After a strong showing in the first half of the Olympics, more Wolverine athletes will be returning from Tokyo with some new hardware.
A Canadian gold medal highlights the showcase of Michigan athletic performance as current junior Jayde Riviere and former Wolverine Shelina Zadorsky (2010 – 2013) helped their soccer team defeat Sweden in a game that was decided by penalty kicks.
Riviere played 27 minutes in extra time as a defender while Zadorsky only logged less than a minute in match time. Zadorsky won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio games, while this is Riviere’s first Olympic medal. Additionally, it is also the first time a Canadian women’s soccer team has brought gold back to the North American country.
In addition to the two soccer medals, graduate student wrestler Myles Amine will be bringing a bronze medal to San Marino. Amine was one of the flag bearers for the small country and is the first individual male Olympic medalist in the nation’s history.
Thanks to a late takedown, Amine became the second Michigan wrestler to ever win an Olympic medal, and is the first freestyle wrestling medalist to emerge from the program.
Ultimately, the Wolverines won 11 medals: 3 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze. Swimmer Maggie MacNeil contributed most to that total after leaving Tokyo with three medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze). In addition to MacNeil, former swimmer Siobhán Haughey won two silver medals and former swimmer Catie DeLoof won a bronze. Softball player Amanda Chidester and graduate assistant diving coach Michael Hixon both won silver medals as well.
With its 11 total medals, Michigan would have tied for 18th with the Czech Republic in the total medal standings, proving that the Wolverine athletic dominance of the past was no different for these Olympic games.