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MIT alumni in the olypmics
 

Do you know of any MIT alumni competing or participating in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris? Let us know in comments below and we will update our list of  MIT alumni Olympians.

At a school known for its Nobel Prize winners, it’s easy for athletes—even Olympians—to get overshadowed at MIT. But the Institute has a long Olympic history, from the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 to this year’s Summer Olympics in Paris.

According to research compiled by the Alumni Association, at least 40 MIT alumni representing 13 countries have qualified, participated, or served as alternates in at least 13 sports at 29 Olympic Games, including two alumnae who competed as first-time Olympians in Tokyo in 2021.

Alexis Sablone MArch ’16 represented the US in skateboarding, finishing fourth in the women's street event, and Veronica Toro ’16 competed Puerto Rico’s first-ever female Olympic rower.

In total, based on MIT Alumni Association research, MIT alumni Olympians have won at least three gold, five silver, and five bronze medals. Scroll down to see more MIT Olympic facts and the most up-to-date list of alumni Olympians.

 

Facts and Figures: MIT Alumni at the Olympics
 

  • MIT’s first Olympian, Thomas Curtis (Class of 1894), won the gold medal for the US in the 110-meter hurdles at the first Olympics in 1896. Curtis recounted his Olympic experience in the July 1924 issue of MIT Technology Review.
  • Alexis Sablone was a member of the first-ever US Olympic skateboarding team, and she was featured in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and GQ in the lead-up to the Tokyo games.
  • In addition to being Puerto Rico’s first-ever female rower in the Olympics, Michelle Toro was named its rowing athlete of the year in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018.
  • The most recent MIT alumni to participate in the Winter Olympic Games were AJ Edelman ’14, who competed for Israel in the men's skeleton, and Mahmoud Shaker Al-Abood ’04, MBA ’08, who represented Monaco as an alternate in the two-man bobsleigh, both at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
  • American fencer Joseph Levis 1926 was MIT's first multiple medal winner, winning the silver medal in men's individual foil and the bronze medal in men's team foil in 1932. His son, Roberto Levis '64, fenced for Puerto Rico at the 1972 games.
  • American short track speed skater Jordan Malone ’19 is the Institute’s other two-time medalist, having won bronze (2010) and silver (2014) before matriculating to MIT in 2015.
  • Three MIT alumni have competed in three separate Olympic Games: Joseph Levis (1928, 1932, 1936); Bermudian sailor Paula Lewin '93 (1992, 1996, 2004); and Cypriot skier Alexis Photiades '91 (1984, 1988, 1992).
  • In total, MIT alumni have earned 13 medals at the Olympics, including three gold medals: Thomas Curtis; Swedish fencer Johan Harmeberg '81 (1980); and American rower Alden "Zeke" Sanborn SM 1928 (1920).
  • Mark Smith ’78 was one of the final runners carrying the Olympic Torch during the Opening Ceremonies when the United States hosted the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.
  • Since 1992, MIT alumni have represented at least nine different countries: Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Great Britain, Israel, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States.
  • The most common Olympic sports for alumni are rowing (12 alumni) and sailing (7).

MIT Alumni in the Olympic Games

  • Ackerman

    Nate Ackerman PhD '04

    Great Britain

    Wrestling
    Men's Middleweight, Freestyle

    Athens, 2004

  • Antaki

    Pat Antaki '84

    Lebanon

    Men's Skeleton

    Turin, 2006

    "10 Questions with MIT Olympian Patrick Antaki ’84"

  • Bertrand

    John Bertrand SM '72

    Australia

    Sailing
    Mixed One Person Dinghy

    Munich, 1972
    Montreal, 1976 (Bronze Medal)

  • USA Flag

    Harry Blieden '57

    USA

    Rowing

    Rome, 1960 (alternate)

