Olympics

Retro Mason: Muzzio places fifth at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992

Colleen Rich — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 17:32:21 +0000

Retro Mason: Muzzio places fifth at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992 Colleen Rich Mon, 08/05/2024 - 13:32

Muzzio Places Fifth at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992

��AV alumnus and former track star Rob Muzzio, BS ’87, finished fifth in the decathlon competition during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Although he didn’t bring home a medal, Muzzio told the Washington Post that he performed a “personal best” in the second day of the 10-event decathlon, moving from 20th place the first day to fifth place finish overall. Muzzio won the pole vault portion of the competition.

In addition to Muzzio, who was representing the United States, nine George Mason athletes qualified to represent their native countries in 1992: heptathlete and long jumper Diane Guntrie and sprinters Anthony Wallace and Patrick O’Connor of Jamaica; pole-vaulter Istvan Bagyula of Hungary; middle-distance runner Abdi Bile of Somalia; sprinters John Myles-Mills, Eric Akogyiram, and Tim Hesse of Ghana; and long-distance runner Stephan Franke of Germany.

Barcelona was the second time Bile, who was the 1987 world champion in 1,500 meters, carried Somalia’s flag in the opening ceremonies. His first time was when he competed in 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Information provided by Fall 1992 Inside Patriot Circles alumni newsletter.

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Patriot Pop Quiz: Olympic basketball

Lauren Reuscher — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 16:22:29 +0000

Patriot Pop Quiz: Olympic basketball Lauren Reuscher Thu, 08/01/2024 - 12:22

Think you know a lot about ��AV? Let’s find out if we can stump you with this Patriot Pop Quiz.

Question:

Who was the first George Mason men’s basketball player to participate in the Olympics?

Illustration by Getty

Answer: Tony Skinn, BA Communication '06, head coach for George Mason men’s basketball.

Tony Skinn, now the head coach for George Mason men's basketball, played in the London 2012 Olympics for the Nigerian team. Photo by Alamy

In 2012, Skinn was a member of the Nigerian national team that qualified for the Olympics in London. At the games, Skinn and Nigeria won their first Olympic preliminary round game, defeating Tunisia, 60–56, before finishing 10th in the tournament. Read a Q&A with Skinn leading up to his time at the Olympics.

At George Mason, Skinn was a starter on the 2006 George Mason Final Four team and one of the best all-around guards in program history. He returned to his alma mater as head coach in 2023.

"It's a good feeling because you represent more than just basketball," Skinn said of playing at the Olympics in 2012. "Our team gave millions of people a chance to root for something." Photo by Alamy

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Olympics

Mason alum Mike Seium played a key role for Team Eritrea at Beijing Winter Olympic Games

Colleen Rich — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 15:51:47 +0000

Mason alum Mike Seium played a key role for Team Eritrea at Beijing Winter Olympic Games Colleen Rich Thu, 03/03/2022 - 10:51

In This Story

Craig R. Esherick

Photo provided

A ��AV graduate played a key role in the best-ever Olympic Alpine finish by an African skier during the recently completed Beijing Winter Olympic Games in China.

Mike Seium, who received a master’s degree in sport and recreation studies from Mason in 2018, served as the chef de mission for Team Eritrea and successfully helped orchestrate the rare African presence in Olympic Alpine skiing.

Shannon Abeda, Eritrea’s first Winter Olympian, finished 39th in the giant slalom, the best finish ever by an African skier. And he has Seium, a former Division II soccer player whose family hails from Eritrea, to largely thank for making sure the rest of the world knew about it.

Photo provided

“It’s been a very rewarding ride,” Seium said. “It was an incredible experience. Being able to share those stories of Black athletes means a lot to me because I was a Black athlete. For me, it was a great experience.”

Seium and the rest of Team Eritrea arrived in China on Feb. 1 and stayed for 18 days, the duration of the games. As the chef de mission, Seium was responsible for all five people on Team Eritrea, including the team’s COVID-19 officer, during the games. His primary job, however, was to connect with the media to see to it that Abeda’s powerful story of overcoming injuries and battling the long odds of competing in a sport long dominated by richer and whiter countries was heard.

That wasn’t a problem for Seium, a former sports journalist for Al Jazeera who is no stranger to major international sports events. It wasn’t long before Seium had secured interviews with Abeda with the Associated Press, Reuters, CNN Africa, CNN International, Chinese TV and the Olympic Channel, among other media outlets.

Seium credited his degree and experiences from Mason as being critical to both his Olympic success and his formation of a nonprofit that seeks to better promote athletes from the entire African diaspora.

“I think that having that degree helped me to network more because Mason is known for that,” he said. “That was a big plus.”

Craig Esherick, an associate professor of sport management within the College of Education and Human Development, recalled Seium as always having had an interest in international events and developing sport in Eritrea.

“His appointment as chef de mission for the Olympic Games is a tremendous honor as well as an opportunity for him,” Esherick said.

In the meantime, Seium hopes to begin work on a PhD in sport management to better take advantage of his experiences.

“I’m not in it for the money,” he said. “I’m more into trying to help young people try to achieve success.”

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Podcast - Investigating the Olympic Spirit

khanse2 — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 20:27:54 +0000

Podcast - Investigating the Olympic Spirit khanse2 Mon, 07/27/2020 - 16:27

In This Story

John Hollis

Did you know the torch relay began at the 1936 Berlin Games? With the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics on hold, Mason Olympic scholar Chris Elzey and John Hollis examine the Games as an athletic, cultural and political event.

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