A Hoosier history of the Olympics

Kayla Bashore-Smedley

Field hockey

USA

For the second straight Olympic Games, Bashore-Smedley anchored the midfield for the USA field hockey team. This year, the team finished 12th overall.

As an IU senior in 2005, Bashore-Smedley was named Big Ten Player of the Year, a first-team All-American and a finalist for the Honda Award, which is given to College Field Hockey’s top player.

She also led the Hoosiers to their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2005.

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Derek Drouin

High jump

Canada

Drouin was one of two Hoosier Olympians to medal in London. His clearance of 2.33 meters (7 feet, 7.75 inches) in the high jump left him in a three-way tie for the bronze medal.

His medal was the first for Canada in the high jump since 1976.

The 2012 NCAA runner-up has one year of eligibility remaining for both indoor and outdoor track at IU.

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Margaux Farrell

4x200 freestyle relay

France

Farrell became the first Hoosier to medal in London on Aug. 1 when France placed third behind USA and Australia in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay.

Although she did not swim in the final race, Farrell swam the second leg in the semifinals, helping France place third and reserving a spot in the finals.

The 2012 IU graduate was a 12-time All-American with the Hoosiers, and she was the Big Ten champion of the 200-yard freestyle in 2010.

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Christina Loukas

3-meter springboard

USA

In her second Olympic appearance, Loukas finished eighth in the 3-meter springboard with a final score of 332.10. That improved her one spot from her ninth-place finish in Beijing.

A 2009 IU graduate, Loukas became only the fourth Hoosier diver to compete in multiple Olympics.

Loukas was the 2009 NCAA champion in the 3-meter dive, and she earned an NCAA All-American title eight times.

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Nicholas Schwab

200-meter freestyle

Dominican Republic

Schwab swam in the first heat of preliminaries for the 200-meter freestyle. He won the heat with a time of 1:53.41, but it was not fast enough to earn a spot in the semifinals. He placed 36th overall in the event.

The IU senior broke the Dominican Republic national record in the 400-meter freestyle during the summer of 2011.

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Dorina Szekeres

200-meter backstroke

Hungary

As the youngest Hoosier to participate in the London games, Szekeres swam in the first heat of the preliminaries for the 200-meter backstroke, where she finished fourth.
The 20-year-old’s time of 2:18.16 earned her a placement of 35th overall, falling short of a spot in the semifinals.

Szekeres is entering her sophomore year at IU after finishing fifth in the 400-meter individual medley at the 2012 Big Ten Championships.

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Orianica Velasquez

Soccer

Colombia

Before completing her final season at IU, Velasquez represented her native Colombia’s soccer team in London. In its three games in Group G, Colombia went 0-3, with losses to North Korea, USA and France.

In her three seasons at IU, the forward has started 52 games, scored 19 goals and tallied eight assists.

Velasquez was named Academic All-Big Ten both her sophomore and junior years.