Rio-Bound: Princeton’s 2016 Olympians

Our Tigers of the Week have a wide range of skills and at least two common bonds: They’re all Princetonians, and they all will be competing at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Read below for brief biographies of these 13 remarkable athletes.

Kate Bertko ’06

Rowing (lightweight double sculls), United States

When Bertko makes her debut in Rio, she’ll be the fourth rower from Princeton’s 2006 NCAA-champion varsity eight to race in the Olympics. Classmates Caroline Lind and Andreanne Morin have earned medals; Bertko, a bronze medalist in the lightweight single sculls at the 2015 World Rowing Championships, will aim to reach the podium in the lightweight double sculls with partner Devery Karz, a 2011 Oregon State grad.

Donn Cabral ’12

Track and field (steeplechase), United States

At the U.S. Olympic Trials July 8, Cabral passed two runners in the final 200 meters to earn the United States’ third and final spot in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. In an often unpredictable event, Cabral has compiled an impressive résumé that includes an NCAA championship in his senior year, an appearance in the Olympic final in London, and a 10th-place finish at last year’s World Championships in Beijing.

Kat Holmes ’17

Fencing (epee), United States

“At the highest level, for the most part, everybody’s strong, everybody’s fast, everybody knows all the actions,” Holmes told The Washington Post last December. “The biggest differentiator is the mental game.” In April, Holmes — who worked in a neuroscience lab at Princeton while preparing for the Olympics — proved her acuity in the mental aspects of epee, becoming the first Princetonian to secure a spot in Rio.

Ashleigh Johnson ’17

Water polo, United States

After starring in the United States’ gold-medal run at the FINA World Championships last summer, Johnson was named the world’s top player in 2015. Her start in the sport was almost accidental, she told the Los Angeles Times: After swimming lessons, she and her four siblings would play in the pool. “I loved the competitiveness,” Johnson said. “Especially as a goalie, you get to compete every time the ball is on your side of the pool.”

Diana Matheson ’08

Soccer, Canada

Matheson has represented Canada in the FIFA Women’s World Cup four times, played eight seasons of pro soccer, earned All-Ivy honors in all four years at Princeton, and now will be taking the field in the Olympics for the third time. In the 2012 London Games, she scored what may be the most celebrated goal of her career, a tiebreaking strike in the 92nd minute against France that earned Canada the bronze medal.

Tyler Nase ’13

Rowing (lightweight four), United States

Nase, a first-time Olympian, is the youngest member of the U.S. men’s lightweight four, and living up to his teammates’ expectations is an important part of his motivation. “I have three other people counting on me, and one driving thing is I really don’t want to let those guys down,” Nase told KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City, where the crew trains. In April, he stroked the U.S. boat to a bronze medal finish in a World Rowing Cup event in Varese, Italy.

Glenn Ochal ’08

Rowing (eight), United States

Ochal earned bronze in his first trip to the Olympics, competing in the men’s four in London. This time around, he’ll be part of the men’s eight — and one of only two Olympic veterans in the U.S. boat. The Olympics are a unique experience, Ochal told the New York Daily News. “You’re all on the same side, and that makes it pretty cool,” he said. “You pull for your country … everybody is rooting for the same team.”

Robin Prendes ’11

Rowing (lightweight four), United States

In his second Olympic trip, Prendes is aiming for a medal in the men’s lightweight four — an event in which the powerful U.S. team has not reached the podium since 1996, when it earned bronze in Atlanta. Prendes has added to his awards stash in the last year, capturing a silver at the 2015 Pan-American Games and a bronze at the World Rowing Cup opener, a promising start for the U.S. boat.

Julia Reinprecht ’14

Field hockey, United States

It’s remarkable to see two siblings making back-to-back trips to the Olympics. Julia and Katie Reinprecht will join that select group in Rio, four years after playing for the U.S. team in London. That team had a 1-4 record and finished last in its pool, which Julia told PAW was a valuable learning experience: “It makes you more motivated and realize how much hard work it takes to have success at that level. We thought we worked hard, and clearly we didn’t work hard enough.”

Katie Reinprecht ’13

Field hockey, United States

Like Julia and older sister Sarah ’09, an All-Ivy player at Princeton, Katie credits her mother, Tina, with getting her hooked on field hockey. “My mom, she was my coach and mentor growing up,” she told NBCOlympics.com. “She taught me all the basic skills and introduced me to new ways of viewing the game. She really laid the groundwork for the player I have become.”

Kathleen Sharkey ’13

Field hockey, United States

Sharkey, who played alongside Julia and Katie Reinprecht on Princeton’s 2012 NCAA championship team, will be making her Olympic debut in Rio. A broken ankle stalled her training last summer, but she worked her way onto the Olympic roster this spring and summer. Sharkey scored one of the United States’ two goals in a shutout win over Great Britain in the Champions Trophy tournament last month.

Gevvie Stone ’07

Rowing (single sculls), United States

The last line of Stone’s Twitter bio — “Trust me, I’m a doctor” — is a new addition since the 2012 London Games. She completed medical school at Tufts University in 2014 and still maintained her status as America’s top single-sculler. In May, she told The New York Times that in the face of Zika concerns, she was keeping an eye on the advice of the World Health Organization. “It’s a hard call to make because we’re all invested in this and we’re not going to make totally rational decisions,” she said.

Lauren Wilkinson ’11

Rowing (eight), Canada

The United States has been a juggernaut in the women’s eight, winning the last 10 world championships, but Wilkinson’s boat from Team Canada promises to be one of a handful of contenders vying to end that championship run. She was part of Canada’s silver-medal crew in the same event at the 2012 London Games and has earned two World Championships medals since then (silver in 2014, bronze in 2015).