Showing up at the Olympics with dozens of top athletes representing the University of Florida Gators is second nature to the college that continues to pump out top super jocks in so many sports. Like so many times before, Gator students and alumni remain thirsty with competitive teeth as the Olympic Games visited Tokyo.
This year 32 athletes representing eight sports, including baseball, basketball, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming, and track and field, traveled to Tokyo with winning on the mind. But, of course, global trips are nothing new for some, with seven Gators as repeat Olympians and three third trip competitors. And if that isn’t impressive enough, three Gators that competed this year already have Olympic medals.
With no further ado, below are Gators who once again have made the University of Florida unforgettable in the world of top athletes, and the Greater Guide to Gainesville honored to call them a part of community.
Women’s 2020 Olympic Rooster
Doneisha Anderson, 20, currently attends UF since 2019. Anderson, who competed in the Women’s 4x400m relay for the Bahamas, studies sports management and aspires to be a coach.
Cameron Lloydricia, 25, was a UF student from 2015-2018. Lloydricia, who finished 12th in her qualifying heat in the Shot Put while competing for Jamaica, was born in Miami as a first-generation Jamaican in her family to call the U.S. home.
Yanis David, 23, was a UF student from 2016-2019. David, who finished 11th in her qualifying heat in the Long Jump while competing for France, also received the 2019 Honda Sport Award for Track & Field as the best female collegiate athletics competitor for the sport in the U.S.
Natalie Hinds, 27, was a UF student from 2012-2016. Hinds, who earned a bronze medal as part of the Women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team for the United States, launched her own business Loominary Design, a customs tapestry shop, in 2020.
Genevieve Lacaze Gregson, 32, was a UF student from 2009-2012. Gregson, who tragically suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during the final of the Women’s 3000m steeplechase, made her first Olympic debut in the London 2012 games, when she finished 9th in the 3000m heat.
Adriana Leon, 28, was a UF student in 2012. Leon, who played in every game and scored the team’s lone goal in a 1-1 tie with Great Britain in helping Canada to its first-ever gold medal in women’s soccer, was also Toronto Aero Midget from 2007-2009 as an accomplished club hockey player before coming a Gator.
Taylor Manson, 21, was a UF student from 2018-2012. Manson, who captured a bronze medal as part of the United States’ 4x400m mixed relay, is nicknamed “Spider” for her long arm and legs, has been running since she was seven years old.
Cory McGee, 29, was a UF student from 2011-2014. McGee, who finished 12th in the Women’s 1500m, decided after accompanying her FBI security liaison father at the 2004 Olympic Athens games she too wanted to go for the gold.
Michelle Moultrie, 31, was a UF student from 2008-2012. Moultrie, who played outfield in all six games for the United States’ silver medal-winning softball team, was the 2017 USA Softball’s Female Athlete of the Year.
Aubree Munro, 27, was a UF student from 2012-2016, Munro, who was the starting catcher for the United States’ silver medal-winning softball team and led the team in putouts with 51, hit the tying run in the final game of 2018 Women’s Softball World Championship in Japan for the U.S. win.
Deanne Rose, 22, was a UF student from 2017-2021. Rose, who played in every game for the gold medal-winning Canadian women’s soccer team, had one ambition, which was to walk away as one of the top soccer players in the world at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and she did.
Kelsey Stuart, 26, was a UF student from 2012-2016. Stuart, who hit the tournament’s lone home run for the Americans on their way to a silver medal in softball, would choose Will Smith as a mentor, loves Honeycomb cereal, and calls a “League of Their Own” her favorite movie.
Marife Torres, 26, was a UF student from 2013-2016. Torres, who finished 48th in the women’s individual golf tournament while representing Puerto Rico, was the 2016 Southeastern Conference Female Golfer of the Year.
Marija Vucenovic, 28, was a UF student from 2013-2017. Vucenovic, who finished 9th in the qualifying round of the Women’s Javelin Throw for Serbia, moved to the U.S. from Serbia to attend school and play her favorite sport, a luxury not afforded in her motherland.
