Harvard University

Harvard and the Olympics

This year in Tokyo, we add to a history with the Olympics that dates back to 1896 when seven members of the Harvard community brought home eight gold medals.

Meet this year’s athletes

The road to the rings

Men’s swimming and diving

Harvard men's swimming and diving sent 17 current and former student-athletes, a program record, to U.S. and International Olympic qualifying events.

Women’s swimming and diving

Harvard women's swimming and diving sent 13 current, former, and future student-athletes to compete in U.S. and International Olympic qualifying events in advance of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Men’s heavyweight rowers

The Harvard men's heavyweight rowing program will be well represented at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as five current and former athletes were named to the United States National Team.

David Abrahams designated 'elite' by U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee

Announced in late summer 2020, new NCAA legislation allow athletes designated as “elite” to have travel expenses paid for and gives them the ability to spend more time working with coaches in preparation for the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Gabby Thomas '19 heading to Tokyo Olympics

Former Harvard standout Gabby Thomas '19 took TrackTown by storm, shattering her own personal mark, setting the world standard, and clinching a spot at the Olympic Games this summer in Tokyo with her win in the 200 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Umitcan Gures to Represent Turkey at 2020 Olympics

Harvard men's swimming and diving rising junior Umitcan Gures has punched his ticket to represent Turkey at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Qualifying in the time of COVID

What does it take to be an Olympian in the middle of a global pandemic?

Learn more about Harvard’s response to COVID

How has COVID affected training?

Jamie Mittelman and her “Flame Bearers” podcast team talk to Olympic hopefuls during the Harvard Kennedy School’s Women in Power Conference about how COVID affected their training.

Watch this video segment

Then COVID struck

Olympians talk about enduring a one-year coronavirus delay of the Games, isolation from teammates and coaches, and months of improvised training under COVID lockdown.

How COVID is pushing tech to revamp sports

Enabled by technology, new and altered categories of athletes might emerge.

Learn more at the Business School

Our Olympic history

Harvard has played an integral role in the Olympics, Paralympics, and Special Olympics for over a century.

See the full list of competitors at Harvard University Athletics

The world at our feet

In 1984, Harvard Stadium was host to a series of Olympic soccer matches involving Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Brazil, France, Iraq, Norway, Qatar, and Yugoslavia.

Harvard's hockey heros

Striving for Olympic glory

The 2014 U.S. Olympic women’s hockey squad was coached by Harvard coach Katey Stone and included three Harvard students and a Harvard alum.

A special anniversary

Since its founding in 1968, the Special Olympics has grown to a global movement that empowers people with intellectual disabilities through sports, education, and health programs. In 2018, the Harvard Law School Project on Disability helped celebrate the 50th anniversary.

Daniel Cnossen

Daniel pursued a master’s of theological study degree while juggling a return to training and international competition in order to qualify for the 2018 Winter Paralympics in South Korea.

Randi Griffin

Former Harvard women’s hockey player Randi Griffin competed with the unified Korean women’s ice hockey team at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.

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Eli Dershwitz

Eli Dershwitz represented the United States at the Summer Olympics in the men’s saber fencing competition in Rio de Janeiro.

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David Hemery

The 1968 Olympic gold medalist for Great Britain—and world record holder in the 400 meter hurdles—began work on a master's in education while deep into his training for the 1972 Summer Olympics.

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Ryan Donato

Former Crimson men's hockey center Ryan Donato competed in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, following in the footsteps of his father.

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Cheri Blauwet

Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor Cheri Blauwet earned silver and bronze medals in the 2000 Paralympic Games and gold and bronze medals in the 2004 Paralympic Games.

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Hundreds more

See the full list

Learning from the Olympics

The impact of the Olympics beyond triumphs of physical prowess.

Two men showing the Black power fist on the olympic podiums

Political statements and the Olympics

A golden opportunity to advocate for the rights of children with disabilities

Science at the Summer Olympics

A look at the science behind three of its most popular events: running, swimming and gymnastics.

Rethinking Olympic glory

Experts discuss ways to improve the Olympics for the host countries and the athletes.

A professor talking in front of a podium

Competitive edge

Practice might get you to the Olympics, but mental preparation may be what puts you on the podium.

Empty monuments

Kaz Yoneda’s research on Olympic stadiums considers the future of cities.

AstrOlympics

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian created the AstrOlympics project to help explore the spectacular range of science that we can find both in the impressive feats of the Olympic Games as well as cosmic phenomena throughout the Universe.

Explore the project

Rotation

A gymnast performing a back flip in mid-air is rotating at 90 RPM (1.5 Hertz).

Learn more about rotation

Distance

The distance between the archer and the target is 70 meters (230 feet).

Learn more about distance

Pressure

The pressure on an Olympic contestant to perform well: intense!

Learn more about pressure