Pepperdine Olympians
2024 Olympics Headquarters
2020 (2021) Olympics Headquarters
2016 Olympics Headquarters
2012 Olympics Headquarters
2008 Olympics Recap
Since 1956 and continuing through 2024, Pepperdine has developed a distinguished association with the Olympic Games, as 59Â alums associated with Pepperdine Athletics have participated in the Olympics as either a player or a coach.
When the 1984 Summer Games were conducted in metropolitan Los Angeles, Pepperdine's own Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool served as the venue for the water polo competition.
Waves have won medals in 18 different competitions since 1964, with totals of nine gold, eight silver and six bronze.
Here is a list of which Pepperdine alums have medaled at each Olympics (coaches are not listed since they do not receive medals):
| 1964 | SILVER: USA women's track 4x100 relay (Marilyn White) SILVER: USA modern pentathlon team (David Kirkwood) |
| 1984 | GOLD: USA men's volleyball (Craig Buck) SILVER: USA women's volleyball (Linda Chisholm) SILVER: USA men's water polo (Terry Schroeder) |
| 1988 | GOLD: USA men's volleyball (Craig Buck, Bob Ctvrtlik, Jeff Stork & Troy Tanner) SILVER: USA men's water polo (Terry Schroeder) BRONZE: USA men's tennis singles (Brad Gilbert) |
| 1992 | BRONZE: USA men's volleyball (Bob Ctvrtlik & Jeff Stork) |
| 2000 | GOLD: USA beach volleyball (Dain Blanton) |
| 2008 | GOLD: USA men's volleyball (Sean Rooney) SILVER: USA men's water polo (Merrill Moses & Jesse Smith) SILVER: Sweden men's tennis doubles (Simon Aspelin) |
| 2016 | BRONZE: USA women's volleyball (Kim Hill) |
| 2020 Â |
GOLD: USA women's volleyball (Kim Hill) BRONZE: Brazil women's tennis doubles (Luisa Stefani) BRONZE: USA women's soccer (Lynn Williams)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| 2024 | GOLD: USA women's soccer (Lynn Williams) |
If coaches did receive medals, however, Pepperdine coaches would add another seven gold medals (Dunphy 1988, 2008 and 2020, Gilbert 1996, Sato 1988, Sicoli 2012, Tanner 2008, Vernovage 2000), four silver medals (Dunphy 2024, Sicoli 2024, Dunphy 2012, Schroeder 2008) and five bronze medals (Jack Kocur 2024, Dunphy 2016, Goorjian 2020, Sato 1992, Sicoli 2016) to the Waves' haul.
Here is a list of alumni athletes and coaches who have represented Pepperdine Athletics and have taken part in the Olympics:
| Name | Country | Sport | Result |
| Simon Aspelin | Sweden | 2008 Tennis | doubles: SILVER medal |
| Sarah Attar | Saudi Arabia | 2012 Track 2016 Track |
800m: 39th place marathon: 132nd place |
| Miranda Ayim | Canada | 2012 Basketball 2016 Basketball 2020 Basketball |
quarterfinals (T-5th) quarterfinals (T-5th) 9th place |
| Roxanne Barker | South Africa | 2012 Soccer 2016 Soccer |
10th place 10th place |
| Kevin Barnett | USA | 2000 Volleyball 2004 Volleyball |
11th place 4th place |
| Dain Blanton | USA | 2000 Beach Volleyball 2004 Beach Volleyball |
GOLD medal 19th place |
| Roberto Borelli | Brazil | 1984 Water Polo | 12th place |
| Terrezene Brown | USA | 1964 Track | high jump: 12th place |
