These Great Athletes Didn’t Star at Princeton

Some Tigers have competed outside of the sports represented by the University’s 38 varsity teams

Two women play table tennis.

Ariel Hsing ’17

Princeton Athletics

Hope Perry
By Hope Perry ’24

Published Dec. 12, 2024

8 min read

Following in the footsteps of mountaineer, adventurer, and Olympic rifleman William Libbey 1877, there are Princetonians who have competed on the world stage outside of the sports represented by Princeton’s 38 varsity teams. Here are some of the elite competitors who excelled in other athletic events. 

Find PAW’s list of the 25 greatest Princeton athletes here.

John Allis ’65
cycling
A three-time Olympian (1964, 1968, 1972), Allis competed in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo as an undergraduate. He was inducted into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1993. At Princeton, he helped launch the cycling club.

Karen Smyers ’83
triathlon
Smyers is the 1995 Ironman world champion and a hall of fame triathlete who also won silver medals at the 1994 and 1999 Ironman World Championships. She was a swimmer during her time at Princeton.

Joey Cheek ’11
speed skating
A three-time Olympic medalist in speed skating (bronze in 2002, gold and silver in 2006), Cheek retired from the sport before enrolling at Princeton. He was elected to carry the U.S. flag at the 2006 Winter Olympics closing ceremonies and donated his bonus for winning gold to a humanitarian organization.

Ariel Hsing ’17
table tennis
A table tennis prodigy, Hsing became the youngest-ever U.S. national champion in 2010, at age 15, repeating her wins in 2011 and 2013. At the 2012 Olympics, Hsing was defeated by the eventual gold medalist.

Erica Wu ’18
table tennis
Wu was the women’s doubles U.S. national champion in 2011 and 2012 and won bronze on the U.S. team at the 2011 Pan American Games. Wu competed at the 2012 Olympics with fellow Princetonian Ariel Hsing ’17.

Declan Farmer ’20
sled hockey
Born without legs, Farmer is a three-time Paralympic gold medalist hockey player for Team USA (2014, 2018, and 2022). He has also medaled seven times at the World Championships, earning four golds (2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023) and three silvers (2013, 2017, and 2024). At Princeton, he was able to secure ice time at Hobey Baker Rink to train for the 2018 Paralympic Games while enrolled in classes.

Chloe Kim flying up high on her snowboard.

Chloe Kim ’23

Princeton Athletics

Chloe Kim ’23
snowboarding
Widely considered to be the one of the greatest female snowboarders in history, Kim was admitted to Princeton and attended for a year before leaving to train for the 2022 Olympics. Kim hasn’t graduated from Princeton, but we’d be remiss not to include the two-time reigning halfpipe gold medalist. She was the youngest woman ever to win gold in the event, at age 17.

Brad Snyder GS
swimming and triathlon
A Navy veteran, Snyder lost his eyesight in an IED attack in Afghanistan. He began swimming as part of his rehabilitation process and earned a spot on the U.S. Paralympic Team. He competed in the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games as a swimmer and in 2021 as a triathlete, winning a total of six gold medals and two silvers, and breaking a world record.


The 25 Greatest Athletes in Princeton History

1 Response

Paul Deforest Hicks Jr. ’58

1 Week Ago

A Princetonian’s Contributions to Platform Tennis

From the Platform Tennis Hall of Fame biography for Paul DeForest Hicks 1926 (1903-1977):

“Hicks started playing platform tennis at the Manursing Island Club in Rye back in the 1930s and in 1940 he captured the APTA National Men’s doubles title with Witherbee Black. He had been featured in a 1940 Life Magazine article of the game that had been arranged for by Ken Ward. The photographs for the article were by the noted Albanian-American photographer Gjon Mili who was a pioneer in the use of stroboscopic instruments to capture a sequence of actions in one image.

“Hicks died suddenly at his home in Rye, NY, on September 24, 1977. The 74-year old insurance executive, a paddle pioneer, was a member of the Class of 1926 at Princeton and had enjoyed many tennis triumphs. He captained his college team in his senior year when his doubles partner was sophomore John Van Ryn (’28). Van Ryn gained later fame on the courts by winning both the Wimbledon and U.S. Open doubles championship with Wilmer Allison.”

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