225 Years of Building Better Lives
header image
Share Your Story
Athletics

Pitt Olympians Win Gold, Set Records

|

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.

Woodruff