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Cougars in the Games

Bryan Clay   |   Vivian Chukwuemeka   |   Julie Ertel  |   Innocent Egbunike

Bryan Clay ’03

Height: 5’10”
Age: 28
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii
Event: Decathlon

  • 2008 Olympic gold medalist
  • 2004 Olympic silver medalist
  • 2005 world champion
  • 3-Time U.S. champion
  • Personal best 8,832 points at 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials

Bryan graduated from APU in 2003 with a Bachelor of Social Work degree. The following year, he won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, achieving the fourth best score in Olympic Games history. In 2007, he launched the Bryan Clay Foundation, which provides academic and athletic scholarships to underprivileged student athletes.

This summer in Beijing, Bryan won his first gold medal, earning the title of world’s greatest athlete. Bryan is the 10th American to win the gold in the decathlon and the 1st since 1996.

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Vivian Chukwuemeka ’06

Height: 5’11”
Age: 33
Hometown: Ekpoma, Nigeria
Event: Shot Put and Discus

  • Holds the African shot put record (60’5”)
  • Silver medalist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
  • Ranked number 1 in the 2008 African Championships

Vivian graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work in 2006. As the most honored female thrower in the history of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, Vivian still holds the NAIA record in discus (186’9”) and indoor (59’2”) and outdoor (59’7 ½”) shot put. She is a three-time All-African shot put champion.

When she’s not training and competing, Vivian uses her social work degree to help at-risk teenagers. This summer in Beijing, she competed in the shot put, but did not proceed to the final round. It was her first Olympic appearance.

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Julie Ertel ’99

Height: 5’8”
Age: 36
Hometown: Irvine, California
Event:Triathlon

  • Gold medalist at the 2007 Pan American Games
  • 2007 USAT Elite National Champion
  • Won the five-race USAT Haul to the Great Wall series in 2007

Julie earned her M.Ed. in Physical Education in 1999. The following year, she won a silver medal as a member of the U.S. women’s Olympic water polo team at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. Eight years later, she returned to the Olympic stage in Beijing. This time, she competed in the triathlon, placing 19th.

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Innocent Egbunike ’86, ’93

Country: Nigeria
Head Coach: 2008 Olympic Nigerian Track and Field Team

  • Bronze medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics
  • Ranked fifth in the 400 meter at the 1988 Seoul Olympics
  • Silver medalist at the 1987 IAAF World Championships

Innocent graduated in 1986 with a B.A. in Communications, and in 1993 with an M.Ed. in Physical Education. Before attending Azusa Pacific, he participated as a teenager in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Between 1980-92, he competed in four consecutive Olympic Games. In 2008, he made his fifth Olympic appearance, this time as head coach of the Nigerian track and field team, leading his country to two bronze medals.

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