I'm a big fan of the Olympics. This was me is 2012. As the Olympics wind down, I wanted to know what modern day Olympians are also engineers, or in the tech world. Here is a list of mostly modern Olympic-Engineers.
Jackie Galloway works double duty earning her engineering degree and kicking butt
(Photo from NBC)
Most plan on spending their summer away from campus and lazing away at the beach. Engineering student Jackie Galloway spent her summer training and working for a good cause: the 2016 Summer Olympics. An engineering student at the Lyle School of Engineering, Galloway, 21, represents Team USA at this year's Olympic Games in the taekwondo competition. “Out of the ring, I’m nice and sweet, so when I tell people I do taekwondo and show them videos of me in the ring, they say ‘That’s you?’ and they don’t believe it,” said Galloway on Twitter. She gets a shot at the gold on August 20th and is one of five current or former SMU students in the games this year. This isn't Galloway's first brush with the Olympics. In 2013, Galloway was an alternate on Mexico's Olympic team, narrowly missing her chance to compete in the London games. Let's hope she can bring home the gold this year.
Mozia poses with his trophy after qualifying for the Olympics
(Photo from Instagram)
Many of this year's competing athletes have surprising day jobs from mail carrier to Twitter employee. Stephen Mozia also has a day job that doesn't fit the description of athlete: a sales support engineer at Emerson Electric. Representing Nigeria in the Rio games, Mozia graduated from Cornell University with an engineering degree. Mozia will compete in track and field during this year's games. There's no doubt his co-workers will have lots of questions for him when he returns home. Or they'll at least want a picture with their hometown hero.
Merrill in the midst of training for her spot in the 2012 Summer Olympics
(Photo from San Diego Tribune)
Sonali Merrill was an engineering student at the University of California, San Diego by day. Once classes were over, she spent hours training on the school's track field to train for her spot on Sri Lanka's Olympic track and field team. The decision came as a surprise to Merrill, who just missed the Olympic qualifying standard. But she made it to the 2012 Summer Olympics where she competed in the Women's 400m hurdles event. Though she broke her own record with 57.15 seconds, she ranked 30th and was eliminated in the first round. So what does she do when she's not competing? She works for San Diego's Solar Turbine in the customer design division. Her job involves adapting massive gas turbine engines to function in remote locales and climates, like the Canadian tundra. Who said engineers don't have any fun?
Larkin shows off one of many medals at the 2015 FINAs
(Photo from Swimming World)
This year's Australian team boasts a number of engineering students in its rank, one of them being Mitch Larkin. Currently studying for his engineering degree, Larkin competed in the 2016 Rio games and took home the silver in the 200m backstroke final making it his first individual medal. This isn't the first year Larkin's swimming talents have gotten him in the the Olympics. He competed in swimming back in 2012. His swimming records made him the reigning world champion in both the 100m and 200m backstroke. Once the games are over, it's safe to say Larkin will focus on studies once again. And you thought it was hard balancing school and a part time job.
The Winklevoss twins competing in the 2012 Summer Olympics
(Photo from Getty Images)
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, aka the Wiklevoss twins or Winklevi, are internet entrepreneurs who are always looking for the next big venture. They're best known for co-founding HarvardConnection, now known as ConnectU. They've also led a seed funding round for bitcoin processor BitInstant. In 2013, the two claimed they owned nearly 1% of all bitcoins in existence. No word on how that's doing now since BitCoin is almost a thing of the past. But anyone whose seen The Social Network may remember the two for suing Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, saying he stole their ConnectU idea. So what do they do during off time? Competitive rowing. Both competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but they didn't make the top three and didn't qualify for the semi-finals. They haven't competed in the last two Olympic games, but maybe they'll make a return for the next summer games.
Charters works hard on the field
(Photo from Alchetron)
Andrew Charter, 29, is an accomplished Australian field hockey player, who's making his Olympic debut at the Rio games. Before getting to Rio, the goalkeeper represented the Australian Captial Territory in the national U21 Championships in 2005. He made his international debut in 2010 at the Azlan Shah tournament and won the team champion trophies in 2011 and 2012. If that wasn't impressive enough he's also secured titles for the World Cup and two Ocenia titles. Not only is Charter a master of his sport, he's also a successful engineer. He has a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, which he used to create his own goalkeeping helmet.
Fergus Kavanagh makes his third Olympic appearance at the Rio Games
(Photo from Muzul)
Bike mechanic with an engineering degree by day, three time Olympic competitor at night. Fergus Kavanagh an Australian field hockey player who's making his third Olympic appearance at the 2016 games. He competed in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics where his team took home the bronze medal at both games. He competes with his team once again in Rio looking to bring home the gold. When he's not practicing on the hockey field or competing, Kavanagh fixes old bikes and works on harnessing the ocean's power as a source of renewable energy.
John Loaring (right) at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
(Photo from Collections Canada)
One historic hero, for the road... It's safe to say John Loaring lived a full and memorable life before his death in 1969. Not only was he a radar engineer and an Olympian, he's also a WWII hero. In 1936, Loaring, who hailed from Canada, took home a silver medal in the 400-meters hurdles and finished in sixth place. He was a promising athlete many expected to compete in future Olympic games. Instead, he served the Allies. In 1940 he was credited with saving the lives of three people while serving as a Royal Canadian Naval Radar Officer. As if that wasn't enough, he also founded the Windsor Athletics Club during his life. His accomplishments were recently honored with a track and field event at the 2016 games named after him.
Have a story tip? Message me at: