Yale at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games

For more than a century, Yalies have been collecting medals — and making history — in the Olympics.

Over the course of the London Games, YaleNews will shine the spotlight on the 2012 University-affiliated competitors — who include seven alumni athletes. We will celebrate some of the past Yale Olympians (more than 160 in total) who have made their marks in the international Games. Here you’ll find links to tweets from a Yale student attending the Games in London, as well as from several of the Olympians themselves; images of the Olympics from Yale collections; news of the competitors’ results; stories about the accomplishments and history-making of past Yale Olympians; and more. The site will be updated regularly.

We wish the best for and salute this year’s alumni Olympians who — whether or not they take home medals — are sure to “Inspire a Generation” (to quote the official slogan of the London Games) with their athleticism, passion, and dedication. 

Yale at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games

Yale alumni rowers win Olympic gold and silver

Alumnus rower bringing home a bronze

Yalies are London-bound to compete in the Olympics

Yale's 2012 Olympians (slideshow)

Incoming Yale coach competing as a rower in Olympics

Sarah Trowbridge, who will become an assistant coach at Yale in the fall, is rowing in the double sculls at the London Olympics. The Guilford, Connecticut, native has been a member of the USRowing Senior National Team since 2007, winning a gold medal in the double at the 2007 Pan American Games. She also competed in four world championships.

Schedules and results for Yale Olympians
Keep up with Yale Olympian rowers and sailors as they race in the London Games. See event updates on the Yale Athletics website.

Yale Olympians in the media

Keep up with Yale Olympians via Twitter

Olympics and Yale competitors of the past

 Over 160 former Olympians have been Yalies

Yale's Olympians
A list of past Yale Olympians, their sport, the year and medals won.

Celebrated and history-making Yale Olympians

The toymaker and the great pole controversy

New book on the ancient Olympics from Yale University Press
If you've ever wondered what it was like to attend the Olympics in 388 B.C., turn to ”A Visitor’s Guide to the Ancient Olympics,” a new book just published by Yale University Press. Author Neil Faulkner describes the experience of both athletes and spectators in the Olympic Stadium, and offers a complete tour of the earliest Olympic site.

Yale-London connections

From the Collection: The Olympics
The Yale University Art Gallery is celebrating the 2012 London Games by sharing Olympics-related work from the Gallery's collection on their facebook page.

Olympics at the Yale Center for British Art (slideshow)
The Yale Center for British Art houses the largest collection of British art outside the United Kingdom.

Posters and images from past Olympics at Yale libraries