Going for gold: Penn athletes in the Paris Olympics
Twelve Penn athletes are participating in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Part 1 of a two-part Penn Today series highlights Quakers competing for international teams.
Image: CARON/ZEPPELIN/SIPA
The 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris open on Friday, July 26, and run through Sunday, Aug. 11. Around 10,500 athletes will be competing, including 114 from the Ivy League and 12 from Penn. Six Quakers are members of Team USA and six Quakers are competing for Bermuda, Slovenia, Canada, Egypt, and Nigeria.
In a two-part series, Penn Today spotlights Penn athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympics. First up are athletes competing for international teams: three fencers, two rowers, and a track and field entrant.
Dara Alizadeh – Bermuda – Rowing/Men’s Single Sculls A 2015 alumnus, Dara Alizadeh is competing for Bermuda in the men’s single sculls. This will be his second straight Olympic appearance. He participated in the men’s single scull at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo (held in 2021 due to the pandemic) and finished 18th.
As an undergrad at Penn, Alizadeh was a member of the men’s heavy rowing team. Following his collegiate career, he won a silver medal as part of the American men’s eight at the U23 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Alizadeh has been rowing since 2008. He was the flagbearer for Bermuda at the 2020 opening ceremony.
Isak Žvegelj – Slovenia – Rowing/Men’s Single Sculls Battling Alizadeh for the gold will be rising fourth-year Isak Žvegelj, who is competing for Slovenia in the men’s single sculls.
The son of Olympic medalist Denis Žvegelj, who won the bronze medal in rowing for Slovenia at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Isak Žvegeli is a member of the men’s heavy rowing team. In 2018, he placed fourth in the double sculls at the World Rowing Junior Championships and in 2021 he competed for Slovenia at the Under-23 World Rowing Championships.
Isak Žvegelj is interested in the intersection of human and artificial intelligence and how they can work together to improve our lives.
Samantha “Samy” Morton – Australia – Rowing/Women’s Sweep 2023 alumna Samy Morton is a reserve for Australia for the women’s sweep.
At Penn, she was a member of the women’s rowing team. She was a Second-Team All-Ivy selection in 2021-22, a First-Team All-Ivy selection in 2022-23, and a Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association First-Team All-American in 2022-23.
Morton came late to the sport; she did not begin rowing until age 20. She was a Division I swimmer at Tulane University before transferring to Penn and joining the women’s rowing team, where she quickly excelled.
Blake Broszus – Canada – Fencing/Men’s Foil Blake Broszus, a 2024 alumnus, is competing for Canada in the men’s foil. This will be his second consecutive Olympic appearance. He also competed for Canada in the men’s foil at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He placed 31st.
As a member of the men’s fencing team at Penn, Broszus compiled an 89-27 record in two seasons. In 2021-22, he had a 54-14 mark and was a Second-Team All-Ivy selection and NCAA qualifier. At the NCAA Championships, he finished tied for 17th. In 2022-23, he had a 35-13 record and was also an NCAA qualifier.
Shaul Gordon – Canada – Fencing/Men’s Sabre Joining Broszus on Team Canada is Shaul Gordon, a 2016 alumnus, who is competing in the men’s sabre. He, too, is making back-to-back Olympic appearances. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he advanced to the Table of 32.
While at Penn, Gordon had a 143-30 career record and helped the men’s fencing team earn a No. 1 national ranking and win their first Ivy team title in seven years. He was a three-time NCAA Championships qualifier and earned First-Team All-American honors as a second-year and Second-Team All-American honors as a fourth-year.
Gordon began fencing at age 7; his interest was sparked after watching a Zorro cartoon. His younger sister Tamar is also a fencer.
Malak Hamza – Egypt – Fencing/Women’s Foil Malak Hamza, an incoming first-year, is competing for Egypt in the women’s foil.
She won the Egyptian Junior National Championship in 2024 and she was a member of the Junior African Champion team and Senior African Champion team in 2023 and 2024. She also competed in the individual foil and team foil events at the 2023 World Championships in Milan, Italy.
Both of her parents are former national fencing champions in Egypt and her brother Mohamed is a two-time Olympian (2016, 2020). Her father also coached the Egypt national fencing team.
Ashley Anumba – Nigeria – Track and Field/Women’s Discus 2021 alumna Ashley Anumba is competing for Nigeria in the women’s discus.
She was a member of the women’s track and field team at Penn. She was the 2018 Outdoor Ivy Heps champion in the discus, the 2018 Ivy Co-Most Outstanding Field Performer, a two-time NCAA Outdoor qualifier, a 2019 Second-Team All-Ivy honoree, a 2022 Second-Team All-American (at Virginia), and a 2023 First-Team All-American (at Virginia).
In June, Anumba won her first international medal at the 2024 African Championships in Douala, Cameroon. She holds the school record in the discus: 57.36 meters (188 feet, 2 inches).
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