What an Olympics so far!  Today we will highlight three more former OSU Olympians: two synchronized swimmers and a rower.

Karen and Sarah Josephson, 1984-1985

Synchronized swimmers – and twin sisters – Karen and Sarah Josephson have worked together in the pool from an early age.  Karen discussed the beginning of the dynamic duo in a 1988 Lantern interview, sayng they began competing together at age six and started in the sport because there was a local team in their hometown.

According to the OSU Alumni Magazine, while at OSU in the early 1980s, Sarah and Karen earned varsity letters for four years, helped take the team to three national championships, and each received individual honors: Karen received the USSSI Collegiate Athlete of the Year, and Sarah earned the Ohio State Female Athlete of the Year.

The sisters graduated from OSU in 1985 and went on to participate in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, where they won a silver medal in duet synchronized swimming. In 1992 they returned to the Olympic Games and received four perfect 10’s to win the gold medal. Karen and Sarah were named to The Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993, with the first class of women athletes.

The Josephson sisters arose from a team that has long history of winning at The Ohio State University.  Synchronized swimming became an NCAA-sanctioned sport in 1977, according to The Lantern, but the Buckeyes can trace their history back to the 1930s. Winning more than twenty collegiate championships, the synchronized swimming team is one of the most decorated teams on campus.

Like synchronized swimmers, experienced rowers know how to mirror their teammates exactly to move flawlessly through the water. Ironically, Bryan Volpenhein did not have much experience when he took up the sport of rowing at OSU. Rusty Wilson’s book The Ohio State University At The Olympics discusses Volpenhein’s beginning in the sport as somewhat of a fluke.  Volpenhein says he saw a flyer for the OSU Crew Club, went to a meeting, liked the team and coaches, and thus began a successful career as a rower.

Bryan Volpenhein, 2004, (Photo from OSU Alumni Magazine)

In 1998, he began rowing for the United States national team, and he later participated in three Olympic Games: the 2000 Sydney Games, the 2004 Athens Games, and the 2008 Beijing Games. A member of the men’s eight, he won gold in 2004 and bronze in 2008. In 2002, (and between Olympic appearances), Volpenhein earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy.  In the fall of 2004, the OSU Crew Club named a boat after him, according to Wilson.

Sometimes called rowing and sometimes called crew, this sport has made its mark at Ohio State. The Ohio State University Crew Club was founded in 1978 and is open to both men and women. It  started with a boat and four oars borrowed from the University of Nebraska, according to its web site, and it has depended on private support to keep the club going. OSU women rowing athletes now have a varsity team sponsored by the athletic department. Over the years the athletes have competed in numerous regattas and Big Ten events.

As we continue looking back at past Golden Buckeyes throughout this week, the University is also following the current OSU Olympians.