Olympic Excellence: Study Shows CU 10th In All-Time Olympians
September 21, 2017 | General, Alumni C Club, Neill Woelk, Olympians
BOULDER — University of Colorado followers have for years believed the Buffs to be one of the largest producers of U.S. Olympians — but no one really knew exactly where CU stacked up against the rest of the nation's colleges and universities.
Now, thanks to an OlympStats.com study, there are numbers to back up those beliefs.
According to the study, published Thursday, Colorado is 10th among the nation's universities and colleges, having produced 128 Olympians all time in the Summer and Winter Olympics.
The study is without doubt the most comprehensive of its kind. A number of criteria were applied (for instance, foreign-born athletes who attended a U.S. school but did not compete for Team USA are not included), but the basic standard was this: the database includes USA Olympians only, who competed in medal sports only (demonstration sports competitors and Paralympians, coaches and trainers are not included), and who attended any known college, in the USA or otherwise.
"This is the first definitive count I've seen, and I can imagine the laborious work that went into it," said CU Sports Information Director David Plati. "Those of us familiar with CU have always suspected we were a top producer of Olympians, so it's not a surprise we're 10th, or the state of Colorado is sixth for that matter. It's great to now have these long-held suspicions backed up with research."
Some of the results are by no means a surprise.
For instance, CU is third in all-time Winter Olympians (61), due in great part to the ultra-successful Buffs ski team. CU skiing — which is coincidentally celebrating its history Friday with the 47th annual Ski Ball — has produced 29 alpine skiing Olympians, more than any other college in the nation.
Colorado is also first in Olympic cyclists (13), also not a surprise given the popularity of the sport in Boulder and the success of CU's club cycling team.
But there are also some surprising results. CU is third all time in judo Olympians (six) and second all time in shooting Olympians (seven) and short-track speedskating (four).
The study also broke down Olympians by state as associated with colleges in those states, and Colorado was sixth with 288.
CU was one of five Pac-12 schools in the top 10. Stanford is the all-time overall leader with 289, followed by UCLA in second (277), USC in third (251) and Cal in fourth (212). Washington also finished in the top 20 at 11th (122).
According to the study, CU had the most Winter Olympians in 1972 and 1998. Utah was fifth on the all-time Winter Olympians list with 46.
Colorado's Olympic history continues to grow. In last summer's Rio Olympics, Buffs Jenny Simpson (1,500) and Emma Coburn (steeplechase) both won bronze medals.
The database for the study was compiled by Olympic historians Bill Mallon and Hillary Evans, and with the help of college and university sports information directors from around the country. The full study can be found at olympstats.com.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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