by Dick Lipe, Bentley University Sports Information Director
CoSIDA Academic All-America® committee member
see also: 82 CoSIDA Academic All-Americas Participating In The Rio Olympics
Academic All-Americas® have a history of excelling and that was certainly the case at the recently completed Rio Olympics as 24 past and current Academic All-Americans made 33 trips to the medal podium.
There were 19 gold medals, four silver and 10 bronze handed out to athletes previously recognized as American All-Americas by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Leading the Academic All-America® parade to the podium were swimmers Nathan Adrian (California), Ryan Murphy (California) and Maya DiRado (Stanford).
Murphy earned three golds as he was first in the 100 meter backstroke, the 200 backstroke and the 4x100 medley relay. Adrian was a gold-medal winner in two relays (4x100 medley, 4x100 freestyle) and he also collected a pair of bronze medals (50 and 100 freestyle). DiRado returned home with four medals: gold in the 200 back and 4x200 freestyle relay, silver in the 400 individual medley and bronze in the 200 IM.
West Virginia’s Nico Campriani won a pair of golds for Italy in shooting as he prevailed in the 50 meter rifle 3 positions and the 10 meter air rifle.
The United States gold-medal winning women’s basketball team included three former Academic All-Americas: Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne, UConn’s Maya Moore and Minnesota’s Lindsay Whalen.
Other gold medal winners, all of whom competed for the USA, were Kevin Cordes of Arizona (swimming, 4x100 medley relay), Ryan Crouser of Texas (shot put), Missy Franklin of California (swimming, 4x200 free relay), Gwen Jorgensen of Wisconsin (triathlon), Gerek Meinhardt of Notre Dame (fencing, men’s team foil), Jenna Prandini of Oregon (track, 4x100 relay) and Kelsi Worrell of Louisville (swimming, 4x100 medley).
In addition to the medal winners, Dartmouth’s Abbey D’Agostino, another former Academic All-America® honoree, received the rarely-awarded Pierre de Coubertin award for her incredible display of sportsmanship in the women’s 5,000 meters. Also known as the International Fair Play Trophy, it’s only been handed out 17 times in Olympic history.
GOLD (19)
Nathan Adrian (California), USA, Swimming, 4x100 medley relay
Nathan Adrian (California), USA, Swimming, 4x100 freestyle relay
Nico Campriani (West Virginia), Italy, Shooting, 50 meter rifle 3 positions
Nico Campriani (West Virginia), Italy, Shooting, 10 meter air rifle
Kevin Cordes (Arizona), USA, Swimming, 4x100 medley relay
Ryan Crouser (Texas),USA, Track & Field, shot put
Elena Della Donne (Delaware), USA, Basketball
Maya DiRado, (Stanford), USA, Swimming, 200 backstroke
Maya DiRado, (Stanford), USA, Swimming, 4x200 freestyle relay
Missy Franklin (California), USA, Swimming, 4x200 freestyle relay
Gwen Jorgensen (Wisconsin), USA, Triathlon
Gerek Meinhardt (Notre Dame), USA, Fencing, men’s team foil
Maya Moore (Connecticut), USA, Basketball
Ryan Murphy (California), USA, Swimming, 100 backstroke
Ryan Murphy (California), USA, Swimming, 200 backstroke
Ryan Murphy (California), USA, Swimming, 4x100 medley relay
Jenna Prandini (Oregon), USA, Track & Field, 4x100 relay
Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota), USA, Basketball
Kelsi Worrell (Louisville), USA, Swimming, 4x100 medley relay
SILVER (4)
Paul Chelimo (UNC Greensboro), USA, Track & Field, 5000
Maya DiRado (Stanford), USA, Swimming, 400 individual medley
Connor Jaeger (Michigan), USA, Swimming, 1500 freestyle
Sandy Morris (Arkansas), USA, Track & Field, pole vault
BRONZE (10)
Nathan Adrian (California), USA, Swimming, 50 freestyle
Nathan Adrian (California), USA, Swimming, 100 freestyle
Sabriana D’Angelo (South Carolina), Canada, Soccer
Maya DiRado (Stanford), USA, Swimming, 200 individual medley
Jordan Larson (Nebraska), USA, Volleyball
Karsta Lowe (UCLA), USA, Volleyball
Galen Rupp (Oregon), USA, Track & Field, marathon
Jenny (Barringer) Simpson (Colorado), USA, Track & Field, 1500
Brianne Theisen-Eaton (Oregon), Canada, Track & Field, heptathlon
Courtney Thompson (Washington), USA, Volleyball
PIERRE DE COUBERTIN AWARD
Abbey D’Agostino (Dartmouth), USA, Track & Field