The Olympics are already halfway over and our Ivy brethren have fared admirably against all the non-Ivy athletes in the world. As we wait to find out whether Michael Phelps will be tapped for vice president, here's a running count of how our brave lettermen and women are doing:

Fencing: Sada Jacobson, Yale '06 and a member of the US women's team, took home the Silver for individual sabre and Bronze for team sabre.

Tennis: Tennis phemon and Harvard drop-out James Blake, a member of the US men's team, almost advanced to the finals after a stunning victory over winning-machine Roger Federer. Unfortunately, Blake lost to Fernando Gonzales of Chile in a close match.

Track and Field: Ivygate’s own angelic Anna Willard, a member of the US women's team, qualified for the semi-finals in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, coming in 6^th in the third and final heat of round 1.

Women’s Gymnastics: The US women’s team was within striking distance of the Gold when a high risk maneuver by Brown rising junior, the violent and beautiful Alicia Sacramone, backfired and left them trailing the Chinese girl's women's team. The US brought home the Silver.

Rowing: Nikola Stojic, Brown ’93 and a member of the Serbian team, earned the fastest time in the men’s pair “B” final.

Ivygate’s own Susan Francia, Penn ’04, helped the women’s eight to a victory in last Monday’s heat.

Harvard’s supertwins, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, class of '04, raced to a first place finish in the repechages after a disappointing fifth in their first compeitition.

Canadian men’s eight, anchored by Malcolm Howard, Harvard '05, and Dominic Seiterle, Dartmouth '98, drew the top slot in Heat 1.

Medal-counting continues after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Track and Field is kicking off this Friday and there's no better time to introduce your next "Olympic Hero," Anna Willard. This Brown '06 alum and Greenwood, Maine native is a professional runner for Nike, which is probably a good company to be a professional runner for. Meet Anna:

Name: Anna Willard

Ivy Affiliation: Brown '06

Major: Environmental Studies

Sport: Track and Field (Women's 3000m Steeplechase)

1. Are you going to win?

You never know what's going to happen, but I'm going in ranked 8th.

2. Is this your first Olympics?

Yes.

3. What's on your ipod when you're running?

I never, ever run with an iPod.

4. Which is the least athletic Ivy and why?

Honestly, probably Brown! It's hard to make training a priority when we're protesting, being vegetarians and singing in an a capella group.

5. For the rest of your life, you have to give up either running or missionary position sex. What's your choice?

Oh come on, obviously missionary. It's worthless anyways.

All the questions you really want after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Not too long ago, Ivygate interviewed Puerto Rican Olympic swimmer and Princeton rising senior Doug Lennox for a feature called "Your Olympic Hero." Doug's answers were so witty and disarming I suggested he blog about his Beijing experiences for Ivygate. Doug mentioned something about being busy competing in the Olympics. But busy or not, Doug managed to fire off some observations about what it's like on the ground in Olympic Village. Here's what the Princeton swimmer has to say:

August 1st the Puerto Rican delegation left from Newark Airport on a direct flight to Beijing. We arrived in China August 2nd at 1 PM local time, 1 AM EST time. This flight was probably the shortest 13 hour flight I have ever been on...I watched a few movies, read a book, and talked to some random girls from San Diego who weren't too afraid to approach me and my teammate in row 40 of this massive Continental airplane. People asking for autographs, wishing us luck, and blatantly staring at us left me excited. I have known I was going to compete in the Olympics since April, but nothing in my life had really changed at that point. Now, on my way to Beijing, dressed in team garb and (I guess) looking the part of an Olympian (or maybe being with others who look the part like the judo teammates and weightlifting females whom I traveled with) I have begun to feel the energy and adrenaline that come hand in hand with the Olympic Spirit.

When we landed the Puerto Rican team was met by some pretty excited Chinese officials. On the bus we were given waters and taken for a relatively short ride through the city of Beijing. We saw a lot of people waving, jumping up and down, and chasing our bus. Of course, they then realized we were Puerto Rican and immediately stopped. Nah, they didn't. They were excited to just be hosting the Olympics and to the very friendly hosts we are all just Olympians. It's pretty awesome.

Upon arrival in the Village...I get through the security, and a Puerto Rican delegate and I are escorted to our room where our team has already arrived. Our guide is a very nice retired Chinese gentleman who very genuinely told me that I am "a strong and handsome" man. I smiled, said thank you, and asked him to continue -- but he didn't know enough English. Oh well.

Read about Doug's substandard room and the massive athlete cafeteria after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

In this installment of "Your Olympic Hero," Ivygate introduces Susan Francia, who is the second attractive female Olympian to have a post devoted to her this evening. While I don't have any Youtube videos of Susan drop-kicking fans, I do have a charming interview with the Penn alum.

