Barney Ewell, Nick Vukmanic, and the 1940 Olympics
June 30, 2016 at 11:50 am Bill DiFilippo Leave a comment
Photo via Black History at Penn State
Our July/August 2016 issue included a big list of Penn State alums who have competed in the Olympic Games. However, it excluded a pair of Nittany Lions who earned the title of honorary Olympians in 1940.
Barney Ewell (right) and Nick Vukmanic ’40 received this honor for qualifying for the 1940 Games in Tokyo, which were canceled due to World War II. Ewell was a sprinter who eventually made it to the Olympics and did pretty well for himself – he won a gold medal in the 4×100 meter relay and silvers in the 100 and 200 meters in 1948. Vukmanic was a standout in javelin. While he never got the chance to compete at the Olympics, Vukmanic won a U.S. National Championship in the event in 1938.
Thank you to Kristy Kowalski ’92, Vukmanic’s granddaughter, for bringing the story of the two honorary Olympians to our attention.
Bill DiFilippo, online editor
Entry filed under: Athletics, From the Magazine, The Penn Stater Magazine. Tags: Barney Ewell, Nick Vukmanic, Olympics, Penn State Track and Field, World War II.
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed