Six former Nittany Lion athletes won medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games – four gold, one silver, one bronze – while two coaches with Penn State ties led their respective teams to a silver and bronze medal (coaches are not awarded medals). The six Olympic medals are the second-highest total in Penn State history behind the eight medal-winning performances in the 2016 Rio Games.
The six medals earned in the Tokyo Games bring Penn State's all-time total to 43 medals won – nine gold, 11 silver, 23 bronze. The four gold medals earned are the most in a single Olympics in Penn State history.
David Taylor became the first Penn State wrestler to win a gold medal and first Nittany Lion wrestler to earn a medal since Katsutoshi Naito won bronze for Japan in the 1924 Olympics. Taylor topped Iran's Hassan Yazdani in the 86 kg gold medal match. Trailing 3-2 with time running out, Taylor moved through a strong double that led to a takedown to take a 4-3 lead with 10 seconds remaining. Taylor advanced to the gold medal match by winning his first three matches at 86 kg, all by technical superiority. The four-time All-American, two-time NCAA champion downed Ali Shabanou of Belarus 11-0 in the opening round, took down San Marino's Myles Amine, 12-2, before toppling India's Deepak Punia in the semifinals 10-0.
Micha Hancock and Haleigh Washington guided the United States to their first Olympic gold medal with a 3-0 victory over Brazil. The United States earned its sixth Olympic medal in dominating fashion, going 7-1 with sweeps in the quarterfinal, semifinal and championship rounds. Hancock and Washington are the fourth and fifth women's volleyball alums to earn an Olympic medal, joining Christa Harmotto Dietzen (2012 silver, 2016 bronze), Megan Hodge Easy (2012 silver) and Alisha Glass Childress (2016 bronze).
Washington tallied five kills, three blocks and one dig in the sweep over Brazil that secured the gold medal. For the tournament, she totaled 42 kills, 20 blocks, four aces and 18 digs. She ranked sixth among all players in total blocks at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Hancock came up big to ensure Team USA reached the gold medal match. She entered at setter part way through the second set with her team trailing 1-0 to a tough Italy team and led USA to a 3-2 win in the final match of pool play. She then started the quarterfinal match against Dominican Republic and guided the team to a 3-0 sweep.
Erin McLeod captured her second Olympic medal in Toyko, winning a gold medal as Canada topped Sweden in penalty kicks. McLeod, alongside Carmelina Moscato, became the first Nittany Lions women's soccer players to earn an Olympic medal, winning bronze at the London Olympics in 2012. McLeod is a three-time Olympian for the Canadian National Team (Beijing - 2008, London - 2012, Toyko - 2020). She has also appeared for Canada in four FIFA Women's World Cups and has won six Concacaf medals. She has made 118 career appearances with the Canadian national team, making 117 starts in her career and tallying 49 clean sheets.
Joe Kovacs earned his second silver medal in shot put in Toyko with a second-place finish for Team USA. Kovacs jumped up the leaderboards in the medal round, recording a mark of mark of 22.65 meters (74-3.75) on his fourth throw. Teammate Ryan Crouser won gold in the event, setting an Olympic record with his throw of 23.30 meters. He is the first track & field Penn Stater to earn medals in consecutive Olympics and is the first to have multiple career medals since Henry (Barney) Ewell won three medals (gold, 2 silver) in the 1948 Olympics.
Alyssa Naeher helped the United States to a bronze medal in soccer. She started five of six matches for Team USA before being injured in the semifinal round against eventual gold medalist Canada. Naeher had a heroic effort in the quarterfinal match against the Netherlands, saving three penalty kicks. Her first PK save came in the 80th minute with the match tied at 2-2. In the PK shootout, Naeher saved the first and fourth shot attempts by the Netherlands as the United States advanced with a 4-2 win in penalty kicks.
On the coaching front, men's basketball alumnus Tom Hovasse guided the Japanese women's basketball team to its first Olympic medal with a silver medal performance. The Japanese fell to seven-time defending Olympic champion Team USA in the gold medal game, but the host team walked away with the silver medal to earn its highest finish in Olympic history. Hovasse guided Japan to a storybook Olympic games as the Japanese entered the Tokyo Games ranked 10th in the world. Japan defeated France and Belgium in the semifinals and quarterfinals, respectively, and France and Nigeria in group play. Hovasse served as an assistant coach for Japan during the 2016 Rio Games.
Penn State women's soccer head coach Erica Dambach served as an assistant coach for the United States, helping the squad to a bronze medal finish. She also served as an assistant coach in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing when the U.S. captured the gold.
Women's gymnastics alumna Ellen Casey served as the team physician for the United States women's gymnastics team, which won a silver medal in team competition and five individual medals.
Five of the seven Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members who competed in the Toyko Games took home medals - David Taylor (gold), Kyle Snyder (silver), Thomas Gilman (bronze), Helen Maroulis (bronze) and Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (bronze). Penn State wrestling coaches Cael Sanderson (Snyder), Casey Cunningham (Taylor) and Cody Sanderson (Gilman) all served as personal coaches in Tokyo.
For exclusive content and information on Penn State's Olympians, visit GoPSUsports.com's Olympics website.
Penn State's Tokyo 2020 Olympians
| Graduation Year or | |||
| Name | Sport | Country | Last Year of Competition |
| Matt Anderson | Men's Volleyball | USA | 2008 |
| Kayla Canett-Oca | Rugby | USA | 2019 |
| Ellen Casey (team physician) | Women's Gymnastics | USA | 2000 |
| Gabe Castano | Swimming | Mexico | Current Student-Athlete |
| Casey Cunningham (personal coach) | Wrestling | USA | Current Assistant Coach |
| Erica Dambach (asst. coach) | Women's Soccer | USA | Current Head Coach |
| Micha Hancock | Women's Volleyball | USA | 2015 |
| Mohamed Hassan | Men's Fencing | Egypt | 2019 |
| Max Holt | Men's Volleyball | USA | 2009 |
| Tom Hovasse (head coach) | Women's Basketball | Japan | 1989 |
| Joe Kovacs | Track & Field | USA | 2012 |
| Andrew Mackiewicz | Men's Fencing | USA | 2018 |
| Erin McLeod | Women's Soccer | Canada | 2005 |
| Dane Miller (coach) | Track & Field | American Samoa | 2007 |
| Alyssa Naeher | Women's Soccer | USA | 2009 |
| Melissa Rodriguez | Swimming | Mexico | 2016 |
| Shane Ryan | Swimming | Ireland | 2015 |
| Cael Sanderson (personal coach) | Wrestling | USA | Current Head Coach |
| Cody Sanderson (personal coach) | Wrestling | USA | Current Assistant Coach |
| Michael Shuey | Track & Field | USA | 2017 |
| Kaito Streets | Men's Fencing | Japan | 2016 |
| David Taylor | Wrestling | USA | 2017 |
| Haleigh Washington | Women's Volleyball | USA | 2018 |
| Nittany Lion Wrestling Club Members | |||
| Bekzod Abdurakhmonov | Wrestling | Uzbekistan | |
| Thomas Gilman | Wrestling | USA | |
| Franklin Gomez | Wrestling | Puerto Rico | |
| Helen Maroulis | Wrestling | USA | |
| Kyle Snyder | Wrestling | USA | |
| Jane Valencia | Wrestling | Mexico |