Maria Arozamena, Illustrations Editor

Twenty Yalies are part of the approximate 10,500 athletes living in the Paris Olympic Village, competing for their countries this summer. 

The athletes represent ten nations — Australia, Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Nigeria, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United States — and four different sports — rowing, sailing, soccer and Paralympic swimming.

Each competed as a varsity athlete during their time at Yale.

“I’m really excited to wear the United States flag on my cap in my races in Paris,” Ali Truwit ’23 said. “Not only is it a huge honor, but to me, it is a thank you to all the everyday heroes who saved my life and are continuing to help me rebuild it: my coach, my doctors, prosthetist, nurses, physical therapists, family, friends.” 

Truwit was a four-year letter winner for the Yale women’s swimming and diving team. Following her graduation from Yale last spring, she survived a shark attack in Turks and Caicos where she tragically lost her foot and part of her leg. 

Determined to not lose her love for swimming, she started training for the Paralympics and qualified for the Games a little over a year after her accident and amputation surgery in June. 

Michelle Alozie ’19 is also heading to Paris, representing Nigeria on their Women’s Soccer team. 

While at Yale, Alozie was an Ivy League Co-Offensive Player of the Year and was unanimously voted to the first team All-Ivy. She says her time wearing Yale Blue uniquely equipped her to represent Nigeria in the Games. 

“At Yale, I learned to put blinders on to stay focused on what I want to achieve,” she told the News. “The same goes for the preparation for the Games. Many external factors can deter me from performing fully on the goal that Team Nigeria has here. So, putting on the blinders with my head down and focused is how I have been preparing.” 

Truwit’s time competing as a Bulldog also motivated her to train for the Paralympics. She recalled the team’s “positive energy” and “bold hopes” when vying for first in the 2019 All Ivy Championships. 

“Yale Swim and Dive has been in the trenches with me since day one… It’s my teammates who saved me, it’s my teammates who joined me in public without a foot for the first time, it’s my teammates who flew from Canada and Tennessee to practice with me,” she said. “I returned home a few weeks ago from Trials, and it was my teammates lined up with posters and balloons to congratulate me.”

Ten of Truwit’s Yale teammates are flying to Paris to cheer her on in the pool. 

“How incredible is that!” she exclaimed. 

The bulk of Yale’s athletes, 16 out of 20 of the Olympian Bulldogs, will be competing at Paris’ Vaires-Sur-Marine Nautical Stadium on their country’s respective rowing teams.

Andrin Gulich ’22 will be rowing for Switzerland in the Coxless Pairs competition where just two rowers sit in a boat with one oar each. 

Gulich and his teammate Roman Roeoesli are the reigning World Champions in the event after winning in Serbia last year.

Gulich competed in Tokyo, although in a different event: the Men’s Four. This time around, he’s most looking forward to the spectators since none were allowed due to pandemic social distancing restrictions in the last games. 

At all of his regattas, including the Olympics, he enjoys seeing fellow Bulldogs in other boats. 

“I feel a tremendous amount of support from the Yale community,” he told the News. “When we go to regattas, the world rowing events, they always feel a bit like a Yale reunion… just seeing friends in other boats, and even competitors’ boats, I mean, that’s kind of a support system, and it feels nice.” 

In this year’s games, Gulich will face off against three other Yalies in the Men’s Coxless Pair competition: Dan Williamson ’23 representing New Zealand, Ollie Wynne-Griffith ’17 representing Great Britain and Simon Keenan ’15 representing Australia. Williamson won an Olympic gold medal as part of the New Zealand Men’s Eight at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Wynne-Griffith’s boat won Bronze in the same event. 

Yale boasts over 200 Olympic athletes in its history and over 100 medals. 

“I am so proud of our current and former student-athletes participating in the Paris Olympics,” Yale Athletics Director Victoria Chun wrote to the News. “I can’t imagine a better experience than competing at the highest level of sport and studying at the highest level of academics. You can have it all.”

The first Yalies will compete on Saturday, July 27. All of the Olympics can be watched on NBC and Peacock.