A Dozen Past and Present Alabama Student-Athletes Slated to Compete in the 2016 Olympic Games
8/4/2016 1:51:00 PM | General, Women's Golf, Swimming & Diving, Track & Field, Cross Country
A total of seven swimmers, four track and field athletes and one golfer who competed for Alabama will represent their respective countries in the Rio Olympiad
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A total of 12 past and present University of Alabama student-athletes are set to compete at the 2016 Olymic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The opening ceremonies for this summer's Games will be held Friday, August 5 with competition starting Saturday, Aug. 6.
Track and field star Kirani James (Grenada) leads the way for the Tide Olympians. A two-year letterwinner in 2010 and 2011, James is the defending Olympic champion in the 400 meters.
Swimmers Kristian Gkolomeev (Greece), Anton McKee (Iceland) and Kristel Vourna (Greece) are also making a return trip to the Olympics. All three competed at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Vourna earned a spot in the semifinals of the 100-meter butterfly, taking 12th overall. Gkolomeev and McKee were both juniors in 2016 while Vourna was a fifth-year senior in 2015.
Also swimming in Rio next week will be rising junior Christopher Reid (South Africa), 2016 senior Abbas Qali (Kuwait), rising senior Jack Hadjiconstantinou (Cyprus) and 2013 senior BJ Hornikel (Germany).
2016 senior Ahmed Ali (Sudan), 2015 senior Alex Amankwah (Ghana) and rising junior Jereem Richards (Trinidad and Tobago) will join James in the track and field events during the Games' second week.
Stephanie Meadow (Ireland), a member of Alabama's 2012 NCAA Championship team, will be the first Crimson Tide golfer to compete at the Olympics. Meadow graduated in 2014 and has been on the professional tour ever since.
For all the latest information on the Alabama swimming and diving teams, follow AlabamaSwimDive, for UA track and field, follow AlabamaTrack and for Alabama women's golf follow AlabamaWGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.Â
Alabama in the 2016 Rio Olympics
- 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
- Kirani James - 400 Meters/Track and Field - Grenada
- Ahmed Ali - 200 Meters/Track and Field - Sudan
- Alex Amankwah - 800 Meters/Track and Field - Ghana
- Jereem Richards - 4x400-Meter relay/Track and Field - Trinidad & Tobago
- Stephanie Meadow - Golf - Ireland
Players Mentioned
