The 2016 Summer Olympics are finally upon us and have already brought much excitement to the university and to the world! The U.S. leads in the medal count so far, and we’re proud to share that University of Georgia athletes have won a good portion of those awards! In addition, UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication has sent two students, Jaylon Thompson and Nicole Chrzanowski to cover the Olympics in Rio with plans to send nine students to cover the Paralympics in September.

It’s not the first time UGA has played a significant role the Olympic Games. Twenty years ago, the Summer Olympics were held right here in Georgia. What some people may not know is that while the majority of the events were held in Atlanta, some events were held on the UGA campus! Soccer matches were played in Sanford Stadium, while rhythmic gymnastics and indoor volleyball competitions were held in Stegeman Coliseum.

UGA has had many students-athletes and former students compete in past Olympic Games. The first student to win a gold medal was Forrest ‘Spec’ Towers in the 1936 summer games. The famous Olympic torch was run through campus before the 1996 Summer Olympics by former head football coach Vince Dooley. Dooley ran the torch from inside Sanford Stadium through campus before passing it off. Little known fact? In addition to being a football player and MMA fighter, Herschel Walker was an Olympic athlete! He was a member of the U.S. bobsledding team in 1992 Winter games. See the complete list of UGA’s former Olympics athletes and coaches here.

The Georgia Athletics Museum, located in the Butts-Mehre building on South Campus, has a display year-round showcasing the UGA Olympic athletes. The display lists every UGA student, along with their event, that has ever competed in any Olympics. Butts-Mehre is open for any visitors to walk through and tour all displays, including the Olympics display! For more information about the Georgia Athletics Museum, visit the Athletics website.

Many current and former UGA athletes earned their chance to compete at this year’s Olympic Games. UGA also has two coaches participating with Jack Bauerle as the U.S. assistant men’s swimming coach and UGA’s track coach, Petros Kyprianou coaching the Estonian track team.

Olympic gold medal winners from UGA at this year’s games include swimmers Gunnar Bentz ‘18, Olivia Smoliga ‘17, Melanie Margalis ‘14, Allison Schmitt ‘14 and runner Shaunae Miller ‘16. Swimmers Allison Schmitt, Amanda Weir and Chase Kalisz ‘17 have won silver medals, and swimmers Brittany MacLean ‘17 and Chantal Van Landeghem ‘17 earned their spot on the blocks by winning bronze! Go Dawgs!

Other Bulldogs in the Olympics include past and present Dawgs on the track and field teams, swimming and diving teams, gymnastics team, golf team, table tennis team and the women’s indoor volleyball team. All athletes are representing their home country.

This article was modified from an article published by the UGA Alumni Association.