Purdue at the 2020 Olympics: Chukwuebuka Enekwechi Advances

Hey, that Olympics thing is going on! Purdue has quite a few athletes representing their respective countries. There are a record ten Boilers over in Tokyo, and here is how they have done so far:

Jinq En Fee - Malaysia - 100m and 200m Breaststroke - Fee did not advance beyond her heats in either event, but she maintained her Malaysian national record of 1:08.40 int he 100 meters breaststroke and finished second in her heat there. She was not listed among the final competitors in the 200.

Nikola Acin - Serbia - 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay - Serbia did not make the final in this event, but the relay team finished a respectable 10th out of 16 teams with a time of 3:13.71.

Devynne Charlton - Bahamas - 100m Hurdles - The former multi-Big Ten champion did not medal in her event, but she still proved she is one of the best in the world at what she does. She made it all the way to the Final of the 100m hurdles and placed 6th with a time of 12.74, just .19 seconds from a medal. It was the first time a woman from Purdue ran in an Olympic final.

Kara Winger - United States - Javelin - It was Kara’s fourth and perhaps final Olympics and unfortunately there will be no medal for the American record holder. She finished 17th out of 30 in qualifying with a throw of 59.71 meters overnight, which was 1.23 meters short of qualifying for the final.

Chukwuebuka Enekwechi - Nigeria - Shot Put - Big Chuk had a better night in his own throwing event. Competing in his first Olympics, Chuk had a toss of 21.16 meters to finish 7th in qualifying and advance to Thursday’s final as one of the best 12 competitors. Could he medal? Well, the United States’ Ryan Crouser had the best throw at 22.05 and third place was 21.33, so Chuk definitely has a chance.

Samson Colbrooke - Bahamas - 100m Dash - Competing in the 100 meters at the Olympics is insane. You can run a 10 second flat 100 meters and be nowhere near a medal because these dudes are really, really fast. Colebrooke ran in heat 2 and finished 7th with a time 10.33. That is insanely fast for a normal human, but not fast enough to reach the semis. Colebrooke will also soon be a guest on Jace’s podcast.

Camille Buscomb - New Zealand - 5,000m and 10,000m - Buscomb competed for Purdue back in 2010, but has long represented her home country of New Zealand. In Monday’s 5,000 meters she finished 14th out of 19 in her qualifying heat with a time of 15:24.39, missing the final. She will compete Saturday in the single race 10,000.

Annie Drews - United States - Volleyball - The U.S. women won their group with a 4-1 record, beating Argentina, China, Turkey, and Italy but falling 3-0 to the Russians in a match dominated by the Russians. They start the knockout rounds tomorrow against the Dominican Republic (who went 2-3) before facing Italy or Serbia in the semifinals. The Italy match was a tense affair won in five sets, with Drews playing a huge role.

Tyler Downs - United States - 3m Springboard - Downs technically has not competed for Purdue yet, but the 18-year-old is Purdue’s next great diver as he comes in as a freshman this fall. This was his first Olympics and he placed 23rd in the prelims with a score of 348.70, falling to advance. He only beat that David Boudia guy to qualify, who I hear is pretty good, so he has a very bright future ahead and likely more NCAA championships for Purdue, plus another chance in Paris in 2024.

Brandon Loschiavo - United States - 10m Platform - Your reigning NCAA Champion, Loschiavo begins competition on Friday in the prelims.

Best chances at a medal:

1. Drews - The Americans are definitely favored to medal, but watch out for that rematch with Italy in the Semis.
2. Loschiavo - I am sure that there is a metaphor, but Purdue is very, very good at falling from great height with style.
3. Enekwechi - He is not one of the favorites, but he is close and anything can happen.