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The Olympians (1912 - 2000)
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Alma Richards (1890-1963) track and field (USA) gold 1912 Stockholm |
But before his final jump, he walked to a spot on the
infield grass, and in full view of the stadium crowd of 24,000, he
took
off his hat, kneeled on the ground, and said this prayer: "God, give
me
strength. And if it's right that I should win, give me the strength to
do
my best to set a good example all the days of my life." As soon as he
said
"Amen," he put his "lucky" hat back on, walked to the end of the
runway,
and, without hesitation, raced for the bar. He cleared it at six feet,
four inches and set a new world record. |
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| Jack Yerman track and field (USA) gold 1960 Rome |
Yerman won a gold medal in the 1960 Olympic Games 4x400 meter relay in Rome. The U.S. team of Jack Yerman, Earl Young, Glenn Davis, and Otis Davis set a world record of 3:02.2. A total of six world records. He also played football for Berkley in the Rose Bowl. |
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| Barbara Lockhart speed skater (USA) 1960 Squaw Valley, CA 1964 Innsbruck, Austria |
She is a professor at BYU. Barbara also serves on the
General Relief Society Board. Barbara is passionate about serving her
community and believes the pursuit of "no poor among us" as
attainable. BYU.edu |
BYU Faculty | |||
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Kent Floerke | Men's Track and Field, 1964, Olympian- Triple Jump. Inducted into the Kansas University Hall of Fame | |||
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L. Jay Silvester discus (USA) 1964 Tokyo silver 1972 Munich bronze 1976 Montreal |
"I broke my first world record in 1961," he recalls.
"Sixty meters was the barrier at that time. I went about a meter
beyond
the previous record. I was the first to break both the 60- and
70-meter
barriers. No other thrower has come close to that. Most throwers set
one
world record and it stays around for a while. The world record today
was
set in 1986 by an East German." |
Salt Lake torch bearer, 2002 | ||
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Kresimir Cosic (1948-1995) basketball (Yugoslavia) silver 1968 Mexico City 1972 Munich 1976 Montreal gold 1980 Moscow |
He is the first foreign player to earn All-America
honors. |
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 Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games |
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Henry Marsh steeplechase (USA) 1976 Montreal 1980 Moscow 1984 Los Angeles 1988 Seoul |
One of the greatest U.S. steeplechasers of all-time,
Henry
Marsh still holds the American record in the event (8:09.17 in 1985).
A
1978 graduate of Brigham Young University, Marsh burst onto the
international scene in 1976 when he was second at the NCAA meet,
second at
the Olympic Trials and 10th at the Olympic Games. Marsh was to be on
three
more Olympic teams and overall, represented the U.S. 19 times in
international competition. He was world ranked a dozen times and was
top
ranked in 1981, 1982 and 1985. He was the top ranked U.S.
steeplechaser 10
times. He was the 1979 Pan American Games champion and was also on the
1983 and 1987 World Championship teams. Marsh later became an
attorney. Source: USA Track and Field.org |
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Ambrose "Rowdy" Gaines IV swimming (USA) gold 1984 Los Angeles |
At the 1984 Games in Los Angeles won three gold medals and broke two world records. He swam the 100 meter freestyle, the 4x100 meter freestyle relay and the 4x100 meter medley relay. He was baptized in Birmingham, Alabama Hoover Ward, December 12, 1998. | |||
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Doug Padilla track and field (USA) 1984 Los Angeles 1988 Seoul |
He served a Church mission to El Salvador from 1976 to
1978. Six times Doug has been one of the world's top indoor distance
runners (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1990). |
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| Mark Schultz wrestling (USA) gold medallist 1984 Los Angeles |
Distinguished member of the National Wrestling Hall of
Fame. Former head wrestling coach at BYU. B.S. and M.S. in physical
education. Olympic wrestling champion. Two-time world wrestling
champion.
