The Alabama Crimson Tide in Rio

Starting with the opening ceremonies on Friday, Aug. 5, the eyes of the world will be on Rio de Janeiro and the 2016 Olympic Games. A total of 13 past and present University of Alabama student-athletes will be competing in three different sports, including 2012 Olympic gold medalist Kirani James, who ran track for the Crimson Tide in 2010 and 2011. Alabama fans can follow the Tide in Olympic action by checking this blog throughout the Games.

Past and Present Alabama Student-Athletes in the 2016 Olympic Games

Kirani James - 400 Meters/Track and Field - Grenada
Ahmed Ali - 200 Meters/Track and Field - Sudan
Alex Amankwah - 800 Meters/Track and Field - Ghana
Akeem Haynes - 100 Meters & 4X100-meter Relay/Track & Field - Canada
Jereem Richards - 4x400-Meter relay/Track and Field - Trinidad & Tobago
Stephanie Meadow - Golf - Ireland
Kristian Gkolomeev – 50 & 100m freestyle & relays/Swimming & Diving – Greece
Christopher Reid – 100m backstroke & relays/Swimming & Diving - South Africa
Abbas Qali – 100m butterfly/Swimming & Diving – Kuwait
Anton McKee – 100 & 200m breaststroke/Swimming & Diving – Iceland
Jack Hadjiconstantinou – 400m freestyle/Swimming & Diving – Greece
BJ Hornikel – 100m freestyle & relays/Swimming & Diving – Germany
Kristel Vourna – 100m butterfly/Swimming & Diving – Greece

DAY ONE - Aug. 6

SWIMMING AND DIVING - In the women's 100-meter butterfly, 2015 senior Kristel Vourna, swimming for Greece in her second Olympics, opened Alabama's Olympic schedule by posting a time of 58.59, finishing 23rd. Jack Hadjiconstantinou, who will be a senior in 2016-17, opened his Olympic slate with a 4:03.53 in the 400-meter freestyle swimming for Cyprus, taking 47th place in his first Olympiad. In the men's 100-meter breaststroke, 2016-17 senior Anton McKee took 35th place with a time of 1:01.84 in his second Olympiad for his native Iceland.

DAY TWO - Aug. 7

SWIMMING AND DIVING - In his first Olympic swim, 2016-17 junior Christopher Reid earned a place in the semifinals of the 100-meter backstroke after turning in a time of 53.68 swimming for South Africa. Three-time NCAA Champion Kristian Gkolomeev swam the second leg on Greece's 400-meter freestyle relay which finished sixth in the second heat. Gkolomeev turned in a 47.43, the third fastest split in either prelims heat of the 400m free relay. BJ Hornikel turned in a 48.89 swimming the second leg of Germany's 400m freestyle relay, helping push the German squad to a fifth place finish in the first heat of prelims. In the semifinals of the men's 100m backstroke, Reid turned in a 53.70, and climbed two spots, finishing 10th overall.

DAY FOUR - Aug. 9

SWIMMING AND DIVING - Alabama had two swimmers in the prelims of the 100-meter freestyle, with past 100 freestyle school record holder BJ Hornikel and current 100 free school record holder Kristian Gkolomeev racing this morning (or afternoon in Rio). Hornikel, swimming for Germany, finished 39th with a 49.62. Gkolomeev, swimming for Greece, posted a career-best 48.68 to finish a tenth of a second out of 16th place and the semifinals. The three-time NCAA champion finished 20th overall. In the men's 200-meter breaststroke, 2016-17 senior Anton McKee turned in a 2:11.39 to finish 18th overall, two spots out of the semifinals.