  • Bradley

    Elizabeth Bradley '83, SM '86, PhD '92

    United States

    Rowing
    Women's Coxed Fours

    Seoul, 1988

  • Camejo

    Peter Camejo '62

    Venezuela

    Sailing
    Mixed Two Person Keelboat

    Rome, 1960

  • Curtis

    Thomas Curtis 1894

    USA

    Men's 100 meters
    Men's 110 meters hurdles

    Athens, 1896 (Gold Medal)

    "Olympic color from 1896"

  • Edelman

    AJ Edelman '14

    Israel

    Men's Skeleton

    2018, PyeongChang

    "MIT Alumnus Competes in Winter Olympics"

  • Evans

    Ralph Evans '48

    USA

    Sailing
    Mixed One Person Dinghy

    London, 1948 (Silver Medal)

  • USA Flag

    John Everett '76, PhD '91

    USA

    Rowing
    Men's Coxed Eights

    Montreal, 1976
    Moscow, 1980

  • Frailey

    Jack Frailey '44

    USA

    Rowing (coach)

    Mexico, 1968
    Montreal, 1976

  • Freedman

    Nicole Freedman '94

    USA

    Cycling
    Women's Road Race

    Sydney, 2000

  • Guerette

    Michelle Guerette MBA '12

    USA

    Rowing
    Women's Quadruple Sculls
    Women's Single Sculls

    Athens, 2004
    Beijing, 2008 (Silver Medal)

  • Goldman

    Janet Goldman '89

    USA

    Speed Skating
    Women's 1,500 meters
    Women's 3,000 meters
    Women's 5,000 meters

    Sarajevo, 1984
    Calgary, 1988

  • Harmenberg

    Johan Harmenberg '81

    Sweden

    Men's Fencing

    Moscow, 1980 (Gold Medal)

  • USA_flag_MIT

    Larry Hough SM ’72

    USA

    Rowing
    Coxless Pairs, Men

    Mexico City, 1968
    Munich, 1972 (Silver Medal)

  • Levis

    Joseph Levis '26

    USA

    Fencing
    Men's Foil

    Amsterdam, 1928
    Los Angeles, 1932 (Silver Medal, Bronze Medal)
    Berlin, 1936 

  • Puerto Rico

    Roberto Levis '64

    Puerto Rico

    Fencing
    Men's Foil

    Munich, 1972

  • Ned Lomigora Nedzad Olympics MIT

    Nedžad Lomigora SM '98

    Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Luge
    Singles, Men

    Lillehammer, 1994

  • Lewin

    Paula Lewin '93

    Bermuda

    Sailing
    Women's One Person Dinghy
    Women's Three Person Keelboat

    Barcelona, 1992
    Atlanta, 1996
    Athens, 2004

  • USA

    Mary (Kellogg) Lyman SM '78

    USA

    Rowing
    Women's Coxed Fours

    Montreal, 1976

  • Malone

    Jordan Malone '19

    USA

    Short Track Speed Skating
    Men's 5,000 Meters Relay

    Vancouver, 2010 (Bronze Medal)
    Sochi, 2014 (Silver Medal)

    "10 Questions with MIT Olympian Jordan Malone ’19"

  • USA

    John Marvin '49

    USA

    Sailing
    Mixed One Person Dinghy

    Melbourne, 1956 (Bronze Medal)

  • USA

    Ed Melaika '53

    USA

    Sailing
    Mixed One Person Dinghy

    Helsinki, 1952

  • USA

    Eric Olsen '41

    USA

    Sailing
    Mixed Two Person Heavyweight Dinghy

    Melbourne, 1956

  • Osuji

    Chinedum Osuji PhD '01

    Trinidad and Tobago

    Taekwondo
    Men's Welterweight

    Athens, 2004

  • Photiades

    Alexis Photiades '91, SM '92

    Cyprus

    Alpine Skiing
    Men's Giant Slalom
    Men's Super G

    Sarajevo, 1984
    Calgary, 1988
    Albertville, 1992

    "10 Questions with MIT Olympian Alexis Photiades ’91, SM ’92"

