Here Is How Columbia Athletes Fared At The Olympics

Upper West Side NY

14 August, 2021

2:04 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY CLARA ENCE MORSE AND MACKENZIE GEORGE AUGUST 11, 2021 They carried the flags of their countries; they took center stage on international television; they jumped, raced, fenced, twirled, rowed, and skated in pursuit of gold medals. Here's how 12 Columbia Lions performed at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Charlotte Buck, CC '18, rowed in the much-storied American women's eight. The boat was looking for its fourth straight Olympic gold in Tokyo. However, the U.S. rowing team suffered a COVID-19 outbreak earlier in the summer, impacting the health of many athletes, and the boat ended up placing fourth with a time of 6:02.78, over three seconds behind the first-place Canadian boat. "It was hard to leave Tokyo without meeting some of our goals. But regardless of race outcomes, I continue to gain things I didn't expect from rowing," Buck wrote on Instagram. "Fortitude, self confidence, grit, resilience, and dear friends." Jakub Buczek, CC '16, rowed for Canada in the Canadian men's four without coxswain. Buczek and his boatmates earned a second-place finish in the B final, translating to an eighth-place finish overall, and logged their fastest time in Tokyo at 5:58.29. Evita Griskenas, CC '24, notched a 91.700 in the qualification round of the women's rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around competition. The score nabbed her 12th place but was not enough to qualify Griskenas for the finals. Isadora Cerullo, CC '13, and the rest of the Brazilian rugby team lost three pool matches early on to Canada, France, and Fiji, leaving them to compete for ninth place. Blanked by Canada 45-0 in the ninth place match, Brazil came back to defeat Japan 21-12, clinching the 11th place spot. Nadia Eke, CC '15, was a flag bearer at the opening ceremony for Ghana and represented her country in the triple jump. In preliminary competition, Eke fouled in all three of her attempts and was not awarded a score. She said on her Instagram that this Olympics marks the end of her athletic career and that she will refocus on creating art, dancing, and building her company Axxelerate. "All the way until 3 weeks ago, I questioned why I was granted this gift to be here when I felt I didn't deserve it. Tonight I was set free—I was reminded of my WHY. This space, this place needed my light to shine bright," Eke wrote on Instagram. "Incredibly grateful for the end of this chapter." In fencing, both Jackie Dubrovich, CC '16, and Nicole Ross, CC '13, fell in the round of 16 in the women's foil competition. However, they bounced back to help the United States make it to the bronze medal match against Italy. There, the U.S. women's foil team lost 45-23, falling just short of the podium for a fourth-place finish. Jake Hoyle, CC '16, and the rest of the United States men's epee fencing team were defeated by Japan 45-39 in the table of 16. In the individual epee event, Hoyle made it to the round of 32 before losing 15-10 to Park Sang-young of South Korea. Germany placed eighth in the men's basketball bracket, aided by strong performances by Maodo Lo, CC '16. Lo was Germany's leading scorer in the team's 94-70 quarterfinal loss against Slovenia. The former Lion put up 11 points in the contest. In addition, Lo led the team in assists throughout much of the Olympic competition, contributing five in Germany's game against Australia and nine against Nigeria. Alexis Sablone, BC '08, was barely edged out of medal contention in the women's skateboarding street final. The goofy-footed skateboarder placed fourth with a score of 13.57, 0.92 points behind Japan's Funa Nakayama. Tokyo was the first Olympic Games for both Sablone and skateboarding as an event, an experience Sablone described as "a surreal week I'll remember for the rest of my life." Yasmeen Al Dabbagh, CC '19, bore Saudia Arabia's flag at the Olympic opening ceremonies before running a 13.34 in the preliminary round of the 100 meter dash. The time earned her ninth place in the heat, not enough to qualify for round one. Al Dabbagh still holds the Saudia Arabian women's record in the 100 meter with a time of 13.24. Rob Paller, CC '16, was a left fielder for Israel's first Olympics. The team finished fifth out of the six teams competing after losing 7-6 to the Dominican Republic in Round 2, earning one win at the tournament over Mexico. There is still time to watch one more Columbia competitor in Tokyo this year. John Tanguay, CC '20, will compete at the Paralympic Games. Tanguay, who was born with a bilateral clubfoot, will row in the PR3 mixed four with coxswain beginning on Aug. 27. He will be rowing alongside the boatmates with whom he won silver at the 2019 World Rowing Championships. With the Olympics over, twelve Lions have already left their marks in Tokyo. Now, the Paralympics will take center stage, beginning on Aug. 24. Sports Editor Mackenzie George can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @kenziegeorge22. Sports Editor Clara Ence Morse can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ccemorse. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.