ATTENTION: City Desks, Sports Desks

23 February 2001
Contact: Media Relations
(510) 642-3734

WHAT:
A celebration to honor the 33 athletes with University of California, Berkeley, connections who competed in the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. UC Berkeley athletes who were Olympians in previous years also will be recognized.

WHEN:
Noon - 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 26, 2001.

WHERE:
Sproul Plaza, UC Berkeley. (If it rains, the event will be in Haas Pavilion).

WHO:

Fourteen of the 33 athletes- 11 current UC Berkeley students and 22 former students - who competed in Sydney plan to attend the event. Seven former UC Berkeley students who competed in previous Olympic games will be there.

Among those athletes scheduled to be at the celebration are gold medalists Anthony Ervin and Staciana Stitts (swimming); silver medalists Ervin, Sebastian Bea (crew), Ericka Lorenz and Heather Petri (water polo); and bronze medalist Chris Huffins (decathlon).

Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl, interim athletic director Robert Driscoll and Olympic medalist Bea will speak at the event.

BACKGROUND:

This will be the first public event at UC Berkeley to honor these athletes from the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. Many of those who competed in Sydney are current UC Berkeley students who did not attend classes during fall semester. Since they missed many weeks of school that term due to the Games, the NCAA allowed them to resume their schooling instead during Spring Semester 2001.

The 33 athletes competed last summer on behalf of nine countries and captured 13 medals - four gold, eight silver and one bronze.

The university has contributed to the Olympics since 1906.