In case you haven’t noticed or have been living in a cave, the London Olympics started this past weekend. The Hoosiers are making a decent showing. Not as many as they have in the past, but Indiana will still have seven athletes competing for six different nations going for gold. It’s a bit of a bummer than only two Americans will be competing but the Hoosiers are still drawing from France, Hungary, The Dominican Republic and Colombia. Follow the jump as we showcase each individual athletes and discuss their prospects for medaling.
Let’s first start with the Americans.
Kayla Bashore-Smedley - USA, Field Hockey: Bashore was a rockstar at Indiana University. In her senior season she captained IU to its winningest season in its history. She was Indiana’s first All-American and first named to the USA program out of the Hoosiers’ team. Bashore and the American women’s team is not predicted to medal but they did defeat the predicted gold medalists Argentina in last year’s Pan-Am Games. Unfortunately they’ve already lost one pool game to Germany. They play Argentina tomorrow at 2 pm EST. Follow her on Twitter at @KBhockey
Christina Loukas - USA Diving, 3M Springboard : The other American of Indiana University origin is from the blue blood program of IU’s Swimming and Diving. The collegiate national champion is a two time Olympian as she took her final season at IU off to prepare for the 2008 Olympics. She earned that spot and placed 9th in Beijing in 2008. This year she’ll be looking for a gold medal starting on August 3rd at 9:30 am. If he makes it through prelims and semifinals she’ll dive for a medal on the 5th. Not expected to medal. She’ll be looking to improve upon that previous 9th place finish from four years ago. @christinaloukas
Nicholas Schwab - Dominican Republic, Swimming 200M Freestyle: Schwab is currently the only IU Olympian who already knows his fate 3 days into the Olympics. The recent IU graduate was able to win his heat but was not fast enough to advance. Schwab was originally a Florida International swimmer before opting to transfer to IU as a walk-on. Not often do you get a collegiate athlete making the Olympics let alone a non-scholarship one.
Dorina Szekeres - Hungary, 200M Backstroke: Hungarian native and incoming sophomore Szekeres has already showed some promise for Indiana in only her freshman year. She finished 5th in the Big Ten in the 400 Individual Medley. Dorina will be competing on August 2nd starting at a nice and early (for Americans) 6:30 am. Not expected to medal, she will be gaining great experience for a return trip to the Olympics in 2016.
Margaux Farrell - France, 4x200M Freestyle Relay: Farrell is another recent Indiana graduate. She set a school record this last year in the 100M freestyle. That sprint speed landed her on the French relay team in London. Though the French aren’t expected to medal they should be in the Finals. Margaux and her French teammates start their chase for glory in the prelims on Wednesday August 1st at 6:30am. The Finals will be that same afternoon at 4 pm. @marge_farrell
Orianica Velasquez - Colombia, Soccer: Velasquez was a full season starter for IU in her junior season. Not only is she an Olympian but she was also a part of the first Colombian team last year to compete in a World Cup. The Colombians have already dropped games to the Americans and North Koreans so after their game against the French tomorrow at 12:15 pm, their London games will be over. @orivelasquez9
Derek Drouin - Canada, High Jump: Starting at 2pm on August 5th, Indiana’s best shot at a medal this year will take to the high jump pit. Drouin has so many championships and trophies from his three years at IU that he may struggle to adjust not being the odds on favorite in an event he’s competing in. He’s one of only two individuals this year to clear 7-7 at least three times. Still he’ll be in the role of the underdog as he tries to bring down the professional jumpers next Sunday.
Overall, Indiana may not medal this year but they have a great track record in the games. Since 1932 the only time an IU athlete has failed to medal in the games is 2004. Overall, if Indiana University was its own nation it would be 35th all time. They have a total 85 medals in their history. Just two medals behind New Zealand and three ahead of Turkey. If we’re talking solely gold medals, IU would be 23rd all time with 48.
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