement in 1948. In addition, he was selected as an Olympic coach in 1928 (Amsterdam) and 1936 (Berlin), and as head coach in 1948 (London).<\/p>\n

Peter Daland<\/strong>
\nCoach\u00a0Peter Daland\u00a0led two U.S. swim teams in Olympic competition, the 1972 men\u2019s team that won nine gold medals in Munich and the 1964 women\u2019s squad that captured six of eight possible medals in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

Rod Dedeaux<\/strong>
\nLegendary USC baseball coach\u00a0Rod Dedeaux\u00a0led the U.S. Olympic baseball team in the 1984 Los Angeles Games. At the time, baseball had last been played as a demonstration sport in the 1964 Tokyo Games, where Dedeaux also coached the U.S. team \u2014 a team that included three Trojan athletes.<\/p>\n

Howard Jones<\/strong>
\nUSC football coach\u00a0Howard Jones, USC\u2019s head football coach from 1925 to 1940, led the West Coast team to a 7-6 victory over the East Coast in demonstration football at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Neill Kohlhase<\/strong>
\nNeill Kohlhase\u00a0\u201945, who coached USC water polo during the 1950s and 1960s, was the U.S. Olympic water polo coach in 1956 (Melbourne) and 1960 (Rome), when his teams placed fifth and sixth, respectively.<\/p>\n

Mark Schubert<\/strong>
\nMark Schubert, who coached USC\u2019s swim teams from 1992 to 2006, had his first stint as a U.S. Olympic swimming coach in 1980, for the U.S.-boycotted Moscow Games. He went on to coach again in 1984 (Los Angeles), 1988 (Seoul) and 1992 (Barcelona), was named head coach in 1996 (Atlanta), 2000 (Sydney) and 2004 (Athens), and continued his service as a member of the team staff in 2008 (Beijing).
\n<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n Olympic Oaks at USC\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, competing athletes were given potted oak tree seedlings for the gold medals they won.\u00a0Ken Carpenter<\/strong>\u00a0\u201939 (who won gold in the discus throw, breaking an Olympic record) and teammate\u00a0Foy Draper<\/strong>\u00a0\u201936 (who, together with\u00a0Frank Wykoff<\/strong>\u00a0\u201933, won gold and also set a new world record with the 400-meter-relay team) brought their trees back to USC, where they were planted in Associates Park. (The relay team\u2019s tree, which died in 2002 from root rot, has since been replaced with another mature oak.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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\n USC, Los Angeles and the Olympic Games\n <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Just as USC has a long and distinguished history of producing Olympic athletes and coaches, the University of Southern California is no stranger to the Olympic Games themselves. In 1932 and 1984, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum \u2014 right across the street from the University Park Campus \u2014 was the center of the competition.<\/em><\/p>\n

Trojan athletic director (then called graduate manager)\u00a0Gwynn Wilson<\/strong>\u00a0served as associate manager of the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

John Argue<\/strong>\u00a0JD \u201956, founding chairman of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, is widely regarded as the person responsible for bringing the 1984 Olympic Games to Los Angeles. (Incidentally, John Argue\u2019s father,\u00a0Clifford Argue<\/strong>\u00a0\u201924, LLB \u201929, was a Trojan Olympian, competing in pentathlon during the 1924 Paris Games.)<\/p>\n

The\u00a0University Park Campus<\/strong> was the site of the swimming and diving events during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles \u2014 and also served as host to the largest of the city\u2019s three Olympic Villages. USC\u2019s Cromwell Track and Field Stadium (today\u2019s Allyson Felix Field and Katherine B. Loker Track Stadium) also was used as a training and warm-up facility.<\/p>\n

Before officiating at the opening ceremonies for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, then U.S. President Ronald Reagan took up office in the suite of university administrator Anthony Lazzaro<\/strong>\u00a0\u201949, USC\u2019s chief liaison officer with the Los Angeles Olympics Organizing Committee.<\/p>\n

Acclaimed producer\u00a0David Wolper<\/strong>\u00a0MFA \u201949, producer of the groundbreaking 1977 miniseries\u00a0Roots<\/em>, directed the opening and closing ceremonies for the Los Angeles Summer Olympics in 1984.<\/p>\n

More Information<\/strong>
\nUSC Olympians: 1904 to 2018<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n \n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"parent":768,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7689","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOlympic Heritage - USC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"USC has a proud Olympic heritage. 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