UH athletes Errol Nolan (sprinter) and Anastasia Pozdniakova (diving) alongside coaches Seun Adigun (hurdles) and Jane Figueiredo (diving coach) etched their names amongst a long line of Cougars by qualifying for the Olympics.
They will represent their respective countries at the London Games.
Nolan posted a time of 45.25 in the men’s 400-meter in the Jamaica Championship. He earned a spot on the Jamaican 4×400-meter relay team, marking his first Olympics appearance.
Adigun, the current two-time Nigerian and African 100-meter hurdles champion, qualified for the Nigerian Olympic Team, where she won after posting a time of 13.13 seconds.
Pozdniakova achieved numerous accomplishments during her time as a diver at UH. This is her second appearance in the Olympics for Russia. She won a silver medal in the 3-meter synchronized springboard with fellow Cougar Yulia Pakhalina at the Beijing Olympics.
Figueiredo, coaching in her fifth straight Olympics games, will be working closely with Pozdniakova. She is a four-time NCAA Diving Coach of the Year and competed for Portugal during the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
UH has 67 student-athletes who have competed in the Olympics representing 22 different nations. Cougars have garnered 39 medals, including 20 golds.
— Christopher Shelton