DAY SIX - Aug. 11

SWIMMING AND DIVING - Three-time NCAA Champion Kristian Gkolomeev dropped a 21.93 in the prelims of the 50-meter freestyle to take 10th place overall and advance to the semifinals. Swimming for Greece, Gkolomeev is just a tenth of a second out of the top eight right now, with a chance to advance to the finals later today. Gkolomeev, the USA's Nathan Adrian and Anthony Ervin, Great Britan's Ben Proud and Canada's Santo Condorelli all went under 22 seconds out of heat 10, and made up half the overall top 10 coming out of the morning heats, making it the fastest of the 11 heats. Abbas Qali, a 2015-16 senior from Kuwait, posted a 54.63 in the men's 100-meter butterfly, taking 36th overall. Gkolomeev went 21.98 in the Olympic 50-meter freestyle semifinal, taking sixth in his heat and 13th in the semis.

DAY SEVEN - Aug. 12

TRACK AND FIELD - London 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Kirani James of Grenada began defense of his men's 400 meters title with a time of 44.93 in the preliminaries on Friday evening and easily advanced to Saturday night's semifinal round. James won his heat and posted the fastest time in the first round. Running for Ghana and making his Olympic debut, Alabama alum Alex Amankwah competed in the preliminary round in the men's 800 meters on Friday morning. Amankwah was clocked in 1:50.33 and did not advance out of his heat.

SWIMMING AND DIVING - Christopher Reid led off the South African squad while Kristian Gkolomeev anchored the Greek group in the second preliminary heat of the 400-meter medley relay on Friday. Reid turned in a 54.26 on the backstroke leg while Gkolomeev posted a 47.93 on the freestyle leg. Overall, South Africa took 13th with a time of 3:55.50 while Greece was 15th after touching the wall with a 3:36.75.

DAY EIGHT- Aug. 13

TRACK AND FIELD – Grenada's Kirani James will defend his Olympic 400 meters title after posting a season-best time in the semifinals of the event on Saturday evening. James won his heat in 44.02, the fastest time in the semifinals. With a win in Sunday night's final, James would join the USA's Michael Johnson as the only double gold medalists in the event in Olympic history. Johnson won gold in Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000. James would also become just the second Alabama athlete to win two track gold medals at the Olympics. Pauline Davis won gold in the 200 meters and 4x100 relay for the Bahamas in Sydney in 2000. Sunday's final is scheduled for 8 p.m. (CT).

Earlier in the day, Canada's Akeem Haynes competed in the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash, posting a time of 10.22 in his heat. Haynes did not advance to Sunday's semifinal.

DAY NINE- Aug. 14

TRACK AND FIELD – Kirani James won the silver medal in the men's 400-meter final but it took a world-record time to defeat the 2012 Olympic gold medalist from Grenada. Running out of lane eight, South Africa's Wayde Van Niekerk scorched the field with a world-record time of 43.03 to beat James, who finished second with a season-best time of 43.76. LaShawn Merritt of the United States took the bronze in 43.85.James was seeking to join Michael Johnson as the second repeat winner of the 400 meters in Olympic history.

DAY ELEVEN- Aug. 16

TRACK AND FIELD – Competing for Sudan, Ahmed Ali made his Olympic debut in the men's 200 meters preliminaries on Tuesday morning. Running in the same heat as Olympic champion and world record holder Usain Bolt, Ali clocked a time of 20.78 and did not advance to Wednesday's semifinals.

DAY TWELVE- Aug. 17

GOLF – Alabama alum Stephanie Meadow shot a six-over par 77 in the opening round of the women's golf tournament. Meadow is 12 shots off the lead entering Thursday's second round. The 72-hole competition will run through Saturday.

DAY THIRTEEN - Aug. 18

GOLF – Stephanie Meadow fired a five-under par 66 in the second round of the women's golf tournament on Thursday. Meadow is now one-over par for the tournament, 11 shots of the lead. Friday's third round will begin at 5:30 a.m. (CT) with Meadow scheduled to tee off at 8:41 a.m.

TRACK AND FIELD – Alabama alum Akeem Haynes ran the lead-off leg for Canada's men's 4x100-meter relay team in Thursday morning's semifinals. Canada qualified for Friday's final with a time of 37.89, the fastest time for that nation's 4x100 unit this season. Friday's final round is scheduled for 8:35 p.m. (CT).

