Meet the Penn athletes competing in the Tokyo Olympics
Six Quakers are going for the gold in the Olympic Games, representing the United States, Canada, Jamaica, Bermuda, and Taiwan/Chinese Taipei.
Images: Penn Athletics
Let the games begin!
The Games of the XXXII Olympiad open on Friday in Tokyo, Japan, after a 365-day delay because of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 11,000 athletes from 200 countries or territories are participating, including six from Penn.
Regina Salmons, a 2018 alumna, is representing the United States in rowing in the women’s eight. A native of Methuen, Massachusetts, and training out of Princeton, New Jersey, Salmons has been a part of four national teams and won three gold medals in international competition.
2018 alumna Regina Salmons, right, is competing in the women’s eight.
(Image: USRowing)
As part of the Red & Blue’s women’s rowing team, Salmons was a First-Team All-Ivy honoree, a Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association All-Conference selection, and a member of the Quaker varsity eight squad that placed third at the 2018 Ivy Championship.
Also representing the U.S. is 2016 graduate Sam Mattis of East Brunswick, New Jersey, who is competing in the discus in track & field. Mattis was the 2015 NCAA National Champion in the discus, the 2015 USTFCCCA Outdoor Male Field Scholar Athlete of the Year, a three-time Ivy Heps champion, and a three-time First-Team Outdoor All-Ivy selection. He holds the school record in the discus with a mark of 67.45 meters (221 feet, 3 inches).
2016 alumnus Sam Mattis is competing in the discus.
(Image: Scott Spitzer)
2016 alumnus Shaul Gordon is representing Canada in fencing in the men’s sabre. From Richmond, British Columbia, Gordon has represented Canada at two Pan American Games and six FIE World Championships. He was a three-time NCAA Championships qualifier for the Quakers, a First-Team All-American, and he helped the Red & Blue earn a No. 1 national ranking and win its first Ivy team title in seven years during his senior year.
2016 alumnus Shaul Gordon is competing in the men’s sabre.
(Image: Courtesy of the Canadian Fencing Federation)
Dara Alizadeh, who graduated in 2015, is representing Bermuda in rowing in the single sculls competition. He is scheduled to carry the Bermuda flag during the Opening Ceremonies.
While an undergrad, Alizadeh, who grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, was a member of the heavy rowing team’s varsity eight boat. After graduating, he won a silver medal as a member of the American Men’s Eight at the U23 World Rowing Championships. He also boasts a pair of Boat Race wins with Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, and he has extensive international experience as Bermuda’s single sculler.
2015 alumnus Dara Alizadeh is competing in the single sculls competition.
2011 alumna Jasmine Chen is representing Taiwan/Chinese Taipei in equestrian in the individual jumping division. She previously represented Taiwan/Chinese Taipei at the World Equestrian Games, the Asian Games, and the FEI World Cup Arab League.
Dols, from Sarasota, Florida, is a two-time Ivy League Championships qualifier. He is the first Penn swimmer/diver to make the Olympics since current Penn diving coach Robert Cragg competed in the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
Rising senior Keanan Dols is competing in the 200 IM.
(Image: Penn Athletics)
“We are so proud of our former and current athletes who will be representing their countries at the Olympic Games,” says T. Gibbs Kane, Jr. W’69 Director of Athletics and Recreation Alanna Shanahan. “Our Olympic history is impressive, with more than 200 athletes having competed since 1900 with 74 earning medals. Regina, Sam, Shaul, Keanan, Dara, and Jasmine have reached the pinnacle of their respective sports and we will be rooting them on for gold from here at Penn.”
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