  • Piantedosi

    Gary Piantedosi '76

    USA

    Rowing
    Men's Coxless Fours    

    Montreal, 1976

  • USA

    Chester Riley '62

    USA

    Rowing

    Tokyo, 1964

  • sablone mit olympics

    Alexis Sablone MArch ’16

    USA

    Skateboarding
    Skateboard Street

    Tokyo, 2021

  • Mahmoud Shaker Al-Abood

    Mahmoud Shaker Al-Abood '04, MBA '08

    Monaco

    Bobsleigh
    Two-Man (alternate)

    2018, PyeongChang

  • Sanborn

    Captain Alden "Zeke" Sanborn SM '28

    USA

    Rowing
    Men's Coxed Eights

    Antwerp, 1920 (Gold Medal)

  • Smith

    Mark Smith '78

    USA

    Fencing
    Men's Foil, Team

    Moscow, 1980
    Los Angeles, 1984

  • Ilkka

    Ilkka Suvanto '68

    Finland

    Swimming
    Men's 400 Meters Freestyle
    Men's 1,500 Meters Freestyle
    Men's 100 Meters Medley Relay
    Men's 200 Meters Freestyle Relay
    Men's 400 Meters Individual Medley

    Rome, 1960
    Tokyo, 1964

  • toro mit olympics

    Veronica Toro ’16

    Puerto Rico

    Puerto Rico
    Rowing
    Women’s Single Scull

    Tokyo, 2021

    “From Rowing on the Charles to Rowing for Puerto Rico”

  • USA!

    Steve Tucker '91

    USA

    Rowing
    Men's Lightweight Double Sculls

    Sydney, 2000
    Athens, 2004

  • USA

    Erland Van Lidth De Jeude '77

    USA

    Men's Wrestling

    Montreal, 1976 (alternate)

  • Vespoli

    Nancy Vespoli SM '79

    USA

    Rowing

    Moscow, 1980

  • Herbie

    Herb Voelcker '48

    USA

    Shooting
    Men's Free Rifle, Three Positions, 300 meters
     

    Melbourne, 1956

  • Weaver

    Andrew Weaver MArch '86

    USA

    Cycling
    Men's 100 Kilometers (Bronze Medal)

    Los Angeles, 1984

This list includes MIT alumni who were Olympic coaches, Olympic alternates, and alumni who were members of the 1980 US Olympic team, which did not participate in the Games that year. MIT’s alumni Olympic records may be inexact. If there is alumnus Olympian that is not included in the list, please notify Slice of MIT in the comments below.

Updates: A version of this story was originally published in July 2012 and was updated in 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2024.

Filed Under

Comments

Beaver

Sat, 02/22/2014 3:20pm

How about some designation for those who competed for MIT? Most of the Olympian alums with only graduate degrees never wore an MIT uniform.

alum

Sat, 02/22/2014 3:13pm

Erland Van Lidth De Jeude may have been an alternate, but he was not on the '76 Olympic Team.

Mike J.

Sat, 02/08/2014 3:12pm

Nice article, Jay. Would also have been nice to see Henry Steinbrenner's name mentioned in the article. He is on the MIT full list of Olympians, though his class year ('27) is missing. I had the pleasure of meeting Henry at an alumni reunion in Boston the weekend Steinbrenner Stadium was being dedicated, in 1978. Had a great conversation with him that day!

Here's an article from 1996:
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1996/olymp1896-curtis.html

You may want to consider finding stories from The Tech at the time these men and women participated in the Olympics and update your 2014 article with those links.

David

Fri, 02/07/2014 2:51pm

Didn't the US boycott the 1980 olympics?

Gwen Sisto

Wed, 08/22/2012 2:51pm

Thank you for doing an article on this topic.

