John Woodruff helped to tarnish the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, for Adolf Hitler by winning the gold medal in the 800-meter run.
Woodruff set the pace for later Pitt Olympians, including Herbert Douglas Jr. (bronze medal, long jump, London 1948), Dick Rydze (silver medal, 10-meter diving, Munich 1972), Roger Kingdom (gold medal, 110-meter hurdles, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988), and Marisa Pedulla (fourth in women's judo, Atlanta 1996).
Other Pitt greats in Olympic sports have included Lee McRae, who set a world record for the 55-meter sprint, and 15-time All-American Trecia-Kaye Smith, NCAA record holder in the triple jump.
Watch John Woodruff's 1936 Gold Medal Race
Read about Woodruff's gold-medal run
Pitt unveils interactive display featuring Woodruff's gold medal
Learn about the Olympic victories of Douglas and Kingdom
Watch Roger Kingdom's Gold Medal Run
Dick Rydze at Sports-Reference.com
Pitt Chronicle on Marisa Pedulla
Lee McRae at the Grid Iron Club Web site