The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 53 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE C urrent and former Michigan ath- letes etched their names in history with stellar performances at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed one year due to the COVID-19 pan- demic. All told, 30 athletes with Michigan ties participated, representing 14 teams. Wolverines earned 11 medals — three gold, five silver and three bronze. Here's a closer look at how the top Michigan athletes fared in the Games: MAIZE AND BLUE WIN THREE GOLD MEDALS Canadian swimmer Maggie MacNeil racked up three of the Wolverines' 11 medals all by herself, becoming the first female varsity athlete from U-M with three career Olympic medals and the only U-M varsity swimmer — male or female — to win three medals in one Olympics. MacNeil, the first women's swim- mer from U-M to win an individual gold medal since Ginny Duenkel at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, won the women's 100-meter butterfly by five one-hundredths of a second, posting a time of 55.59 — the second-fastest mark in Olympic history. She was in seventh place at the halfway point, but covered the final 50 meters in 29.09 seconds. "It's crazy," MacNeil told reporters the day after winning gold. "I'm still trying to process yesterday and what happened with the relay just because that was so incredible. And I still don't think I've realized the whole world champion thing. This'll take a while to get used to for sure." The College Swimming And Diving Coaches Association of America (CS- CAA) Swimmer of the Year and 2021 national champion in the 100-yard but- terfly and 100-yard freestyle, MacNeil won silver in the 4x100-meter freestyle and bronze in the 4x100-meter medley. Alumna Catie DeLoof did not par- ticipate in the 4x100-meter relay final for the U.S., but earned a bronze medal thanks to her participation in the heats. Also in the pool, former U-M wom- en's swimmer Siobhán Haughey cap- tured silver medals in the 100- and 200-meter freestyle races to become Hong Kong's first-ever Olympic swim- ming medalist. Wolverines Jayde Riviere, a current junior, and Shelina Zadorsky, an alum who won bronze at the 2016 Games, put their stamp on the Canadian wom- en's soccer team's gold-medal winning Olympics. Each made an appearance in the final, a win over Sweden in penalty kicks after the teams were tied at 1-1 following 120 minutes of play. CHIDESTER'S CLUTCH PERFORMANCES LIFT TEAM USA TO SILVER The first player in U-M softball history to claim an Olympic medal, alumna Amanda Chidester and the United States earned the silver medal, after losing 2-0 to Japan in the gold medal game. A two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and All-American at U-M, where she played from 2009-12, Chidester was a big reason why the U.S. was in the gold medal contest to begin with. Her two- run single in the eighth inning gave her squad the lead — and its only runs of the game — in a 2-1 walk-off win over Australia to advance to the final. HIXON EARNS SILVER Men's swimming and diving gradu- ate assistant Michael Hixon, competing for the United States, secured a silver medal in synchronized three-meter springboard along with his partner, Andrew Capobianco, while being coached by U-M diving coach Mike Hilde. ❏ OLYMPICS RECAP Athletes With U-M Ties Earn 11 Medals At Tokyo Olympics Maggie MacNeil claimed three medals, includ- ing gold in the 100-meter butterfly. PHOTO BY IAN MACNICOL/SWIMMING CANADA WOLVERINES IN TOKYO Men's Basketball • Moritz Wagner, Germany • Ekpe Udoh, Nigeria Cycling • Mike Woods, Canada Men's Diving • Michael Hixon, USA Men's Gymnastics • Uche Eke, Nigeria • Sam Mikulak, USA Rowing • Grace Luczak, USA • Ellen Tomek, USA Women's Soccer • Jayde Riviere, Canada • Shelina Zadorsky, Canada Softball • Amanda Chidester, USA Men's Swimming • Mokhtar Al-Yamani, Yemen • Felix Auböck, Austria • Patrick Callan, USA • Jake Mitchell, USA Women's Swimming • Catie DeLoof, USA • Siobhán Haughey, Hong Kong • Maggie MacNeil, Canada • Mariella Venter, South Africa • Jamie Yeung, Hong Kong Men's Track And Field • Steven Bastien, USA • Mason Ferlic, USA • Nick Willis, New Zealand Women's Track And Field • Tiffany (Ofili) Porter, Great Britain • Cindy (Ofili) Sember, Great Britain Women's Triathlon • Val Barthelemy, Belgium Water Polo • Abby Andrews, Australia • Amy Ridge, Australia Wrestling • Myles Amine, San Marino • Stevan Micic, Serbia