| Craig Buck | USA | 1984 Volleyball 1988 Volleyball |
GOLD medal GOLD medal |
| Vilma Charlton | Jamaica | 1964 Track 1968 Track 1972 Track |
4x100 relay: 5th place in heat #1 -- -- |
| Linda Chisholm | USA | 1984 Volleyball | SILVER medal |
| Geoffrey Clark | Australia | 1988 Water Polo 1992 Water Polo |
8th place 5th place |
| Bob Ctvrtlik | USA | 1988 Volleyball 1992 Volleyball 1996 Volleyball |
GOLD medal BRONZE medal 9th place |
| Carlos DiLaura | Peru | 1984 Tennis | singles: 2nd round |
| Yakhouba Diawara | France | 2012 Basketball | quarterfinals (T-5th) |
| Marv Dunphy | USA | 1988 Volleyball (M. Head Coach) 1996 Volleyball (M. Consultant Coach) 2000 Volleyball (M. Assistant Coach) 2004 Volleyball (M. Consultant Coach) 2008 Volleyball (M. Consultant Coach) 2012 Volleyball (W. Consultant Coach) 2016 Volleyball (W. Scouting Coach) 2020 Volleyball (W. Consultant Coach) 2024 Volleyball (W. Consultant Coach) |
GOLD medal 9th place 11th place 4th place GOLD medal SILVER medal BRONZE medal GOLD medal SILVER medal |
| Martin Edwards | Great Britain | 1972 Swimming | 100 fly: n/a |
| Brad Gilbert | USA | 1988 Tennis 1996 Tennis (Coach) |
singles: BRONZE medal singles: GOLD medal |
| Brian Goorjian | Australia | 2004 Basketball (M. Head Coach) 2008 Basketball (M. Head Coach) 2020 Basketball (M. Head Coach) 2024 Basketball (M. Head Coach) |
9th place quarterfinals (T-5th) BRONZE medal -- |
| Jennifer Gutierrez | USA | 2000 Triathlon | 13th place |
| Kim Hill | USA | 2016 Volleyball 2020 Volleyball |
BRONZE medal GOLD medal |
| Tom Hill | Greece | 2020 Tennis (W. Coach) | -- |
| Kelly Jones | USA | 1984 Tennis | singles: 2nd round |
| Danielle Kang | USA | 2020 Golf | 20th place |
| David Kirkwood | USA | 1964 Track | modern pentathlon team: SILVER medal |
| Jack Kocur | USA | 2016 Water Polo (M. Assistant Coach) 2024 Water Polo (M. Video Coordinator) |
10th place BRONZE medal |
| Martin Laurendeau | Canada | 1988 Tennis | singles: 1st round |
| Marcos Leite | Brazil | 1972 Basketball 1980 Basketball 1984 Basketball |
7th place 5th place 9th place |
| Robert Lindstedt | Sweden | 2012 Tennis | doubles: 2nd round mixed doubles: 1st round |
| Chip McCaw | USA | 2000 Volleyball | 11th place |
| Pablo McNeil | Jamaica | 1964 Track 1968 Track |
100m: 6th place in semifinal #1 4x100 relay: 4th place -- |
| Glenn Michibata | Canada | 1988 Tennis | doubles: 1st round |
| Agustin Moreno | Mexico | 1988 Tennis 2020 Tennis (W. Head Coach) |
singles: 2nd round doubles: 1st round -- |
| Jon Moscot | Israel | 2020 Baseball | 5th place |
| Merrill Moses | USA | 2008 Water Polo 2012 Water Polo 2016 Water Polo |
SILVER medal 8th place 10th place |
| Daniel Mulumba | Uganda | 1984 Swimming | 100 free: n/a |
| Nancy Owen | USA | 1964 Volleyball 1968 Volleyball |
5th place 8th place |
| Ryan Radmanovich | Canada | 2004 Baseball 2008 Baseball |
4th place T-5th place |
| Alex Rodriguez | USA | 2016 Water Polo (M. Assistant Coach) 2020 Water Polo (M. Assistant Coach) |
10th place 6th place |
| Peter Rohde | Denmark | 1984 Swimming
1988 Swimming |