DAY FOURTEEN- Aug. 19

TRACK AND FIELD – Former Alabama sprinter Akeem Haynes ran the lead leg for Canada in the final of the men's 4x100-meter relay on Friday night. The Canadians appeared to have finished fourth in a Canadian-record time of 37.64, just behind the United States at 37.62 but the U.S. was later disqualified for an exchange violation, giving the Bronze to Canada. Japan was second in 37.60. Jamaica, anchored by nine-time Olympic Gold medalist Usain Bolt who was running in his final Olympic race, won in a time of 37.27.

GOLF – Stephanie Meadow shot an even-par 71 in Friday's third round and sits in a tie for 26th at one-over par for the tournament. Saturday's final round will begin at 7:05 a.m. (CT). Meadow is scheduled to tee off at 7:16 a.m.

DAY FIFTEEN- Aug. 20

GOLF- Stephanie Meadow shot a one-over par 72 on the final day of the Olympic golf tournament to finish in a tie for 31^st place at two-over par for the four-day tournament. South Korea's Inbee Park won the Gold medal, finishing 16-under par after a five-under performance on Saturday.

Track and Field

Kirani James - 400 Meters - Grenada

Kirani James headshot

Two-year letterman at Alabama (2010-2011) ... defending Olympic gold medalist in the 400 meters ... the 2012 Olympic gold was the first for any athlete from Grenada ... has two wins in two finals appearances on the IAAF Diamond League circuit this season, in Eugene, Oregon and Birmingham, England ... bronze medalist in the 400 meters at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing ... gold medalist in the 400 meters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow ... gold medalist at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu ... double gold medalist in the 200 meters and 400 meters at the 2009 IAAF World Youth Championships ... also won silver medals in the 400 meters at the Junior and Youth levels ... ran a personal-best time of 43.74 at the Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland on July 3, 2014.

James' Olympic Schedule

400 meters

Preliminary heats: Fri, Aug. 12 at 9:00 p.m. (Rio)
Semifinals: Sat, Aug. 13 at 8:30 p.m. (Rio)
Finals: Sun, Aug. 14 at 10:00 p.m. (Rio)

Ahmed Ali - 200 Meters - Sudan

Ahmed Ali headshot

Two-year letterman at Alabama (2015-2016) ... represented Sudan at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing and the 2016 Africa Championships in Durban, South Africa ... ran a personal-best 20.16 in the 200 meters at the Florida Relays on March 30 this year, the fastest time in the world this year to that point ... two-time All-American in the 200 meters (2015-2016), 2015 All-American in the 4x100-meter relay ... two-time All-SEC honoree in the 4x100-meter relay (2015-2016) ... member of South Plains College's 2013 NJCAA championship-winning 4x100-meter relay squad while in junior college ... finished fourth in the 100 meters at the 2013 NJCAA national championships son of Adam Ali and Amna Korashy ... born Nov. 15, 1993.

Ali's Olympic Schedule

200 meters

Preliminary heats: Tue, Aug. 16 at 11:45 a.m. (Rio)
Semifinals: Wed, Aug. 17 at 10:00 p.m. (Rio)
Finals: Thu, Aug. 18 at 10:30 p.m. (Rio)

Alex Amankwah - 800 Meters - Ghana

Alex Amankwah headshot

Two-year letterman at Alabama (2014-2015) ... represented Ghana at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing ... first team All-American in the 800 meters during the 2015 indoor season ... ran 1:45.91 to match his personal best and win the 800 meters at the 2015 LSU invitational... posted a personal-best 800-meter time of 1:45.91 to win the event at the 2015 Florida Relays ... won the 800 meters at the 2015 John Jacobs invitational with a time of 1:48.35 ... junior college All-American at West Los Angeles College in 2013 ... son of Erick Amankwah and Dorothy Nyarko ... born March 2, 1992.

