UCLA Bruins In The Olympics: 32 Bruins Will Be Olympians This Summer

If you haven’t noticed, UCLA has a rich tradition of athletics. So it’s a no-brainer that, every four years, a metric crap-load of Bruins will be representing countries around the world in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

This time around, come July 27? UCLA will be represented by 32 athletes and coaches across 13 different sports. Among the most notable names are NBA superstars Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love as well as current UCLA Men’s Volleyball head coach John Speraw.

If you want a complete list, UCLA Athletics has done all the hard work for us– er, you. Check the list here or check the bottom of the post.

(The list is exhaustive, so take your time.)

The history of Bruins in the Olympics is as rich as the school’s tradition. In fact, UCLA has some pretty nice numbers. In total, 394 UCLA Bruins have made 646 total appearances, while 241 medals have been nabbed. Even further, 119 of those medals were gold, which is hovering around 50 percent. Since 1928, UCLA has had at least one Olympian, and UCLA has won a gold medal in every Olympic Games summer since 1932. Couple that with UCLA’s dominance domestically, and it’s pretty safe to say that the Bruins lay claim to the most prestigious athletics program in the United States.

So we’ll be sitting at our homes, rooting for our Bruins to dominate yet another Olympic Games. Of course, we’ll also be rooting for all US Olympians primarily, because this is a national pride thing, too.

We’ll just have a little more vested interest over which Americans we want to win more than the rest.

GO BRUINS!!!

As promised, the list of 2012 Bruin Olympians, via UCLA:

2012 UCLA Olympians – by Sport

Women’s Badminton (1)

Rena Wang – United States (Singles)

Men’s Basketball (2)

Kevin Love – United States (Forward)

Russell Westbrook – United State (Guard)

Beach Volleyball (2)

Bob Alejo – United States (Coach – Dalhausser/Rogers)

Al Lau – United States (Team Leader)

Gymnastics (3)

Danusia Francis – Great Britain (Alternate)

Peng Peng Lee – Canada (Honorary Captain)

Anna Li – United States (Alternate)

Men’s Rowing (1)

Mark Hunter – Great Britain (Lightweight Double Scull)

Women’s Soccer (5)

Lauren Cheney – United States (Midfielder)

Jillian Ellis – United States (Asst. Coach)

Sydney Leroux – United States (Forward)

Chelsea Stewart – Canada (Defender)

Rosie White – New Zealand (Forward)

Men’s Tennis (2)

Marcin Matkowski – Poland (Doubles)

Jean-Julien Rojer – Netherlands (Doubles)

Men’s Track & Field (3)

Meb Keflezighi – United States (Marathon)

Yoo Kim – Korea (Pole Vault)

Julian Wruck – Australia (Discus)

Women’s Track & Field (5)

Amy Acuff – United States (High Jump)

Brittany Borman – United States (Javelin)

Jessica Cosby – United States (Hammer)

Dawn Harper – United States (100m Hurdles)

Tori Pena – Ireland (Pole Vault)

Men’s Volleyball (2)

Michael Sealy – United States (Scout Coach)

John Speraw – United States (Asst. Coach)

Women’s Volleyball (1)

Karch Kiraly – United States (Asst. Coach)

Men’s Water Polo (2)

Chay Lapin – United States (Goalkeeper)

Adam Wright – United States (Attacker)

Women’s Water Polo (3)

Adam Krikorian – United States (Head Coach)

Courtney Mathewson – United States (Attacker)

Kelly Rulon – United States (Attacker)