100 free: 16th place 200 IM: 13th place 50 free: 26th place 100 free: 25th place 4x100 free relay: 10th place 4x200 free relay: 11th place |
| Sean Rooney | USA | 2008 Volleyball 2012 Volleyball |
GOLD medal quarterfinals (T-5th) |
| George Roumain | USA | 2000 Volleyball | 11th place |
| Nicole Sanderson | Australia | 2004 Beach Volleyball | 4th place |
| Gary Sato | USA | 1988 Volleyball (M. Assistant Coach) 1992 Volleyball (M. Assistant Coach) 2012 Volleyball (M. Assistant Coach) |
GOLD medal BRONZE medal quarterfinals (T-5th) |
| Terry Schroeder | USA | 1980 Water Polo 1984 Water Polo 1988 Water Polo 1992 Water Polo 2008 Water Polo (M. Head Coach) 2012 Water Polo (M. Head Coach) |
(boycott) SILVER medal SILVER medal 4th place SILVER medal 8th place |
| Mayar Sherif | Egypt | 2020 Tennis 2024 Tennis |
singles: 1st round singles: 1st round |
| Jesse Smith | USA | 2004 Water Polo 2008 Water Polo 2012 Water Polo 2016 Water Polo 2020 Water Polo |
7th place SILVER medal 8th place 10th place 6th place |
| Tom Sorensen | USA | 1996 Volleyball | 9th place |
| Luisa Stefani | Brazil | 2020 Tennis 2024 Tennis |
doubles: BRONZE medal, mixed doubles: 1st round doubles: 2nd round, mixed doubles: 2nd round |
| Jeff Stork | USA | 1988 Volleyball 1992 Volleyball 1996 Volleyball |
GOLD medal BRONZE medal 9th place |
| Andrew Sznajder | Canada | 1992 Tennis | singles: 2nd round |
| Troy Tanner | USA | 1988 Volleyball 2008 Beach Volleyball (W. Coach) |
GOLD medal GOLD medal |
| Andreea Trufasu | Romania | 1996 Swimming | 4x100 relay: 11th place |
| Greg Vernovage | USA | 2000 Beach Volleyball (M. Coach) | GOLD medal |
| Jerome Walters | USA | 1956 Track | 1500: n/a |
| Marilyn White | USA | 1964 Track | 4x100 relay: SILVER medal 100 meters: 4th place |
| Rod Wilde | USA | 1996 Volleyball (M. Assistant Coach) 2000 Volleyball (M. Assistant Coach) |
9th place 11th place |
| Lynn Williams | USA | 2020 Soccer 2024 Soccer |
BRONZE medal GOLD medal |
| Fred Winters | Canada | 2016 Volleyball | quarterfinals (T-5th) |
| Also noteworthy are a few coaches who did not attend Pepperdine, but coached or competed at the Olympics while a member of the Waves: | |||
| Kayla Banwarth | USA | 2016 Volleyball | BRONZE medal |
| David Hunt | USA | 2016 Volleyball (W. Assistant Coach) | BRONZE medal |
| Marcio Sicoli  |
USA Canada |
2012 Beach Volleyball (W. Coach) 2016 Beach Volleyball (W. Coach) 2024Â Beach Volleyball (W. Coach) |
GOLD medal BRONZE medal SILVER medal |
| On several occasions, Pepperdine athletes have come very close to becoming Olympians but instead wound up as alternates, including: | |||
| Alvis Andrews | USA | 1960 Track (triple jump) | |
| Jeremy Pope | USA | 2000 Water Polo | |
| Tom Sorensen | USA | 2000 Volleyball | |
| Rod Wilde | USA | 1984 Volleyball | |
| Jonathan Winder | USA | 2012 Volleyball | |
|
Number of Pepperdine Athletes Competing at Each Summer Olympics |
|||
|
Pepperdine alum Harry Nelson, who was on the inaugural football team in 1946, holds the Guinness World Record for most Summer Olympics attended. He went to the Guinness headquarters while in London in 2012 and shot this video: |
|||