Name: Susan Francia

Ivy Affiliation: Penn '04

Major: Criminology

Sport: Women's Rowing (Women's 8+)

1. Are you going to win?
We're going to try our best!

2. Is this your first Olympics?
Yes, it's my first Olympics.

3. What's on your ipod when you're erging?
Lil Wayne, Jay Z, and German techno.

4. Was Penn your first choice?
Good one! Yes, coming from a suburb of Philly, Penn was an institution that I prayed that I would get into. It's an awesome school and I'm glad I went there.

5. Which is the least athletic Ivy and why?
Rhode Island School of Design, enough said.

6. For the rest of your life, you have to give up either rowing or missionary position sex. What's your choice?
You mean coitus?

Sorry, but all of the best questions are after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Who among us hasn't fantasized about being punched in the face by a beautiful woman? Who among us hasn't fantasized about going to Brown? You can indulge both fantasies with this Youtube video, where attractive Olympic gymnast and Brown rising junior Alicia Sacramone wheels back and slugs some willing admirer.

When asked to confirm whether her badass video is real, Sacramone said:

He dared me to do it and I did it.

Sacramone, incidentally, took third place for vault in today's woman's gymnastics qualifying round, securing a place in the vault finals. Help cheer her onto Olympic stardom, and when you're not doing that check her out below

Ivygate wants you to meet Doug Lennox. He's Princeton '09 and competing on the Puerto Rican Olympic swim team. He's also part of a new feature called "Your Olympic Hero," in which I interview our brave men and women over in Beijing. According to Iviesinchina.com, a website that offers more information than you really need about the history of Ivy League Olympic achievement, 42 students or graduates of the Ancient Eight are competing in the Summer Games. This is slightly worse than four years ago when there were 54 of us running around Athens. But 42 Olympic athletes is nothing to scoff at: it's more than most countries have in the Games. In fact, if the Ivy League were a country (god forbid), it would have the eighth most medals of any country in the world. But enough about Ivy superiority. Onto Doug Lennox and his accomplishments!

Name: Doug Lennox

Ivy Affiliation: Princeton '09

Major: Anthropology, with certificates in Latin American Studies and American Studies

Sport: Swimming (Men's 100 and 200m butterfly)

1. Are you going to win?

Maybe my preliminary heat...or if Mikey (Phelps) busts a knee.

2. Where did you grow up?

I grew up on the North side of Chicago, most of my years in Lake Forest and a couple in Evanston.

3. Is this your first Olympics?

I competed in several Illinois Junior Olympic Games....do those count?

4. What's on your ipod when you're working out?

Depends on what mood I am in. When I wear an Ipod working out it means I am spinning or running, and I use that time to do a lot of thinking...If you talk to anyone who knows me, I am pretty in touch with my emotions -- not to be confused with "being emo" -- but if it's a really intense/focused work out (often times to get away from thinking about things that suck in the real world) it will include a lot of Metallica, Linkin Park, Godsmack, Lamb of God, Disturbed, etc. Also on this playlist are inspirational songs from movies, like the Rocky series, Space Jam, etc. I am pretty eclectic with my music.

All the fun questions after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Joey Cheek, 2006 Winter Olympic speedskating gold medalist and Princeton '11, was ready to troop off to Beijing to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur when he got a call from China. China had bad news: Cheek would not be joining his Olympic buddies in Beijing because his visa had been revoked.

When Cheek asked why he was being denied entrance, Chinese officials told him they were "not required to give a reason." Cheek, president and founder of Team Darfur, a group of over 70 Olympic athletes dedicated to raising awareness about the genocide, quickly realized China's decision to revoke his visa had something to do with his political affiliations. A little background knowledge: China has military, economic and diplomatic ties to Sudan.

Still, Cheek was stunned by the decision. In an AP interview, he said:

I didn't see it coming. I figured once they gave me a visa, I wouldn't imagine they wouldn't allow me to come in later. That was a big shock. I wasn't expecting to get a call the evening before I was leaving for Beijing.

Really? China doesn't want to let you come over and protest her policies while not competing in the Olympics? That doesn't sound like the China I know.

I should mention that Joey Cheek is the real deal: after winning the gold at the Torino Games Cheek donated his $25,000 Olympic bonus to Darfur and asked his fellow athletes to do the same. In Beijing, he planned to petition Sudan to respect the tradition of Olympic truce.

Wish you could have made it, Joey.

Cheek's reaction to the revoking of his visa after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Remember identical twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, Harvard '04, the ones who claimed four years ago that Zuckerberg stole Facebook from their original site ConnectU?  Yeah, they're still desperately seeking justice in the form of cash and shares, with ongoing litigation regarding their settlement with Facebook and the value of the stock.  But lately it looks like these suckers are back in the news for another reason.

Only this time Zuckerberg definitely won't be stealing their thunder, or their gold.  The Winklevoss twins will be rowing as a pretty pair in this summer's Beijing Olympics.

Read the rest of this entry »