Three Alumnae Are Representing the USA at Olympics
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – When the 31st Olympiad opens on August 5 in Rio de Janeiro, three Middlebury alumnae will be among the athletes representing the United States of America.
Lea Davison ’05 and Megan Guarnier ’07 will compete in women’s cycling, and Sarah Groff True ’04 will compete in the triathlon.
Lea Davison, 33, from Jericho, Vt., will race for Team USA in mountain biking on Saturday, August 20, at Deodoro Pentathlon Park. A 2012 Olympian who finished in 11th place at the London Games, Davison has participated in seven mountain-biking world championships, including a 3rd-place finish in 2014 and a 10th-place finish last year.
A three-year member of the Alpine skiing team at Middlebury, Davison majored in environmental studies. Together with her sister Sabra ’07, the two Mount Mansfield Union High School graduates co-founded Little Bellas – a nonprofit, mountain-bike mentoring program for girls.
Editor’s note: Lea Davison finished 7th out of 29 bicyclists in her event on August 20.
Megan Guarnier, 31, from Glens Falls, N.Y., will vie for an Olympic medal in women’s cycling on Rio’s 85-mile road course on Sunday, August 7. She qualified for Team USA by winning the bronze medal at the 2015 UCI Road World Championship last fall. It capped off a remarkable year for Guarnier, who finished third overall in the Tour d’Italy and won the Ladies Tour of Norway. Earlier this year she won the gold medal at the Tour d’Italy.
A neuroscience major at Middlebury, Guarnier graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Editor’s note: Megan Guarnier finished 11th out of 68 riders in her race on August 7.
Sarah Groff True, 34, from Hanover, N.H., will compete in the women’s triathlon on Saturday, August 20, at Copacabana Beach. True finished fourth at the 2012 Olympics – just 10 seconds behind the bronze medal winner – and she ended the 2015 World Triathlon Series season ranked third in the world. The Olympic triathlon consists of a 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike ride, and 10 km run.
As a varsity swimmer at Middlebury, True won the 2004 NESCAC 1,650-meter freestyle (17:37.12) and was a member of the 2004 800-meter freestyle relay team that took third place (7:42.31) at the NCAA championships. True majored in conservation biology and studio art, and graduated cum laude. Her husband, Ben True, just missed qualifying for the Olympics when he finished fifth in the 5,000-meter run at last month’s trials.
Editor’s note: Sarah True competed in the triathlon and was listed as LAP with no time recorded.
Throughout its history, Middlebury College has produced approximately 30 Olympians – the vast majority of whom competed in Alpine or Nordic skiing at the Winter Olympics. The Department of Athletics has compiled a list of Middlebury Olympians.