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Cal's first-ever Olympic qualifier, Frederick Allen, placed 6th in the long jump at the 1912 Games. Since then, Cal students and alumni have won 113 medals, including 63 golds. 1896--first modern Olympics 1920--The U.S. rugby team, including Cal players Charles Meehan, Matt Hazeltine '16, James Winston '23, George Davis '22, Colby Slater, and Charles Tilden '19, beats the French team for the gold medal at Anvers. The unexpected Yank victory set up a grudge match in the 1924 Olympics in Paris, when the U.S. again met the French in the final round. The Americans won 8-0 in a game marred by numerous injuries; and when the medals were awarded, the booing, shouting, and fighting in the stands was so raucous it drowned out "The Star-Spangled Banner." The International Olympic Committee ruled afterward that rugby was too violent for the Games, and it was never again played in Olympic competition. 1924--Helen Wills '25 begins her undisputed reign as the best woman tennis player in the world when she takes a gold in the women's singles and teams with Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman '11 to win the doubles. Wills won eight Wimbledon titles, seven U.S. Opens, and four French Opens between 1923 and 1938. In Paris, Wightman also wins the Olympic mixed doubles with Norris Williams. 1928--The Cal 8-man crew--Don Blessing '28, Peter Donlon '29, Herb Caldwell '31, James Workman '31, William Dally '31, William Thompson '28, Francis Frederick '30, John Brinck '30, and Marvin Stalder '28, coached by Ky Ebright--falls behind early in the gold-medal race against Great Britain, then roars back to win by half a length. 1932--Golds: Robert "Bullet Bob" Kiesel '34 (400 relay) and the Cal crew: Winslow Homer, Harold Tower, Charles Chandler, Burton Jastram, David Dunlap, Duncan Gregg, James Blair, Edwin Salisbury, and Norris Graham. 1936, Berlin--Archie Williams '39, a great but not outstanding runner at Cal, comes into his own in 1936 and cuts an unprecedented three seconds from his time in the 400 in the months preceding the Berlin Games. Though overshadowed by the achievement of U.S. teammate Jesse Owens, Williams's 400m gold medal is another slap in Hitler's face at the Olympics intended to be a showcase for Aryan superiority. 1948--In the days before intercollegiate women's athletics, swimmer Ann Curtis Cuneo '48 is forced to train off-campus, but still wins gold medals in the 400m freestyle and 400 free relay, as well as a silver in the 100m free. The London Games also bestow golds upon pole vaulter Guinn Smith and the Cal crew: Jack Stack, Justus Smith, David Brown, Lloyd Butler, George Ahlgren, James Hardy, David Turner, Ian Turner, and Ralph Purchase. 1952--Gold: Leamon King x58 (400m). Cal coach Brutus Hamilton coaches U.S. track team. 1960--Cal coach Pete Newell, fresh from two years of NCAA success, coaches the U.S. basketball team (including Cal's Darrall Imhoff '94) to a gold medal, while Jack Yerman '61 takes the gold in the 1600m relay. 1968--Golds: Sue Gossick (springboard diving), 'Lowell North '51 (yachting). 1972--In Munich, sprinter Eddie Hart '72, the favorite for the gold in the 100m race, misses a heat and is disqualified when the U.S. coach gives him the wrong starting time. Hart, a class act, refuses to blame the coach and instead gears up to anchor the 4x100m relay, where his blistering speed beats the 100m gold medalist and lands the U.S. the gold. 1980--Fourteen Cal athletes, including swimmer Mary T. Meagher '87, are among those denied a chance to compete because of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics. However, two Cal swimmers, Par Avidson '82 (100m butterfly) and Bengt Baron '85 (100m backstroke) win golds for Sweden. 1984--At the L.A. Olympics, boycotted by the Eastern bloc, Mary T. Meagher ("Madame Butterfly") wins golds in the 100m fly, 200m fly, and the 400 medley relay, while Matt Biondi '88 wins the 400 free relay. But perhaps the most compelling Cal competitor is Connie Carpenter Phinney '81. An Olympic speed-skater in her teens, at Cal she tried her hand at rowing, then took up cycling upon after graduating. Within three years she became the dominant woman cyclist in the world and returned to the Olympics to win the gold medal in the 72-mile road race. 1988--This is Matt Biondi's year: seven swimming medals, including five golds (50m free, 100m free, 400 free relay, 800 free relay, and the 400 medley relay). Also, Cal coach Bob Milano '62 serves as assistant coach for the U.S. baseball team, which wins the gold in Seoul. 1992--Golds: Matt Biondi (400 free relay, 400 medley relay) and Joel Thomas '90 (400 free relay) |
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