Stories of UGA’s Olympic Athletes on Display at UGA Special Collections Libraries

Submitted by Camie on

Celebrate the Olympic glory of University of Georgia Athletics this fall by visiting a new exhibit on display at the UGA Special Collections Libraries.

The exhibit Bulldog Olympians takes viewers through decades of the international competition, which has hosted more than 200 UGA athletes competing for Team USA or their home countries. The display includes original Olympic artifacts and rarely seen photographs of Georgia's Olympians, including a look behind the scenes from retired swimming and diving coach Jack Bauerle, who served as an Olympic coach for the 2020 Tokyo Games.A graphic of a series of images of a man running and jumping over a hurdle

"UGA has sent so many outstanding athletes to the Olympic games. This exhibit is a celebration of their accomplishments and the outstanding way that they've represented the University on the world stage," said Jason Hasty, UGA Athletics archivist for the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, who curated the exhibit in collaboration with Bauerle and John Frierson of UGA Sports Communications.

Among the 45 individual medalists from UGA, the exhibit features triple jumper Keturah Orji, shot put medalist Reese Hoffa, basketball player and four-time Olympic gold medalist Teresa Edwards, and gold medal basketball player Vern Fleming.

Bulldog Olympians will be on display in the building’s Rotunda from August 30 until the end of the year. Hasty will give free tours of the exhibit at 3 pm on Fridays before home football games (Sept. 6, Oct. 5, Oct. 11, Nov. 15, and Nov. 22).

Galleries are open to visitors for free at the UGA Special Collections Building from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, with extended evening hours until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For more information or to schedule a tour, visit libs.uga.edu/scl.