Amankwah's Olympic Schedule

800 meters

Preliminary heats: Fri, Aug. 12 at 10:00 a.m. (Rio)
Semifinals: Sat, Aug. 13 at 10:00 p.m. (Rio)
Finals: Mon, Aug. 18 at 10:30 p.m. (Rio)

Akeem Haynes - 100 Meters & 4x100-meter Relay - Canada

Akeem Haynes headshot Two-time outdoor first team All-American for the Crimson Tide in the 4x100-meter relay (2013-2014) … will compete in the 100 meters and be the lead leg for Canada's 4x100 squad in Rio … Ran the third leg of the 4x100-meter relay that clocked a time of 39.36 in the semifinals at the 2014 NCAA Championships and advanced to the finals … Earned 2013 Outdoor All-America honors as part of Alabama's 4x100-meter relay unit at the NCAA Championships as the quartet posted school record times in both the semifinals (38.78) and in the finals (38.54) ... that 4x100 relay placed second in the finals ... son of Kim Samuels ... born March 11, 1992.

Haynes' Olympic Schedule
100 Meters

Prelims, Sat, Aug. 13 at 9:30 a.m. (Rio)
Semifinals, Sun, Aug. 14 at 9 p.m. (Rio)
Finals, Sun, Aug. 14 at 10:25 p.m. (Rio)

4x100 Relay

Semifinals: Thurs, Aug. 18 at 11:40 a.m. (Rio)
Finals, Fri, Aug. 19 at 10:35 p.m. (Rio)

Jereem Richards - 4x400-Meter Relay - Trinidad & Tobago

24850 Transfer from South Plains College (Texas) ... will begin competing for Alabama during the 2017 indoor season ... represented Trinidad & Tobago in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and 2013 Central American & Caribbean Championships in Morelia ... has also represented his home country at the junior level in the 2010 CAC Junior Championships, 2011 Pan-American Junior Championships, 2011 IAAF World Youth Championships, 2012 CAC Junior Championships and 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships and 2013 Under-20 CARIFTA Games ... Member of Trinidad & Tobago's bronze medal-winning 4x400-meter relay.

Richards' Olympic Schedule

4x400-meter relay

Preliminary heats: Fri, Aug. 19 at 9:00 p.m. (Rio)
Finals: Sat, Aug. 20 at 10:30 p.m. (Rio)

Women's Golf

Stephanie Meadow - Golf - Ireland

Stephanie Meadow headshot

Four-year letterwinner at Alabama (2011-14) ... Member of Alabama's 2012 national championship team ... 2012 Ladies British Amateur champion ... four-time first team All-American ... two-time Curtis Cup participant (2012, 2014) ... four-time Women's Golf Coaches Association Academic All-American ... SEC Player of the Year in 2013 and 2014 ... SEC Freshman of the Year in 2011 ... Two- time SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year ... three-time All-SEC (2012-2014) ... SEC All-Freshman team selection in 2011 ... in her first professional appearance, she finished third at the 2014 U.S. Women's Open ... 2015 recipient of the LPGA's Heather Farr Award, presented annually to the LPGA golfer who, "through her hard work, dedication and love of the game of golf, has demonstrated determination, perseverance and spirit in fulfilling her goals as a player" ... born January 29, 1992 in Jordanstown, Northern Ireland.