Ultimate fighting champion. 1983 winner of the Big 8 Medallion
Outstanding
Male Scholar/Athlete. Four-time National Open Freestyle Wrestling
Champion. Three-time NCAA Wrestling Champion. Northern California
All-Around Gymnastics Champion. Voted “Outstanding Wrestler” at the
1982
NCAA Championships. USA Wrestling “Athlete of the Year”. Source: Mark Schultz.com His Olympic gold medal and two additional World championships place him among a mere handful of America’s elite wrestlers. 4-time National Freestyle, 3-time NCAA, 2-time World, 1984 Olympic, and UFC IX Champion. |
New Japan Pro Wrestling | ||
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Peter Vidmar gymnastics (USA) gold 1984 Los Angeles gold 1984 Los Angeles silver 1984 Los Angeles |
In 1984, what began as an ad became a forecast of the
future. Peter Vidmar captained the US Men's Gymnastics Team to its
first-ever Olympic Gold Medal. He also captured the gold in the pommel
horse - scoring a perfect 10. And he won a Silver Medal while becoming
the
first American to medal in the individual all-around men's
competition.
His winning performances averaged 9.89, making him the highest scoring
US
male gymnast in Olympic history. Source: Meet Peter Vidmar |
Vidmar.com | ||
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1988 Seoul |
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Ed Eyestone marathon (USA) 1988 Seoul, Korea 1992 Barcelona, Spain |
Ten-time All-American. Served a full-time mission in
Spain.
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Teri McGee Walker skiing (USA) demonstration event gold 1988 Calgary |
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Laura Berg softball (USA) gold 1996 Atlanta gold 2000 Sydney |
In Georgia, she finished with a .273 batting average
(6-for-22, with a double) and scored two runs. She also reached base
five
times after being hit by a pitch. In 2000, she started all 10 games in
center field. Recorded an assist on a play at the plate during the
round-robin game against Japan and also had two hits in that
game. |
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2000 Sydney
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Kenneth Andam track and field (Ghana) 2000 Sydney |
1995: High school sportsman of the year and West African
junior games champion in triple jump. 1996: African junior triple jump
champion. 2000: Ghana's 4x100m relay team did not qualify for the
race.
Source: BYU Track |
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Maggie Chan-Roper track and field (Hong Kong) 2000 Sydney 2004 Athens |
While finishing her degree in nutrition and food science,
Maggie trained for the Hong Kong Olympic Team and prepared for the Summer
Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. A bleeding ulcer plagued her
throughout the Olympic trials and nearly kept her from the Games but
Maggie would not be denied. She qualified and made the trip in spite of
her low blood count competing in the 5000-meter and 10000-meter races. She
was not in top form, but ran anyway, proving to herself and the world that
Maggie Chan could run. Source: Pharmanex.com |
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 www.wlcastleman.com |
Jamie Dantzscher gymnastics (USA) 2000 Sydney |
She ended her Olympic competition when the US team ended
in 4th place. She performed poorly in earlier qualifiers, leaving her
out
of individual competition. For the US team, she performed best on the
Uneven Bars and in the Floor Exercises, doing much better than she did
in
the qualifiers. However, her performance wasn't enough to boost the US
team to a medal. Source: Mormons Today, 24 Sep 2000
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LDS Athlete List by Kelly Martinez, Meridian Magazine, 05 Dec 2003 | ||
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Jared Deacon track and field (Great Britain) 2000 Sydney |
In the 4x400, Britain's four did themselves credit to
reach the final, given their recent form. Jared Deacon, Daniel Caines,
Jamie Baulch, and a nearly-fit Iwan Thomas finished sixth, suggesting
Britain's days of pushing the Americans in this event are
numbered. Source: BBC Sport |
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Scott Farnsworth wrestling coach (USA) 2000 Sydney |
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Eric Fonoimoana volleyball (USA) gold 2000 Sydney |
He and Dain Blanton, his partner, shocked many by
overcoming the defending Olympic Gold Medalist, Karch Kiraly and his
partner, Adam Johnson in the Olympic qualification race. Sources: Volleyball Library and Somoan Olympians |
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Rulon Gardner wrestling (USA) gold 2000 Sydney bronze 2004 Athens
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The "Mormon farm boy" from Afton, Wyoming, "miracle on the mat." His gold-medal victory in the Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling is called the greatest upset in Olympic wrestling history.
