Two Golds and a Bronze for Rutgers Olympians in Paris

Former Rutgers athletes go from Piscataway to the podium with medals during the final weekend of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Sebastian Rivera was out of it.

Time had expired in the 65kg freestyle Olympics wrestling bronze medal match. Rivera, who wrestled at Rutgers as a grad student, was losing 9-8, his dream of a medal seemingly over.

But he had a challenge left. After a video review, judges confirmed that Rivera—a Toms River, New Jersey native who represented Puerto Rico and served as the commonwealth’s flag bearer—had forced his Mongolian opponent’s knee to touch the mat in the final seconds.

He scored two points to win the bronze medal, celebrating with two flips followed by enthusiastic hugs of his coach and parents.

Rivera was joined on Sunday by Kahleah Copper, a Rutgers alumna and basketball standout in the WNBA who made crucial plays to help the U.S. women’s basketball team beat France by one point in the final game.

On Saturday, the U.S. women’s soccer team won gold, earning a medal for Rutgers alumna Casey Murphy. Denise Reddy, also a Rutgers alumna and former soccer standout, served as assistant coach for the gold-medal winning team that practiced at Rutgers in July.

Read profiles of Rivera, Copper, Murphy, Reddy, and two past Rutgers Olympians who won medals in 1964 on the Rutgers University Foundation news page.
 

WE ARE YOU is an ongoing series of stories about the people who embody Rutgers University’s unwavering commitment to academic excellence, building community, and the common good.