Dawn Staley
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Olympic Event: Head Coach, USA Women’s Basketball
Follow along on Twitter: @dawnstaley
Gamecocks in Tokyo
South Carolina athletes represent UofSC in 2021 Summer Olympic Games
Posted on: July 19, 2021; Updated on: July 19, 2021
By CJ Tamasco, cjlake@sc.edu
Dawn Staley said it best: “It never gets old to represent your country.”
And that’s exactly what 11 Gamecocks will have the opportunity to do at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Staley knows the feeling of being Olympic-bound better than most: The USA women’s basketball team has won six Olympic gold medals in a row, and Coach Staley has been part of five of them — three as a player, two as an assistant coach.
“Participating in the Olympics is the accumulation of hard work, commitment and dedication for athletes, coaches and staff,” said Athletic Director Ray Tanner. “The ability to represent your country is a tremendous honor. I salute our current and former Gamecocks and I’m excited to see our women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley trying to reach Olympic gold as a head coach, after earning gold as a player and assistant coach.”
When the games begin on July 23, keep an eye out for these Gamecocks, representing 7 countries in 10 events.
Representing the USA
A'ja Wilson
Hometown: Hopkins, S.C.
Major: Mass Communications, ‘18
Olympic Event: Women’s Basketball
Follow along on Twitter: @_ajawilson22
Allisha Gray
Hometown: Sandersville, GA
Major: Broadcast Journalism, ‘18
Olympic Event: Women’s Basketball (3x3)
Follow along on Twitter: @Graytness_15
Wadeline Jonathas
Hometown: Gonaives, Haiti
Major: Retailing
Olympic Events: 400 meters, 4x400 relay
Follow along on Twitter: @WadelineJonath1
Representing Canada
Laeticia Amihere
Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario, CN
Major: Sport and Entertainment Management
Olympic Event: Women’s Basketball
Follow along on Twitter: @_Theblackqueen_
Representing Guyana
Aliyah Abrams
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Major: Public Health, ‘21
Olympic Event: 400 meters
Follow along on Instagram: @aliyahlia
Representing Israel
Itay Goldfaden
Hometown: Bat Hefer, Israel
Major: Computer Science, ‘20
Olympic Event: 100-meter breaststroke
Follow along on Twitter: @ItayGoldfaden
Michael Laitarovsky
Hometown: Netanya, Israel
Major: Undecided
Sport: Swimming and Diving
Olympic Event: 100-meter backstroke
Representing South Africa
Julia Vincent
Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa
Major: Public Health, ‘18, ‘21
Sport: Swimming and Diving
Olympic Event: Diving (3-meter)
Follow along on Twitter: @JulesVincent10
Representing Hong Kong
Tinky Ho
Hometown: Hong Kong, China
Major: Undecided
Sport: Swimming and Diving
Olympic Events : 4x100, 4x200 freestyle relay
Representing Ecuador
Tomas Peribonio
Hometown: Suwanee, Ga.
Major: International Business, ‘18
Sport: Swimming and Diving
Olympic Event: 200 IM and 400 IM
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