Meadow's Olympic Schedule

August 17-20, Tee Times TBD

Swimming and Diving

Kristian Gkolomeev – 50 & 100m freestyle/Relays – Greece

Kristian Gkolomeev headshot

2012 and 2016 Greek Olympian ... finished 31^st in the 100m freestyle in the heats of the 2012 London Olympiad ... his late father, Tsvetan, swam for his native Bulgaria at the 1980 and 1988 Olympics ... was first three-time NCAA Champion in Alabama history .... 2014 NCAA 50 freestyle champion ... 2015 NCAA 100 freestyle champion ... anchor leg on Alabama's 2016 NCAA 200 medley relay championship squad ... seventh in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2015 FINA World Championships ... finished 20th in the 100m freestyle and 24th in the 50m butterfly and 14th as part of Greece's 400m medley relay and 400m freestyle relay at the World Championships ... broke the school long-course records in the 50m freestyle (19.88) and the 100m freestyle (48.12) ... helped break the school record in the 200 medley relay posting the fastest relay split in school history over the last 50, going 18.00, to win the first NCAA relay title in Alabama history ... 2015 Southeastern Conference Male Swimmer of the Year ... 2015 SEC Championships Swimmer of the Meet ... finished seventh in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2014 European Championships with a time of 21.96 to set the school long course meters record ... also turned in a 16th place performance in the 100-meter freestyle at the 2014 European Championships with a time 49.49 ... full name: Kristian Tsvetanov Gkolomeev ... son of Kristina and Tsvetan Gkolomeev ... brothers, Nikola and Ivan ... human performance exercise science major ... hometown: Athens, Greece.

Gkolomeev's Olympic Schedule

400m freestyle relay

Preliminary heats: Sun, Aug. 7 at 1:00 p.m. (Rio)
Finals: Sun, Aug. 7 at 9:50 p.m. (Rio)

100m freestyle

Preliminary heats: Tue, Aug. 9 at 11:00 a.m. (Rio)
Semifinals: Tue, Aug. 9 at 8:00 p.m. (Rio)
Finals: Wed, Aug. 10 at 9:00 p.m. (Rio)

50m freestyle

Preliminary heats: Thu, Aug. 11 at 11:00 a.m. (Rio)
Semifinals: Thu, Aug. 11 at 8:00 p.m. (Rio)
Finals: Fri, Aug. 12 at 8:40 p.m. (Rio)

400m medley relay

Preliminary heats: Fri, Aug. 12 at 1:45 p.m. (Rio)
Finals: Sat, Aug. 13 at 9:00 p.m. (Rio)

Christopher Reid – 100m backstroke/relays - South Africa

Christopher Reid headshot

2016 South African Olympian ... earned a spot on the 2016 South African Olympic squad by winning the 100m backstroke at the SA Olympic Trials with a new African and South African record of 53.12, which is also a new Alabama long course meter school record ... swam legs on the school-record breaking 400 (2:49.96) and 800 (6:20.09) freestyle relays at the 2016 NCAA Championships, earning All-America honors in both ... swam at the 2015 NCAA Championships in both the 100 and 200 backstroke as well as the 200 individual medley and the 800 freestyle relay ... graduated from Grey High School ... 2014 Youth Olympic Games finalist ... full name: Christopher Reid ... son of Maria and the late Daryl Reid ... finance major ... hometown: Port Elizabeth, South Africa..

Reid's Olympic Schedule

100m backstroke

Preliminary heats: Sun, Aug. 7 at 2:15 p.m. (Rio)
Semifinals: Sun, Aug. 7 at 9:10 p.m. (Rio)
Finals: Mon, Aug. 8 at 8:30 p.m. (Rio)

400m medley relay

Preliminary heats: Fri, Aug. 12 at 1:45 p.m. (Rio)
Finals: Sat, Aug. 13 at 9:00 p.m. (Rio)

Abbas Qali – 100m butterfly – Kuwait

Abbas Qali headshot

2016 Kuwait Olympian ... Competed in the 100 butterfly at the 2015 FINA World Championships ... part of Kuwait's 27th place 400 medley relay at the World Championships ... Kuwait national record in the 50m butterfly with a 25.06 ... two-time Southeastern Conference scorer in the 100 butterfly ... member of the Kuwait National Team ... full name: Abbas M. Qali ... son of Amina Dashti and Mohammed Hasan Qali ... human performance exercise science major... hometown: Kuwait City, Kuwait.

