This month, athletes from around the world converge in Beijing, China, for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Three current and former Hawkeyes—Kineke Alexander, Doug Schwab, and Nancilea Underwood Foster—have joined them in the global arena.

Some 27 University of Iowa athletes, recruits, coaches, and recent graduates competed in trials for this year’s games. Fifty-five Hawkeyes have taken part in previous Olympiads, all the way back to Jerry Barker, who joined the U.S. track and field team in 1904. Together, they’ve taken home more than 20 medals.

The 2008 Olympians include:

• Alexander (shown above), a UI senior and track star, who is representing St. Vincent and Grenadines, the Caribbean nation where she grew up. She’ll race the 400-meter sprint, the event that’s earned her eight all-American honors in college competition—a Hawkeye record.
• Schwab, a 2001 UI grad and interim assistant coach for the Hawkeye wrestling team. An Osage, Iowa, native who’s remained active in international competition, he’ll wrestle at 145.5 pounds.
• Foster, a 2006 UI grad now living in her hometown of Conroe, Texas, and a member of the U.S. diving team. She’s slated to compete in two events, the 3-meter and synchronized 3-meter.

Helping keep the world informed about their pursuit of the gold are another group of Hawkeyes—two dozen students, most of them journalism majors, serving as media volunteers with the Iowa Olympic Ambassadors Project. The University of Iowa was the first school outside China to arrange for a corps of student volunteers at this year's games.

For competitors, their friends, families, and communities, and for others there to witness or help tell the story of the 2008 Olympics, it’s an August to remember.

Hawkeye Sports
Iowa Olympic Ambassadors Project
Beijing 2008 Olympics

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