Cal men's rowing continued its storied tradition of success at the Olympics, as the Golden Bears were heavily represented this year in Rio with a total of five rowers from five different nations. Olivier Siegelaar, a 2013 Cal graduate, provided the highlight with a bronze medal in the eight for the Netherlands.

This marked Siegelaar's third consecutive Olympic Games after competing with the Dutch in Beijing in 2008 and in London in 2012. While narrowly missing out on a medal in Beijing and London, the former All-Pac-10 selection and IRA national champion was able to capitalize with his teammates in 2016.  A mechanical engineering major at Cal, Siegelaar is the recipient of a Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship and will pursue his MBA at Oxford University.

Siegelaar was not the only Golden Bear with prior Olympic experience in Rio as 2010 graduate Will Dean competed for Canada in the men's quadruple sculls event. Dean was coming off two gold medals in the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto but had a frustrating regatta in Rio to finish eighth overall. He and Team Canada improved upon their performance from four years ago after a ninth-place result in London.

In competition for Team USA was another 2010 graduate, Nareg Guregian. Advancing through the repechage, he earned a spot in the B final in the men's pair, where he and partner Anders Weiss were fifth. Guregian has built himself an impressive international resume as he has a pair of second-place finishes in the World Rowing U23 championships and two first-place finishes in World Cup competition.

Another successful Bear that rowed on the world's stage this summer was 2008 graduate Marko Marjanovic, who has been a member of the Serbian National team since 2002. The first-time Olympian competed in the men's double sculls event, placing 10th overall.

Junior Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk, the lone current member of the Golden Bear squad to compete in Rio, rowed in the single scull for Poland. The 2016 Pac-12 Men's Rower of the Year went out a winner in his final race, capturing the seventh in B final in 6:47.95.  It was an incredible result for such a young rower in what is known as the Blue Ribbon event for rowing at the Olympics.

Cal's history at the Olympic Games dates back to 1928 when the first of three Cal boats won the gold medal in the men's eight under legendary coach Ky Ebright. The Bears also brought home gold in 1932 and 1948. In more recent times, Cal individuals have earned six medals since 2000, including gold by Jake Wetzel in the Canadian eight (2008) and Pete Cipollone in the USA eight (2004).  Cal rowers have definitely made their presence known at this summer's Games and contributed to our long-standing tradition of world-class rowing at Cal.