Leanne Wong, 18, is an incoming UF student. Wong, who was an alternate for the United States gymnastics team, loves roller coasters, piano, cooking and sightseeing.
Men’s 2020 Olympic Rooster
Amro Al-Wir, 20, has been a UF student since 2020. Al-Wir, who competed in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke while representing Jordan, studies Physics and speaks Arabic while humbly admitting his Olympian talent was discovered at a swim camp.
Andres Arroyo, 26, attended UF from 2014-2017. Arroyo, who finished 7th in his qualifying heat while representing Puerto Rice in the 800m, began his athletic career as a baseball player, taking up track and field to improve his running, which made him a two-time Olympian including the 2016 Rio games.
Bradley Beal, 28, attended UF from 2011-2012. Beal, who was replaced on the gold medal-winning basketball team due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, was the 2011 Gatorade National Basketball Player of the Year.
Will Claye, 30, was a UF student from 2010-2011. Claye, who finished fourth in the triple jump with a season-best jump of 17.44 meters, sat down with Snoop Dog and Kevin Hart before the games to talk about life and sports.
Marquis Dendy, 28, was a UF student from 2012-2015. Dendy, who finished 10th in the qualifying round of the long jump, was the first Gator to win The Bowerman, a track and field honor comparable to college football’s Heisman Trophy.
Caeleb Dressel, 24, was a UF student from 2014-2018. Dressel, who set a world record in the 100m Butterfly final and three Olympic records on his way to five gold medals, was named the International Swimming Federation Best Male Athlete of the Year in 2017 and 2019, when he also launched his own podcast with his housemate.
Joseph Fahnbulleh, 19, has been a UF student since 2020. Fahnbulleh, who set a national record for Liberia in the finals of the 200m, admits he gets his speed from his mom and his long legs from his dad.
Bobby Finke, 21, has been a UF student since 2018. Finke, who brought home a pair of golds in winning both the 800m and 1500m freestyles, comes from a family of swimmers, with his mother competing in college and his father a coach of the sport.
Bret Frasier, 31, was a UF student from 2007-2011. Frasier, who finished 3rd in his qualifying heat of the 50m freestyle while representing the Cayman Islands, calls Lebron James his favorite basketball player and directs a Cayman Islands real estate company.
Eric Friese, 22, has been a UF student since 2019. Friese, who swam as part of Germany’s 4x100m freestyle relay, played football until entering high school, when he decided to focus solely on swimming, an activity he loved enjoying with his grandfather as a child.
Grant Holloway, 23, was a UF student from 2017-2019. Holloway, who captured silver in the 110m hurdles, was a four-star wide receiver in high school before turning to track and field, where he is a two-time nominee of the Bowerman Award, the nation’s highest collegiate honor for runners.
Mark Kolozsvary, 25, was a UF student from 2015-2017. Kolozsvary, who was the starting catcher in every game for the silver medal-winning U.S. men’s baseball team, was seventh-round pick for the Cincinnati Reds in the 2017 MLB Draft.
Eddie Lovett, 29, was a UF student from 2011-2013. Lovett, who finished 7th while representing the Virgin Islands in his qualifying heat of the 110m hurdles, believes you are the summation of what you repeatedly exercise to which success is only the end result.
Enzo Martinez-Scarpe, 27, was a UF student from 2013-2018. Martinez-Scarpe, who finished 4th in his qualifying heat of the 50m freestyle for Uruguay, was diagnosed with asthma at age six, when doctors recommended he began swimming to help his breathing problems.
Alfonso Mestre, 19, has been a UF student since 2019. Mestre, who competed in both the 400m and 800m freestyles while representing Venezuela, comes from a family of swimmers with his father representing Venezuela in the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics games.
Hakim Sani Brown, 22, was a UF student from 2018-2019. Sani Brown, who finished 6th in his qualifying heat of the 200m while representing the host nation, received the Japan Association of Athletics Federations Outstanding Achievement Award in 2017 and 2019.
Kieran Smith, 21, has been a UF student since 2018. Smith, who earned a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle among his three events, was named the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Swimmer of the Year in 2016 and 2017.
Written by Angela Underwood