Nine Ducks named to Team USA, July 7

UO release – EUGENE, Ore. – With the official roster announcement Tuesday, nine Ducks are set to represent Team USA at the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo. Five of the nine—Devon Allen, Matthew Centrowitz, English Gardner, Jenna Prandini and Galen Rupp—are returning Olympians. Centrowitz (1500 meters) and Gardner (4x100m) are defending Olympic champions, while Rupp is a two-time medalist with a silver at 10,000 meters in 2012 and a bronze in the marathon from 2016. With his selection, Rupp joins 1976 gold medalist Mac Wilkins as a four-time Olympian. Gardner, Prandini and Claire Michel (Belgium) are now the eighth, ninth and 10th multiple-time Olympians for the UO women. Additionally, eight other UO standouts have secured spots to the Olympics with their home countries to push the program’s total to 17 for Tokyo. The list features seven Ducks—Cole Hocker, Charlie Hunter, Emmanuel Ihemeje, Aneta Konieczek, Kemba Nelson, Lauri Paredes and Micah Williams—from the 2020-21 team roster. “The Olympic dream is high on the list for many athletes in our program, and those who have come through our program,” UO head coach Robert Johnson said. “We have a large group of Ducks heading to Tokyo this year which makes more than 30 Ducks at the last two Olympics. Kudos are definitely in order to all these athletes who had to deal with the delay from 2020 and navigate the training challenges of the pandemic. We, here in Duck Nation, are extremely proud of them.”