Look for me, Gwendolyn Sisto SM 2010, in 2016 in women's weightlifting. I competed at the 2010 World University Championships, while a student at MIT. I placed in the top 3 63kg women at the 2012 US National Championships (fun fact: My results at the 2012 National Championships would have placed me 9th at the Olympics, which is higher than 2/3's of the team that the USA fielded in London for weightlifting).

Mike

Wed, 08/22/2012 2:20pm

Janet Goldman '89 was a two-time Olympic speedskater, competing in Sarjevo 1984 and Calgary 1988.

http://tech.mit.edu/V104/PDF/N13.pdf

http://www.usspeedskating.org/athletes/alumni/olympians?field_alumni_year_value=1984

Thomas L. De Fazio

Wed, 08/22/2012 2:47pm

Johnny Marvin won a bronze medal (3rd) in the Finn in 1956.

al umnus

Wed, 08/01/2012 11:19am

Gary Piantedosi, alternate, straight four crew, '76 Montreal,
http://www.rowingrigs.com/pubsite/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=3

John G Everett, men's eight crew, '76 Montreal and '80

Call the boathouse for other alumnae Olympians.

Jay London

Mon, 08/08/2016 11:24am

Hello Robert,

Apologies for the oversight. Accumulating a comprehensive list of MIT alumni who have competed in the Olympics is an inexact science! We will updated accordingly and your name to our ever-growing list. Thank you--Jay London

Jay London

Mon, 08/06/2012 9:27am

Thanks again! I will personally forward this information over to DAPER and ask them to add it to their master list. Any more names, please keep them coming!

Jay London

Fri, 02/07/2014 1:51pm

Thank you Joe,

Sorting Olympians by their college affiliation is a difficult process, especially during the 1980 games! Thanks again and we will updated Mark on our lists.

Jay London

Joe Paige

Fri, 02/07/2014 12:12pm

Mark J. T. Smith, '78, was on the 1980 U.S. Men's Fencing Team.

Jay London

Thu, 02/27/2014 9:34am

Hi Beaver,

That's a great idea. We may add another designation on the full list of Olympians page that indicates that the athletes participated in the Olympics while attending MIT.

Thanks again,

Jay

Jay London

Thu, 02/27/2014 9:28am

Hello alum,

Olympic alternates proved especially tricky to confirm. Since they did not compete, this is no record of their participation. In Van Lidth De Jeude's case, we relied on a variety of sources, most notably a 1979 article in Sports Illustrated and a 1981 article in People magazine, both of which mention his Olympic participation.

Thank you for reading and please let me know if you have any additional Olympic alumni.

Jay

Jay London

Mon, 02/10/2014 10:47am

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your note. We do have Mr. Steinbrenner on our list but did not outright mention him in the story because it's been difficult to determine which events he participated in. Some articles reference his competition in the 220-yard hurdles but that event has never been contested in the Olympics. Also, there is no mention in any archived <em>Tech</em> articles or in Mr. Steinbrenner's <em>New York Times</em> obituary about his Olympic participation. The website www.sports-reference.com/olympics does not have him listed as a U.S. Olympian.

However, there are multiple articles that mention his Olympic participation, including the MIT News article that you reference. For that reason, we have kept him on our list. (I will add his graduation year.) Hopefully, we will find out more information about Mr. Steinbrenner's participation. Olympic records, especially in the early days, are very spotty, and we're working to find out more information. Thank you for reading and please let me know if you come across any additional MIT alumni Olympians!

Sincerely,

Jay

Jay London

Thu, 08/23/2012 12:22pm

Good luck Gwen! Please keep us updated! Thanks for letting us know.

Jay

Jay London

Wed, 08/22/2012 2:52pm

Hi Thomas,

Thanks for the addition. DAPER has Johnny Marvin listed as competing in 1956, not as a medalist. We'll make sure that gets updated.

David Silberstein

Wed, 02/14/2018 8:42am

I thought he qualified for the '80 games but US boycotted.

