Boilermaker Olympians on the world stage

(Editor’s note, Aug. 11: Former Purdue All-American Annie Drews became a back-to-back Olympic medalist on Sunday when her U.S. team claimed a silver medal in women’s volleyball, having previously won gold in the Tokyo Games. Drews was one of 12 Boilermakers competing in Paris, a group that also included two sixth-place finishers (Devynne Charlton in the women’s 100-meter hurdles and Chukwuebuka Enekwechi in the men’s shot put) and an eighth-place result in 3-meter synchronized diving by Tyler Downs and Greg Duncan. Meanwhile, a trio of Purdue divers — Daryn Wright (19th place), Jaye Patrick (22nd) and Maycey Vieta (24th) — competed in the women’s 10-meter platform; diver Brandon Loschiavo took 17th in the men’s 10-meter platform; incoming graduate transfer swimmer Matheo Mateos placed 20th for Paraguay in the men’s 200-meter individual medley; swimming alumnus Nikola Aćin competed on the Serbian team that placed 11th in the 4×100 freestyle relay; and South African Paula Reto tied for 44th in women’s golf.)

No matter how you measure it, experience served as a teacher for the Purdue athletes participating in the Paris Summer Olympics. 

In diving, the sport of four current Boilermakers, there was the added benefit of having four-time medalist David Boudia as an assistant coach of Team USA. 

“I don’t know if it is cooler to make it as an athlete or watch someone make it,” said Boudia, who is in his fourth year as a coach with the Boilermaker diving program and who recently took over the head coaching position when Adam Soldati stepped down for health reasons. “Anytime you go to an event at this level, the athletes who will have success are the ones that can control (what is going on in) their heads. I love working with them on that part of the sport.” 

And Boudia’s message is resonating. Maycey Vieta was the first to qualify, competing for Puerto Rico and assuring Purdue was represented in diving for the fifth straight Olympics. She has been in several international championship events, but this was her first time at the quadrennial showcase. 

“My goal is pretty simple; I want to execute my cues on all five dives,” Vieta said prior to leaving for Paris. “That is what Dave and I have worked on. These are the same five dives I have done (in competitions) for the last four years.” 

It was a bigger stage, to be sure, but it was also about having the mind lead the body into flawless execution. 

While Boudia coached Vieta at the Games, it was also extra special for her to have support from Boilermaker teammates Daryn Wright (representing the U.S.) and Jaye Patrick (Latvia) while the trio competed in the 10-meter platform event. (And to be proposed to by fellow Boilermaker Olympic diver Greg Duncan in Paris). 

“It feels like home having all the Purdue divers in Paris,” Vieta said. “It is very comforting to have all my teammates there. Dave and Adam warned us that it would be a new experience and, at times, emotionally exhausting because of other events like the opening ceremonies. Still, we will represent our country, which is the focus.”

It feels like home having all the Purdue divers in Paris.

Maycey vieta, former purdue diver (2020-24)

Boudia, who will help coach Brandon Loschiavo on 10-meter on Friday, also worked with Duncan and Tyler Downs in the 3-meter synchronized event. Duncan is a four-time All-American and teamed with Downs, who spent a year at Purdue and won the 2022 NCAA title on platform. 

Loschiavo did not learn he had qualified until a day before the opening ceremony when a quota spot opened up late for diving. Like Wright, he had finished as the runner-up on 10-meter at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June. 

Downs and Loschiavo competed in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, while Duncan, age 25, made his first appearance on the world’s biggest athletic stage. 

“This team (at Purdue) is built with Olympians and those that treat the sport with respect,” said Duncan, who admitted he would rely on his diving partner’s previous Olympic experience. “If we do what we are expected to do, it will turn out great.” 

Although all of the divers except Downs were first-time Olympians, all are veterans of elite international competition. Wright (20) is the youngest and Downs turned 21 in mid-July. 

Patrick began her collegiate career at Northwestern before spending her fifth year as a graduate student training at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center under Soldati and Boudia. She credited Boudia for convincing her to continue her career after she competed for Latvia at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Japan.

“I was always realistic, thinking, ‘No, this can’t be me who will make it to the Olympics,’ especially since I started so late,” Patrick said. “Dave said, ‘You are not done yet; we will work on this and get you to the Olympics.’ So it became a realistic dream of mine about a year ago. He worked on the mental approach, and it changed everything.” 

When Patrick arrived in the City of Light, her approach was simple. “I want to keep my head on straight and do my best,” she said. “I used to be alone at international competitions in past years, but now I have teammates and coaches (that I know). It means so much.” 

Wright said Boudia and Soldati’s approach to the mental aspect also helped her earn a spot on Team USA. And she utilized their “one day at a time” approach when the competition began. Especially after some heartbreak in past international competitions. 

“(The Olympics) is the same thing I have done for a long time,” Wright said. “It just has a fancy name attached to it.”

Experience also permeates Purdue’s non-diving Olympians

Boilermakers Annie Drews, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, Devynne Charlton, Nikola Aćin and Paula Reto all made their second trip to the Olympic Games. 

Drews played a vital role on USA’s first women’s volleyball gold medal team in the Tokyo Games, while Enekwechi looked to improve on his 12th-place finish in the shot put. Charlton had a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles in the 2020 Olympics, representing the Bahamas. She is now a world record holder in the 60-meter hurdles, traditionally an indoor event. Aćin earned a second trip to the Olympics after being part of Serbia’s victorious 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the European Aquatics Championships in June. 

Former Purdue golfer Reto made her second appearance after competing for South Africa in Rio in 2016. 

“It is such an accomplishment to have ‘Olympian’ next to your name,” said Reto, a freshman on Purdue’s 2010 national championship team. “It is one dream to get there and another to win something.” 

Reto, who has competed on the LPGA Tour since graduating from Purdue in 2013, won’t be able to attend the opening or closing ceremonies as golf takes place in the middle of the Games, sandwiched between LPGA events. But she planned to support her Purdue brethren, even if it was from the stands. 

“My goal is to see many other sports and other Purdue athletes perform in Paris,” Reto said. “I fondly remember cheering David on in Rio. 

“Purdue changed my life,” she added. “We had such a great coach in Devon Brouse. Everything we had at Purdue was in top shape, and I love that the tradition of athletics excellence lives on at the Olympic Games.”

Boilermaker gold in past summer games

Purdue has been a frequent participant in the Summer Games and has had success, winning 14 gold medals, seven silver medals and six bronze medals. 

Ray Ewry’s 10 gold medals in the standing high jump and long jump from 1900-08 boosted the school’s medal totals. Purdue went without a medal for the next nine Olympiads before swimmer Keith Carter won a silver in the 200-meter breaststroke in London in 1948. Four years later, Coach Richard “Pappy” Papenguth coached the U.S. women’s swimming and diving team. Papenguth led the Boilermaker swimming program until 1969.

Howie Williams (1952) and Terry Dischinger (1960) are the lone Boilermaker men’s basketball players who earned medals (both gold). Fifty-two years later, David Boudia dramatically brought home the gold in 10-meter diving in London. Amanda Elmore became the first Boilermaker woman to win gold. Elmore won it in rowing in 2016, followed by Annie Drews in volleyball in 2020. 

Purdue’s participation in the Summer Games in the 21st century is by far its most remarkable run of success since the modern Games began in 1896. In total, 55 athletes with Purdue ties have competed since summer competition began, 31 since 2000. 

Written by Alan Karpick, publisher of GoldandBlack.com since 1996.