While it is the off-season for many South Carolina athletes, there are some that have taken up the efforts to proudly represent their countries in the Olympics. Here is a round up of some players and coaches who made the journey to Rio de Janeiro.
Dawn Staley — USA — Women’s basketball — Assistant coach
Being an assistant coach to one of this generation's most accomplished coaches of any college sport, Geno Auriemma, is one thing, but being his assistant to coach the best players women’s basketball has to offer in an international setting for the Olympics is a whole other accomplishment. The women’s team has dominated each game, beating their opponents by 30 points or more each outing. Their next game is Thursday, a semifinal game against France.
Sabrina D’Angelo — Canada — Women’s soccer — Goalkeeper
While D’Angelo made ripples in the collegiate scene during her time at South Carolina, she has impressed on the professional and national circuit as well. She has used her professional experience with the Western New York Flash to gain a spot on the Canadian National Team as the second goalie. She got into the game against Zimbabwe, playing all 90 minutes in Canada’s 3-1 victory. Team Canada was knocked out of the tournament by Germany in the semifinal match. Canada now plays Brazil for the bronze medal Friday.
Natasha Hastings — USA — Track and field — 400-meter dash
A 2007 NCAA champion at South Carolina, Hastings ran a season-best 49.90 to qualify for the medal race Monday night. While it did look as if she would be standing on a podium after the race with some new hardware, Shericka Jackson of Jamaica passed her in the final half of the race to capture the bronze. She still has one more race to run as she will most likely be on Team USA’s 4x400 on Friday.
Akaram Mahmoud — Egypt — Swimming and diving — 1500 and 400-meter freestyle
Mahmoud, a junior, made a name for himself this year in the NCAA Championships when he placed second in the 1650-yard freestyle. He qualified for his country, Egypt, to swim both the 400-meter and 1500-meter in the Olympics. As a distance swimmer, he placed better in the 1500 than the 400, with finishes 11th and 27th, respectively. His 11th place is the highest by any Gamecock swimmer in the Olympics since 2000.
Julia Vincent — South Africa — Swimming and diving — 3-meter springboard
The sophomore teetered all around the high 20s during her rounds in Rio. After her first dive, she was 28th, then moved to 24th after the second dive and finally ended her 2016 Olympic journey with a 29th place finish. Her final score was 220.30.
Kierre Beckles — Barbados — Track and field — 100-meter hurdles
After missing the 2012 Olympics in London by .01 seconds, Beckles, a 2012 NCAA All-American had some extra motivation to quality, and she qualified to represent her small country of about 300,000 people on the largest stage. She did not make it out of the qualifying rounds as her 100-meter hurdles time of 13.01 seconds placed her 24th.