Titans at the Olympics: Taking a Look at the History
This story written by Detroit Mercy Athletics originally ran in 2016.
The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France are under way and one former Titan is competing at the games with former men's basketball student-athlete Bul Kuol playing with the inaugural South Sudan national team. Kuol played for the Titans during the 2020-21 season, and was an All-Horizon League selection, finishing second on the team averaging 15.6 points per game.
He joins several students and alumni with ties to the University who have taken part at past Olympics in various sports. Several earned Olympic medals in their respective sports.
Titan Hall of Famer Spencer Haywood led the United States men's basketball team to a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. Haywood, then just 19 years old, scored a game-high 21 points in the gold medal game and averaged a team-leading 16.1 points per game during the tournament. Haywood had his No. 45 retired by the Titans and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Jeanne Stunyo won a silver medal in the 3-meter diving event while a student at University of Detroit during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Stunyo completed a 1-2 sweet of medals for the U.S. in the event. Prior to the Olympics, Stunyo was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in the Aug. 6, 1956 edition.
Pat Costello '55 was a two-time Olympian, once as a student and then as a graduate of University of Detroit. He competed in his first Olympics in Helsinki, Finland in 1952, and again in 1956 in Australia, earning a silver medal in the men's double sculls rowing competition with rowing partner Jim Gardiner. A Detroit native, Costello won several national titles as a rower.
A leader on the University of Detroit men's fencing squad that captured the 1972 national title, Tyrone Simmons '74 competed in fencing (men's foil) at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Simmons won three bouts, but the United States didn't medal in the men's foil team event. He was the second African American fencer to compete for the U.S. at the Olympics.
Dan Cantillon '67 qualified for the 1968 Olympic team in the modern pentathlon and then competed in fencing (men's epee) at the 1968 Summer Olympics. A two-time All-American fencer and 1966 College Fencer of the Year while at the University of Detroit, Cantillon later was a national champion in the epee in 1974. He was inducted into the Titan Hall of Fame in 1980.
The 2007 Horizon League Player of the Year in softball, Kaleigh Rafter joined the Canadian National Team in 2007 and played for her native country during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, helping Canada softball to a fourth-place finish.
From St. Thomas, Julito Francis '85 competed for his native U.S. Virgin Islands in fencing at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Francis, a student at U-D when he participated, fenced individually in men's foil.
While not competing in the Olympics, men's soccer alumnus Stephen Glover '94 had the honor in carrying the Olympic torch for his native England leading up to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He carried the torch on May 31, 2012. During his senior season with Titan men's soccer in 1993, he helped the team to a school-record 16 wins.
Many Titans have competed in the Olympic Trials for their respective countries, including former Titan student-athlete Ben Kendell '18, '19, who ran in the marathon in February, finishing 36th with a time of 2 hours, 17 minutes, 23 seconds.
Did we miss anyone? Please let us know by emailing marcom@udmercy.edu if we overlooked a Titan Olympian.