Qali's Olympic Schedule

100m butterfly

Preliminary heats: Thu, Aug. 11 at 12:15 p.m. (Rio)
Semifinals: Thu, Aug. 11 at 9:30 p.m. (Rio)
Finals: Fri, Aug. 12 at 8:00 p.m. (Rio)

Anton McKee – 100 & 200m breaststroke – Iceland

Anton McKee headshot

2012 and 2016 Icelandic Olympian ... competed in the 2012 Olympic Games placing 25th in the 1,500m freestyle ... posted a pair of top-20 finishes in the breaststroke events at the 2015 FINA World Championships, finishing 19th in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:00.53, a new Icelandic and Alabama school record, and 13th in the 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:10.79 ... preliminary time of 2:10.21 at 200m also set an Icelandic and Alabama school record ... finaled in the 200 breaststroke at the 2016 NCAA Championships, taking fourth and earning All-America honors ... swam the breaststroke leg at the 2015 NCAA Championships on the Tide's second-place 200 medley relay and third-place 400 medley relay ... finaled at the 2016 NCAA Championships in the 200 breaststroke, taking fifth ... 2016 SEC Champion as part of the Tide's 400 medley relay, which set a school and SEC record ... three-time First Team CSCAA Scholar All-American ... 2016 CoSIDA At-Large Academic All-American of the Year ... 2016 CoSIDA Academic All- America At-Large First Team ... 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large Second Team ... 2014 SEC Champion in the 200 breaststroke, setting an SEC Championship and school record with a time of 1:51.59 in finals ... earned All-American honors in the 200 breaststroke after a fourth place finish at the 2014 NCAA Championships ... full name: Anton Sveinn McKee ... son of Helga Sveinsdottir and Robert McKee ... brother, Arnar Robertsson... sister, Karitas Irma ... management information systems major ... hometown: Hafnarfjörður, Iceland.

McKee's Olympic Schedule

100m breaststroke

Preliminary heats: Sat, Aug. 6 at 1:00 p.m. (Rio)
Semifinals: Sat, Aug. 6 at 9:00 p.m. (Rio)
Finals: Sun, Aug. 7 at 8:45 p.m. (Rio)

200m breaststroke

Preliminary heats: Tue, Aug. 9 at 1:15 p.m. (Rio)
Semifinals: Tue, Aug. 9 at 9:00 p.m. (Rio)
Finals: Wed, Aug. 10 at 8:00 p.m. (Rio)

Jack Hadjiconstantinou – 400m freestyle – Greece

Jack Hadjiconstantinou headshot

2016 Cyprus Olympian ... competed in the 200-meter and 400m freestyle at the 2015 FINA World Championships... scored in the distance races at the Southeastern Conference Championships ... full name: Iacovos Hadjiconstantinou ... son of Stella-Marie and Solonas Hadjiconstantinou ... brother, Charis ... sisters, Andria and Fotinie ... general business major ... hometown: Paralimni, Cyprus.

Hadjiconstantinou's Olympic Schedule

400m freestyle

Preliminary heats: Sat, Aug. 6 at 11:45 a.m. (Rio)
Finals: Sat, Aug. 6 at 8:30 p.m. (Rio)

BJ Hornikel – 100m freestyle/relays – Germany

BJ Hornikel headshot

2016 German Olympian ... swam the 100m freestyle and 400 freestyle relay at the 2014 European Championships ... three-year All-American at Alabama ... style="font- family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#333333; background:white">turned in a school record time of 42.46 in the 100 freestyle in 2013 as a junior, eclipsing the previous school mark of 42.69 set by four-time Olympic gold medalist Jon Olsen in 1991 ... four-time CSCAA Scholar All-American ... full name: Bjoern Hornikel ... son of Angelika and Jochen Hornikel ... brother, Armin ... human performance exercise science major ... hometown: Boblingen, Germany.

Hornikel's Olympic Schedule