As most students wrap up summer internships, 26 of their fellow Harvardians are spending two weeks in Paris vying for the world’s most prestigious sporting titles. Crimson athletes competed in events ranging from fencing and field hockey to sailing and swimming. Read on for updates about Crimson athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics:
Cycling
- Former Crimson rower Kristen Faulkner ’15 won two gold medals in Paris, but not in the sport she pursued in college. Following graduation, Faulkner worked in venture capital in New York City and started cycling in Central Park. The computer science concentrator won the women’s road race on Sunday, taking the lead with three kilometers to go and never relinquishing it. On Wednesday, she added a second gold in the women’s team pursuit, where four Americans edged out New Zealand by a mere 0.6 seconds in the four-hour race.
Fencing
The seven Paris-bound Harvard fencers were profiled in the July-August issue.
- Lauren Scruggs ’25 returns to the U.S. with a gold and silver medal. The Queens, New York native helped the United States win the team foil competition. During the individual competition, she squared off against Jessica Guo ’27, defeating her en route to a silver medal. The philosophy concentrator is the first Crimson fencer to win a gold medal or to nab multiple medals.
- Jessica Guo ’27 fenced foil for Canada, defeating her Crimson teammate Scruggs during a bout in the team competition. In that contest, where Canada placed fourth, she also defeated the individual foil gold medalist, Lee Kiefer. The Toronto native also fenced at the 2020 Olympics.
- Elizabeth Tartakovsky ‘22 helped Team USA fence their way to a fifth-place finish in the women’s saber team event. In the individual foil tournament, the former NCAA national champion was upset in her opening bout. The economics concentrator plans to start a corporate job in New York City this fall, having spent the last year training full-time for the Olympics.
- The Harvard men’s fencers found less success than the women. The all-Harvard U.S.A. saber fencing team was upset by Iran in its opening bout, losing by a single point. “The Gentlemen of Harvard,” comprised of Eli Dershwitz ’18, Colin Heathcock ’28, Mitchell Saron ’24, and Filip Dolegiewicz ’24 placed seventh in the eight-team competition. Individually, the Harvard men did not fare much better. Dershwitz, a three-time Olympian, was upset in the first round, as was Heathcock. Saron eked out an opening round win, but lost in the round of 16. Competing for Canada, Nicholas Zheng ’28 lost his opening épée bout.
Field Hockey
- Former Crimson field hockey captain Hannah Pearce ’22 played for South Africa in Paris. The women’s field hockey squad lost all five of its games, failing to advance to the elimination stage. The Johannesburg native, who concentrated in psychology, appeared in each of South Africa’s Olympic matches.
Rowing
- Olivia Coffey ’11 helped the U.S. women’s eight secure a fifth place finish. Paris is Coffey’s third Olympic Games—she was an alternate at the 2016 Rio Games and placed fourth at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
- Liam Corrigan ’19 helped the U.S. men’s four crew secure its first gold medal since 1960, edging out New Zealand by just 0.85 seconds. His former Crimson teammate, David Ambler ’20, rowed with Great Britain, who nabbed the bronze medal despite a slow start.
- The U.S. men’s eight event featured three Crimson rowers (Pieter Quinton ’20, Clark Dean ’22, and Christian Tabash ’22). The boat captured bronze, missing gold by only three seconds. Paris represents Quinton and Tabash’s first Olympic competition and was the second for Dean, who rowed in Tokyo in 2020.
- Josh Hicks ’13 helped Australia's men’s eight boat advance to the final, but he was unable to compete due to illness.
- Tom Siddall, assistant coach for Harvard men’s heavyweight rowing, spent the summer preparing the U.S. Paralympics PR3 4+ boat (athletes have full use of their upper bodies and residual function of their legs). The five athletes, who are college students and recent grads, spent their summer rowing on the Charles.
Sailing
- Thai sailor Sophia Montgomery ’26, profiled by Harvard Magazine in July, placed 27th of 43 in the women’s dinghy competition. The Bangkok native improved throughout the course of the competition, placing sixth in the eighth of nine races. The physics concentrator will return to Harvard in the fall after taking a year off to train.
Soccer
- Jade Rose ’25 joined defending champion Canada for their gold medal defense. Despite having six points deducted in the group stage due to potential spying, the 2020 champions escaped the group stage but fell in the quarterfinals to Germany. The two-time Ivy League Defender of the Year will captain the Harvard squad this fall.
Swimming
- Anthony Rincon ’25 swam the 100m backstroke for Columbia, finishing 37th of 46, The neuroscience concentrator will co-captain the Crimson men’s swim team this winter
- Apostolos Siskos ’28 advanced to the semifinals of the 200m backstroke for Greece, finishing 14th of 16 in that round. The Thessaloniki native, who holds the U18 Greek record in the 200m backstroke, will join the Crimson men’s swim team this year.
- David Abrahams ’24 will swim the 100m breaststroke and the 200m individual medley in the 2024 Paralympic Games. The Havertown, Pennsylvania native, who is legally blind, won a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke at the 2020 Paralympic Games.
Track and Field
- Gabby Thomas ‘19 returns from Paris with three gold medals. Her victory in the women's 200m was the U.S.'s first in 12 years. She had a faster heat time than all 21 of her competitors and won the final an entire stride. Thomas added another gold on Friday, running the third leg of the women’s 4x100m relay, and a third on Saturday in the women's 4x400m relay. At the 2020 Olympics, Thomas earned a bronze medal in the women’s 200m and a silver in the women’s 4 x 100m relay. At Harvard, she concentrated in neuroscience.
- Graham Blanks ‘25 placed ninth in the finals of the men’s 5000m. The Athens, Georgia native won the 2023 men’s individual NCAA Division cross country national championship, the first Ivy League man to do so.
- Maia Ramsden ’24 set a New Zealand record in the women's 1500m during the Olympic semifinals, but finished two places shy of a finals berth. Competing for New Zealand, Ramsden holds that country’s record in the indoor and outdoor 1500m. The history and literature concentrator was Harvard’s first finalist for The Bowerman, the most prestigious collegiate track and field award.
- Stephanie Ratcliffe ’23, who hails from Melbourne, Australia, competed in the women’s hammer throw for her home country. The Australian record-holder threw 70.07m, placing 15th of 30 in the qualifying round, falling just one meter shy of advancing to the 12-person final.
Triathlon
- Lisa Tertsch ’20 twice braved the Seine, competing for Germany in the triathlon. In the women’s individual competition, the Darmstadt native finished ninth of 55. In the triathlon mixed relay competition, she helped Germany capture a gold medal. Tertsch competed on the Crimson cross country and track and field teams.
