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Irish in the Olympics weekend roundup: Gold and bronze

By Greg Hadley

Aug 13, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Team USA celebrates winning gold after women
Aug 13, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Team USA celebrates winning gold after women /
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Notre Dame claimed its first gold medal of the 2016 Olympics this weekend, as rower Amanda Polk took part in the women’s eight race and crushed the field for Team USA.

Polk, who was a four-time All-American when she rowed for Notre Dame, was entering her first Games after serving as alternate in London. But all the same, she and her American teammates were considered heavy favorites in their event, where the U.S. had 10 straight Olympic and World Championships entering Rio.

And the USA team did not disappoint, crushing its opponents by a massive margin after previously rolling to a big win in the prelims.

Related Story: Irish in the Olympics Day 4: Polk rows in preliminaries

Polk’s gold is the first for a Notre Dame alum in rowing. All told, the Irish now have 11 former athletes with gold medals.

Meanwhile, another Irish gold medalist, fencer Mariel Zagunis, entered Friday with the opportunity to claim her first hardware of these games in the women’s team sabre competition. After her elimination in the individual competition, Zagunis rallied to lead her squad to a bronze medal. In doing so, she became the first U.S. fencer to medal in three Olympics.

With her four medals, Zagunis is now tied with track runner Alex Wilson as the most decorated Olympian in Notre Dame history.

Apr 4, 2015; Stanford, CA, USA; Margaret Bamgbose runs the anchor leg on the Notre Dame womens 4 x 400m relay that won in 3:35.17 in the 2015 Stanford Invitational at Cobb Track & Angell Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2015; Stanford, CA, USA; Margaret Bamgbose runs the anchor leg on the Notre Dame womens 4 x 400m relay that won in 3:35.17 in the 2015 Stanford Invitational at Cobb Track & Angell Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Also in action Saturday and Sunday, sprinter Margaret Bamgbose competed in the 400-meter sprint for her home country of Nigeria. Bamgbose, who collected 11 All-American scrolls while at Notre Dame, advanced out of the preliminary round Saturday with a time of 51.43 seconds.

On Sunday, Bamgbose raced in the semifinals and posted a time of 51.92 seconds, which was not enough to secure her a spot in the final.

Former Irish volleyball great Angie Akers also saw her Games come to a close this weekend. Akers, an assistant coach for the Netherlands women’s beach volleyball team, had one pair of athletes in the knockout round of the tournament, but they fell, 2 sets to 1, in the round of 16 on Saturday.

In women’s basketball, Natalie Achonwa had a starring role for team Canada, but her squad dropped its final game of pool play to Spain, 73-60. Achonwa finished with eight points and seven rebounds in fewer than 14 minutes of action. Despite the loss, Canada advanced to the quarterfinals to face France.

Next: Irish in the Olympics: Molly Huddle sets American record

Over on the men’s side, Notre Dame alum and U.S. assistant coach Monty Williams watched from the sidelines as his squad continued its stretch of unexpectedly tight games. The Americans edged France in the final game of group play, 100-97, and is still awaiting confirmation of who its quarterfinal opponent will be.

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