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Get those rings ready.
TCU Athletics will watch four of their former athletes compete in the Tokyo Olympic Games, held later this month in Japan.
Track & Field alum Ronnie Baker (‘16) will represent America in the 100m dash, hoping to earn the title of “Fastest Man in the World” coming off of a PR of 9.85 seconds in the Olympic Trials last month. Baker has worked years to reach this milestone, but believed in himself the entire time, telling Fort Worth Magazine (and FOW alum Samantha Calimbahin!) “I work my butt off everyday expecting that I’m going to be on that team, expecting that I’m going to win a gold medal, expecting that, believing, speaking that.”
Another speedster will join Baker on the track, with Derrick Mokalang earning a spot on the South African team as a part of the six member 4X400 relay team. A 2021 graduate student, Mokaleng was a member of TCU’s 4x400m relay team this season which recorded a season-best time of 3:03.59. He also had a season-best time of 45:36 in the 400 meters.
For field events, 2014 alum Lorraine Ugen will represent Team Great Britian at the long jump pit. One of just two female athletes to ever clear 7 meters in the event, Ugen is coming off of a 2020 injury and looking to better her 2016 Olympics finish of 11th place.
Lastly, Sanna Nuutinen, who participated in 42 tournaments for the TCU Women’s Golf team from 2010-2014, will represent her home country of Finland. Nuutinen has been on fire lately, hitting her first ever professional hole in one last month. She was a top 100 player stateside and a top 200 amatuer as a senior for the Frogs, and will look to make her mark on the global stage later this month.
Congratulations to all four former Frogs as they pursue their medal dreams. The Games of the XXXII Olympiad will take place Friday, July 23 – Sunday, August 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. The opening ceremony will be held Friday evening, July 23 in Tokyo, 7:00 am EDT and 4:00 am PDT. The Olympics closing ceremony will take place on Sunday, August 8 at 7:00 am EDT. Games and events will be streaming on NBC, NBCOlympics.com, NBC Sports, and Peacock.