14 Buckeyes will Represent their respective countries in the 2012 Summer Olympics. This brings the total number of Buckeyes who have competed in Olympic games to 154. Buckeyes athletes have combined over time to bring home 106 Olympic medals, including 47 golds.

The complete list of 2012 athletes and the countries they are representing, which can be found here, is as follows:

» Continue reading “Buckeyes In London”

Lou Rosselli, associate head coach of the Ohio State wrestling team, has been named as a volunteer coach of the US Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Team. Rosselli joins assistants Mark Manning of Nebraska and John Smith from Oklahoma State. They will serve as assistants to head coach Zeke Jones in London.

Rosselli was one of five finalists for a volunteer coaching spot for the 2008 US Olympic team. He is a three-time US Freestyle World Team Coach, most recently assisting team USA to a bronze at the FILA Wrestling World Championships in 2011. He also coached Team USA in 2007 and 2006. He was awarded with the Terry McCann Freestyle Coach of the Year award in 2007.

Rosselli was also a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team at 114.5 pounds. He brought home a World Cup Championship in 1997 and won silver at the 1998 Pan American Championships. Rosselli was a three-time U.S. National Freestyle champion (95, 96 and 99) and won a University National Freestyle championship in 1994.

Congratulations to Lou and good luck representing the Red, White and Blue!

Several current and former Ohio State athletes participated in Olympic trials this past weekend. It was a mixed bag of success, but there will be a Buckeye presence in London. Thus far, 10 Buckeyes have qualified to represent their respective countries. The most recent batch represent swimming and diving while a few track athletes fell just short of their Olympic dreams.

Swimmer George Markovic will be representing Serbia in the 400 meter freestyle. Markovic will also be a part of the first-ever Serbian relay team, participating in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay. Markovic might be just one of many Buckeye swimmers when all is said and done as 36 swimmers will be participating in US Olympic trials from June 25th through July 2nd. The 36 representatives ties Stanford for the most swimmers from one squad.

Former Ohio State diver Katie Bell will be representing the United States after securing a spot on the 11-member squad with a second-place finish in the women’s 10-meter platform on Sunday afternoon. Bell is a Columbus native and finished with a score of 1024.40 at the Trials.

Christina Manning fell just short on her bid to be a member of Team USA. She finished fifth in the 100m hurdle finals, two spots below the required 3rd place finish. In an unfortunate twist, her time of 12.72 in the semi-finals was actually faster than the eventual first place time of 12.73. In the finals, however, she ran a 12.92. Manning, the 2012 Suzy Favor Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year, had one of the best seasons in OSU women’s track history.

On the men’s side, Michael Hartfield finished in 6th place in the long jump, missing Team USA by three spots. Matt DeChant finished 18th in the shot put on the tail of a fifth place finish in the NCAA championships. Current Buckeye Cory Leslie and former Buckeye Brian Olinger will race in the steeplechase prelims tonight.