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Charlene J. Tagaloa volleyball (USA) 2000 Sydney |
In 1999, she helped her team win the NCAA Championship.
In
Sydney, Team USA lost to Russia in the semifinals after winning
against Kenya, Croatia and
Australia. |
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 Deseret News |
Courtney Johnson water polo (USA) silver 2000 Sydney |
She joined the national team in 1995. The 2000 Olympics
were the first games to include women’s water polo as an official team
sport. In 2002, she passed the California State Bar Exam and retired
from water polo. |
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Marsha Mark-Baird heptathlon (Trinidad and Tobago) 2000 Sydney 2004 Athens |
"[I] concentrate on [training for the Olympics] pretty much every day.
Sometimes just going to work, I'll be thinking about the high jump and my approach.
My husband gets really embarrassed because we're in the grocery store and I'm doing long jump approaches through the aisles.
And he's like, 'Honey, people are staring.'
I say, 'I know, but that's just my way of focusing.'" Finished 25th in 2004. |
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 Photo: USA Volleyball |
Ryan Millar volleyball (USA) 2000 Sydney 2004 Athens |
He was the youngest member of the US Olympic Volleyball
Team in 2000. Although Millar is 6-foot-7, that is considered a bit
undersized for a middle blocker in today's international game. However,
Millar's speed is the equalizer. Source: Mormons Today, 03 Sep 2000 |
LDS Athlete List by Kelly Martinez, Meridian Magazine, 05 Dec 2003 |
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Leonard Myles-Mills track and field (Ghana) 2000 Sydney 2004 Athens |
In 2000, he made it to the semi-finals of the 100-meter race,
finishing in ninth place,
just .05 second off qualifying for the finals,
running a race of 10.25 seconds.
His best time for the Olympics in the 100m,
10.15 seconds, was less than .3 seconds off the world record and the gold medal time. Source: Mormons Today, 24 Sep 2000 In 2004, he was also eliminated in the semifinals. |
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Amy Palmer track and field (USA) 2000 Sydney |
Palmer placed eighth of 12 finalists in the hammer
throw. |
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Robbie Pratt track and field (Mexico) 2000 Sydney |
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Jason Pyrah track and field (USA) 2000 Sydney |
In 1994, he placed 4th in the Men's 1500m at the World
Cup. In 1995, he placed 3rd in the Men's 1500m at the Pan American
Games.
In 1998, he placed 2nd in the Men's 1500m at the US National Outdoor
Championships. In 2000, he placed 1st in the Men's Mile at the US
National
Indoor Championships. At the Olympics, he placed 10th of 12 runners in
the
Men's 1500m
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LDS Athlete List by Kelly Martinez, Meridian Magazine, 05 Dec 2003 | ||
 magazine.byu.edu |
Arunas Savickas swimming (Lithuania) 2000 Sydney |
In the Men's 200m Freestyle, he finished first in his
heat
(7 heats, 51 swimmers), but did not qualify for the semifinals by less
than 2 seconds. In the Men's 200m Backstroke, he did not qualify for
the
semifinals. In the Men's 4x100m Free Relay, his team finished with the
16th best time of the 24 teams competing in the heats; only the top
eight
teams went to the finals. |
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Charlene Tagaloa volleyball (USA) 2000 Sydney |
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Natalie Williams basketball (USA) 2000 Sydney |
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the webmaster. Although I consider myself a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed The Mormon Church) and this site is designed to interest members of the before mentioned church, it is in no way an official affiliate of The Church, and no content within this site should be taken as official church policy or doctrine. © 1995-2009· Ron Johnston · Webmaster Ron Johnston · All rights reserved.