Student-athletes and coaches represent Washington on a global stage in Tokyo
Jessica Thoennes walked into Conibear Shellhouse her freshman year, picked up an oar for the first time in her life, tried out, made the team, and …
“I hated it,” Jessica laughs. “Then, in my sophomore year, something changed. I fell in love with the camaraderie, the emotion, the sport, the pursuit of unachievable perfection that’s always available. I knew that this was going to be something that I could carry with me forever,” says Jessica.
She carried it all the way to global stage of the Olympics, where she competed in the Women’s Eight with fellow UW alumni Brooke Mooney (’18) and coxswain Katelin Guregian (’09).
The 2018 Washington graduate is one of 35 current and former Washington student-athletes and coaches who competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Huskies earned a total of eight medals.
Thrilled to represent her country, Jessica said it was also special to represent Washington.
“Being a Husky is being part of a legacy,” she says. “There is something deep inside of us that resonates with every oarsman and woman who came before us and all who come after us. There’s a greater purpose to what we do, a greater sense of what it means not just to be a Husky rower but to be human. As soon as you look into the eyes of your teammates or an alum, something inside you resonates and you realize they know what it is. It’s this unspoken energy that runs through every fiber of our being.”
2020 Husky Olympians
Basketball
Kelsey Plum — Gold Medal
USA | 3×3 BasketballMatisse Thybulle — Bronze Medal
Australia | Men’s BasketballGolf
C.T. Pan — Bronze Medal
China Taipei | Men’s Individual Stroke PlayCarl Yuan
China | Men’s Individual Stroke PlayRowing
Will Crothers
Canada | Men’s FourBen Davison
USA | Men’s EightJacob Dawson — Bronze Medal
Great Britain | Men’s EightYasmin Farooq
USA | Women’s Support CoachFiona Gammond
Great Britain | Women’s EightKirstyn Goodger
(Alternate)
New Zealand | Women’s EightKatelin (Snyder) Guregian
USA | Coxswain Women’s EightValentina Iseppi
Italy | Women’s Quadruple ScullsMegan Kalmoe
USA | Women’s PairMichiel Mantel
(Alternate)
The Netherlands | Men’s RowingConlin McCabe
Canada | Men’s PairBrooke Mooney
USA | Women’s EightChiara Ondoli
Italy | Women’s Double ScullsBram Schwartz
The Netherlands | Men’s EightStuart Sim
Australia | Coxswain Men’s EightPhoebe Spoors
(Alternate)
New Zealand | Women’s EightJessica Thoennes
USA | Women’s EightSimon van Dorp
The Netherlands | Men’s EightSoftball
Ali Aguilar — Silver Medal
USA | SoftballVictoria Hayward — Bronze Medal
Canada | SoftballDanielle Lawrie — Bronze Medal
Canada | SoftballGabbie Plain
Australia | SoftballJenn Salling — Bronze Medal
Canada | SoftballHeather Tarr
USA | Assistant CoachTrack Cycling
Adrian Hegyvary
USA | MadisonTrack & Field
Izzi Batt-Doyle
Australia | 5,000mAmy-Eloise (Neale) Markovc
Great Britain | 5,000mSam Tanner
New Zealand | 1,500mGianna Woodruff
Panama | 400m HurdlesVolleyball
Tamari Miyashiro
USA | Assistant Coach IndoorWeightlifting
Harrison Maurus
USA | 81kgParalympians
Danielle Hansen
USA | PR3 Mixed Coxed FourThese Huskies are among the many UW athletes and coaches who have graced the world stage. View our full list of Husky Olympians and Paralympians.