Jason London

Wed, 02/14/2018 9:54am

Hello! The US did not participate in the 1980 games in Moscow, but still recognizes anyone who qualified for the games as an official Olympian. Thank you for reading! --Jay

ROBERT LEVIS

Mon, 08/08/2016 2:26am

Hey.... you forgot about me..

Robert Levis'64,
son of Joseph Levis'26,the 3-time Olympian

I represented Puerto Rico in the 1972 Olympics in Munich.

Robert Levis

Mon, 08/08/2016 12:25pm

No apologies are needed. Thank you for all the fine work you are doing in recognizing us MIT Olympians.

Jay London

Fri, 02/07/2014 4:34pm

Hi David,

The U.S. did not participate in the 1980 Summer Games but any athletes who qualified for the games were recognized and honored by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Jay London

Jay London

Wed, 08/01/2012 11:34am

Hello - Gary Piantedosi '76 and John Everett '76 are listed in the MIT Olympic History graph that we link to in the second paragraph. Thanks again! It was a tough list to collect, as there is no master database of MIT alumni Olympians.

Hajime Sano

Wed, 02/28/2018 12:15am

Yes, Jimmy Carter withheld the US Olympic Team from the 1980 Moscow Games, in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In return, the Soviets boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Hajime Sano

Sat, 07/31/2021 5:20pm

Yes, the US boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics due to the Soviet Union's involvement in Afghanistan. In return, the USSR boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Athletes selected for the 1980 Games are still considered Olympians. One example is rower Anita DeFrantz. (I think she rowed for Princeton.) DeFrantz would late go on to run LA '84, the non-profit that administers the 1984 Olympics' profits for Southern California youth sports. I had the pleasure of meeting her when I was President of the Southern California Speed Skating Association. DeFrantz would go on to become one of the first female IOC board members.

Hans Hoeflein

Mon, 01/05/2015 10:49am

I think Nick Newman '56 Course XIII competed in sailing in 1956

Jay London

Wed, 08/22/2012 3:59pm

Thank you, Mike. I have contacted DAPER and asked to add Janet to the list. Thanks again!

Joe Davis

Sat, 02/22/2014 1:34pm

Perhaps as a footnote, we should add that Oscar Hedland, MIT Track and Field Coach in the 1950's, though not an alumnus, was an Olympic miler.....ran in the 1922 Olympics, or sometime about then. He was a fine coach.
Joe Davis
Class of '61, Hurdles and High Jump

Roy Roth

Sat, 02/22/2014 10:55am

Jay, didn't MIT's track coach in the 1950s, Oscar Hedlund, have a connection with the Olympics -- maybe a runner back in the early 1900's. Seems to me that was the rumor.

al umnus

Sun, 08/05/2012 11:53am

Sorry about missing the Olympic History web page.

It's still missing Erland Van Lidth De Jeude, '77 who went as an alternate to WRESTLE at Montreal in '76.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erland_Van_Lidth_De_Jeude

N Vespoli

Wed, 08/22/2012 3:36pm

Nancy Vespoli, MS ChemEng 1979, Rowing, 1980

Also, the myth in the MIT weight room at the time was that the bent bar in the corner was left behind by Chris Taylor, Wrestling 1976. However, I can't find any historical information stating that he attended MIT. Perhaps you can look through MIT records to see if he was in fact, most likely, a graduate student.

Igor Belakovskiy

Fri, 02/09/2018 8:06pm

The photo you have for Steve Tucker is actually his team mate, Greg Ruckman, who is actually an alum of that other school in Cambridge. :)

Jason London

Sun, 02/11/2018 9:17pm

Hi! Steve had been misidentified in that photo. Thank you for the correction and thank you for reading! --Jay London

Lyman Hurd

Fri, 02/09/2018 11:50pm

I am guessing that "Andrew Weaver MArch " may be a typo, also I was a classmate of Liz Bradley and I am almost certain her PhD (here listed as '82) did not come a year before her bachelor's in '83!

