Over the last two weeks, thousands of the best athletes across the globe congregated in Paris, France to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. There were nine Tech incoming, current, or former students representing their country in four sports: men’s basketball, women’s volleyball, swimming, and tennis.
Jose Alvarado, a two-time All ACC selection for the Jackets and point guard for the New Orleans Pelicans, led the Puerto Rico Men’s National Basketball Team to their first Olympic berth since 2004. Puerto Rico drew Group C in the tournament, forcing them to face off against highly ranked opponents in the USA and Serbia. While the team went 0-3 and failed to advance out of pool play, Alvarado averaged over 15 points per game and played lockdown defense the entire way.
Another Tech graduate that qualified for their first Olympic Games was Julia Bergmann, an outside hitter for the Brazilian Volleyball National Team. Bergmann had a stellar career at Tech, featuring multiple American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) teams, and being named ACC Player of the Year in 2021. She also cracked Tech’s record books, ranking sixth all time in total kills and first in kills/set at 4.31. This is also a huge accomplishment for Tech volleyball, as Bergmann is the first of their alumni to make it to the Olympics. Brazil comes into the Olympics as the second-ranked team in the world and a medal contender. In their pool play rounds, they were the only team to win in straight sets for all four of their matches thus far. After a loss to the U.S. in the semifinal, Brazil will be compete for the bronze medal.
Tennis star Christopher Eubanks represented the Jackets on the red clay of Roland Garros. Many Tech fans rallied around Eubanks during his Cinderella run to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2023. Eubanks, an Atlanta native and Tech graduate, was a star throughout his time here in Midtown. He earned two nods for ACC Player of the Year and turned professional after college to begin competing on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour. Following his quarterfinals run where he bested multiple top 15 seeds, Eubanks reached the top 30 of the world rankings in late 2023. He currently sits as the 119th-ranked player in the Men’s ATP rankings and the 12th-ranked American. In the first round of the singles competition at Roland Garros, Eubanks dropped his match and was quickly eliminated from medal contention.
While Nic Fink may not have swam competitively as a Jacket (he actually swam for u[sic]ga), he graduated Tech with his masters degree in electrical and computer engineering in 2022. Fink works a full-time engineering job remotely while still performing at the highest level in swimming. Heading into these Olympics, Fink was looking to become one of the oldest first time swimming medalists in recent history at age 31. In his first race, he tied Great Britain’s Adam Peaty for silver in the 100m breaststroke, and then Fink won gold swimming the breaststroke leg for the 4×100 mixed medley relay. Not satisfied with two medals, Fink added another silver medal as the breaststroke leg in the men’s 4×100 medley relay.
The other five Tech Olympians were all swimmers and competed in a variety of events . Current Tech students Ariana Dirkzwager (Laos) and Berke Saka (Turkey) failed to make it out of prelims, Dirkzwager in the 200m freestyle and Saka in the 200m individual medley and 100m backstroke. Tech incoming freshman Ela Naz Ozdemir (Turkey) and Giovana Reis (Brazil) both missed the finals in their respective relays, 4×200 freestyle and 4×100 freestyle, respectively. Lastly, recent Tech alumni Imane El Barodi (Morocco) competed in the 100m breaststroke, also failing to qualify for finals.
Overall, it was amazing to watch and see these Jackets compete on the highest stage in the world for their respective countries. Tech brought home the gold with Fink’s victory, and Bergmann could add another bronze medal depending on Brazil’s volleyball results. Hopefully, there will be even more Tech athletes to cheer on as they go for the gold next time in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
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