10 Facts About MIT Alumni and the Olympic Games

MIT’s Olympic history dates back to the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.

While the number of MIT alumni who have been awarded a Nobel Prize (40) is more than five times the number who have won an Olympic medal (7), MITers have been a steady presence at both the Summer and Winter Games for more than a century. Here are 10 facts that might surprise you about MIT’s long connection with the Olympic Games.

2006 Olympian Pat Antaki even compared the Olympic Village to living in an MIT dorm: “It’s like freshman year at MIT—the big deal is actually getting there.”

Here are 10 facts that might surprise you about MIT’s long connection with the Olympic Games.

1. At least 40 MIT alumni representing 13 countries have qualified, participated, or served as an alternate in at least 13 sports at 29 Olympic Games. Most recently, this includes two alumnae who competed as first-time Olympians in Tokyo in 2021.
2. Thomas Curtis 19894, MIT’s first Olympian, won the gold medal for the U.S. in the 110-meter hurdles at the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.
3. MIT alumni have earned 13 medals at the Olympics: three gold, five silver, and five bronze.
4. Two MIT alumni are multiple medal winners. American fencer Joseph Levis ’26 won the silver medal in men's individual foil and the bronze medal in men's team foil in 1932. American short track speed skater Jordan Malone ’19 won bronze (2010) and silver (2014) before matriculating to MIT in 2015.
5. Joseph Levis' son, Roberto Levis ’64, fenced for Puerto Rico at the 1972 games, making Joseph and Roberto MIT’s only parent-child Olympians.
6. The most popular sport among MIT alumni is rowing. Twelve MIT alumni have competed in the sport, including Alden “Zeke” Sanborn SM ’28, who was part of the American boat from the United States Naval Academy that won the gold medal in the men’s coxed eights at the 1920 Summer Games in Antwerp.
7. The most unique sport? Choose between skeleton (Pat Antaki ’84, Lebanon), taekwondo (Chinedum Osuji PhD ’01, Trinidad and Tobago), or shooting (Herb Voelcker ’48, USA).
8. Seven of the 10 most recent MIT Olympians are MIT alumnae, including two who competed in 2021. Alexis Sablone MArch ’16 represented the US in skateboarding, finishing fourth in the women's street event, and Veronica Toro ’16 represented Puerto Rico as its first-ever female Olympic rower.
9. Between 1896–1956, MIT Olympians solely represented the United States. Since 1960, MIT Olympians have represented eight countries, including Venezuela, Great Britain, and Australia.
10. Three MIT alumni have participated in three separate Games: Levis competed in ’28, ’32, and ’36; Bermudian Paula Lewin ’93 competed in sailing in ’92, ’96, and ’04; and Cypriot Alexis Photiades ’91, SM ’92 competed in alpine skiing in ’84, ’88, and ’92.

     

    MIT’s alumni Olympic records may be inexact. If there is alumni Olympian that is not included in the list, notify us in the comments below, Facebook, or Twitter.