Our Olympic History

1885

One year prior to the staging of the first modern Olympic Games, the NYAC defeats the supposedly invincible London AC in all 11 events at a dual track and field meet in New York. Among the stars of the show is Bernie Wefers who wins the 100 yards and is dubbed the “world’s fastest human.”

1896

The 100m at the first modern Olympic Games is won by NYAC member, Thomas Burke. Burke was a resident of Boston and also competed for the celebrated Boston Athletic Association.

1900

Ray Ewry claims his first Olympic gold medal. Between 1900 and 1908, Ewry wins 10 gold medals in four Olympic Games (1900 in Paris, 1904 in St. Louis, 1906 at the Intercalated Games in Athens, and in 1908 in London.

1912

The ship carrying the US team to the Stockholm Olympic Games is chartered by NYAC President, Colonel Robert M. Thompson. Club Olympians repaid Thompson by taking 15 gold medals, including the hammer throw, won by the legendary Matt McGrath.

1924

Jackson Scholz, later immortalized in the movie Chariots of Fire, wins the gold medal in the 200m at the Olympic Games in Paris. Tennis gold medals are won by Vinnie Richards in singles and Richards and Frank Hunter in doubles.

1948

At the “austerity” Olympic Games in London – the first Olympic Games after World War II – the US Basketball team, with Ray Lumpp among its members, wins the gold medal. Lumpp goes on to become Athletic Director of the NYAC. Also competing at those games were subsequent club members, Herb Douglas (bronze medal in the long jump) and Wanja Illic (fifth in the 4x200 freestyle relay competing for Yugoslavia).

1952

At the Olympic Games in Helsinki – Lindy Remigino, Charlie Moore and Horace Ashenfelter win gold medals in the 100m, 400m hurdles and 3000m steeplechase respectively. Ashenfelter’s time of 8:45.4 is a new world record.

1956

NYAC Member, Al Oerter, begins to carve his legendary status by claiming the first of his four Olympic gold medals in the discuss throw. Oerter also wins that event in 1960, 1964 and 1968, becoming the first man in history to win the same event at four consecutive Olympic Games.

1983

Eamonn Coghlan, the NYAC celebrated Irish miler, claims the 5000m gold medal at the inaugural World Track and Field Championships in Helsinki Finland. Earlier that year, Coghlan had become the first man in history to run a sub 3:50 mile indoors. In 1994, Coghlan became the first man in history over the age of 40 to run a sub-four minute mile. He was 41.

1984

Bruce Baumgartner takes a wrestling gold medal in the super heavyweight division at the Los Angles Olympic Games, the first of four medals Baumgartner will win in four Olympic Games. He was subsequently names the greatest US wrestler of the 20^th Century and in 2008, was inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame.

1992

At the Barcelona Olympic Games, Jason Morris takes the silver medal in the 81kg division.

1996

Lance Deal wins a hammer throw silver medal with his last attempt and Jimmy Pedro wins a judo bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games. In 1999, Pedro becomes world judo champion, before adding a second Olympic bronze in 2004. He goes on to become one of the greatest coaches in US Judo history.

2004

NYAC members claim 11 medals at the Olympic Games in Athens, an excellent return from the disappointment of having won no medals in Sydney in 2000.

2008

The NYAC wins 16 meals at the Beijing Olympic Games, among them a judo bronze by Ronda Rousey, who goes on to become a mixed martial arts icon and Hollywood film star.

2012

The NYAC wins 17 Olympic medals at the London Games, its highest tally since the Stockholm Games of 1912. Kayla Harrison becomes the first American in history – male or female – to win an Olympic judo gold medal, a feat she repeats in 2016, having overcome a potentially career-ending knee injury. Harrison follows Ronda Rousey into the world of mixed martial arts.

2014

Meb Keflezighi wins the 118^th Boston Marathon, becoming the first American male winner since 1983. His victory is especially meaningful, coming one year after the Boston Marathon bombing. In 2004, Meb had won an Olympic marathon Silver medal and in 2009, had won the New York City marathon.

2016

The NYAC wins 23 medals (21 of them being Gold) at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, exceeding the tally from London. In addition, Mikey Brannigan becomes the first NYAC gold medalist at the Paralympic Games, winning the T20 1500m.

2020

Delayed for one year due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, nonetheless, continued the NYAC's tradition of success at the highest level of competition. NYAC athletes claimed 20 Olympic and three Paralympic medals, highlighted by Valarie Allman's gold in the women's discus, the dominance of the US women's water polo team - with nine NYAC players on the roster - and Tatyana McFadden's full set of Paralympic medals, gold, silver and bronze. 

2024

By most measures, these were the NYAC's most successful Games in history, with Club athletes securing 30 Olympic and six Paralympic medals. One would have to look back to the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis to find a comparable medal haul, though many sports in those Games were more inter-club than international. Highlights in Paris were Valarie Allman's second consecutive discus gold, Kate Douglass' four medals in the swimming pool (two gold, two silver), and the golden couple, Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall, who both struck gold, Tara in the Olympic long jump and Hunter in the Paralympics T62 400m.