Jason London

Sun, 02/11/2018 9:12pm

Hello! In MIT nomenclature, MArch (with a capital A) stands for master's of architecture. Andrew received his master's of architecture from MIT in 1986. --Jay London

Elizabeth Bradley

Sat, 02/10/2018 6:21pm

I think you meant 1992 (not 1982) for my Ph.D.
Liz Bradley

Jason London

Sun, 02/11/2018 9:19pm

Hi Liz! Thank you--we've updated your PhD year. Thanks for reading! --Jay London

George Mitsuoka

Mon, 02/12/2018 7:49am

In the late 80s, Rafael Nickel, Gold Medalist in Team Epee for Germany in 1984, was a researcher and assistant coach for the MIT Fencing Team

John Everett

Sat, 02/24/2018 6:59pm

Chester Riley was alternate for Tokyo Olympics in 1964 (not 1962)
John Everett '76 is also PhD '91
Mark Smith was also on 1980 Fencing
Thanks.

Jason London

Tue, 02/27/2018 4:44pm

Hi! We've updated our story. Thanks for your updates and thanks for reading.

-- Jay London

Hajime Sano

Wed, 02/28/2018 12:21am

Great article on MIT Olympians! I first met Jordan Malone '18 when he came to train with us (Southern California Speed Skating Association) around 2002. I am a skater, coach, and administrator with the SCSSA (1984-present). I also helped him navigate the MIT admissions process after he retired from international competition in 2014. I see there are mixed references to his sport as both short track speed skating and speed skating. His sport is in fact short track speed skating. I see a speed skating logo in the 2014 By The Numbers chart, but not short track speed skating. I don't know if the chart has been updated since then.

If you are still tracking MIT Olympians, or have developed the MIT Olympians database you previously mentioned, please update to reflect his sport.

Thank you!
Hajime Sano '82

Nedzad Lomigora

Tue, 07/20/2021 2:38pm

There is an Olympian alumnus that competed in Lillehammer Olympics in 1994 in Luge sport representing Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Nedzad Lomigora
1999, SM - Master Of Science, 2M - Mech Eng - Sm/Eng

See his profile here: https://olympics.com/en/athletes/nedzad-lomigora

Marko Slusarczuk

Sat, 07/31/2021 12:23pm

You omitted Steve Cucchiaro '74 who was on the Olympic sailing team.
https://spectrum.mit.edu/spring-2010/giving-back-6/

Jason London

Mon, 08/02/2021 11:27am

Hi Steve,

Please reach out to me at londonj@mit.edu and we can include your name in the list. Thank you!

Vanessa Li

Sat, 07/31/2021 2:02pm

Thanks so much Jay for compiling this list and to everyone for contributing! This is so cool!

Paulo Correia

Sun, 08/01/2021 7:53am

Nicole Freedman did not graduate from MIT in 1994. She transferred to Stanford after 2 years and graduated there. Source: me. I befriended Nicole when I got to Stanford for my Masters, we were on the cycling team together there, and one of my claims to fame is that over many dozens of town line sprints, Nicole only beat me once.

Hajime Sano

Thu, 11/30/2023 7:08pm

Thanks for the great MIT Olympian article. A lot has been added in the last few years.

One minor correction to note - Jordan Malone should be listed as a short track speed skater, not a speed skater. In Olympic parlance, speed skating refers to long track speed skating. They are related but separate sports.

When Jordan came to LA to train with our coach Wilma Boomstra (around 2001), he found out I was an MIT alum and told me of his desire to attend MIT when he retired from short track. Fast forward to 2014, I showed him around MIT the summer right after he retired from competition. I like to think I had a small role in his attending and graduation from MIT.

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Hajime Sano '82
Past President,
Southern California Speed Skating Association

Julie Fox

Fri, 12/01/2023 1:33pm

Thank you for pointing out this inconsistency, Hajime, we have fixed the incorrect reference under Facts and Figures to the correct "short track speed skating."

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