Updated Aug. 22.
Seven members of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team that competed in the Rio Olympics are Eagle Scouts, the National Eagle Scout Association has confirmed.
Before they wore red, white and blue uniforms for Team USA, these men — two swimmers, a race walker, a marathoner, a triathlete, a rower and a beach volleyball player — wore the red, white and blue Eagle Scout badge on their Scout uniforms.
They’re living proof that a young person has time for success in Scouting and in sports.
Here’s how they performed in the Olympic Games.
Casey Patterson, Beach Volleyball
To read our interview with Casey Patterson, click here.
Date of birth: April 20, 1980
Eagle Scout earned: Sept. 25, 1997
Hometown: Newbury Park, Calif.
Olympics experience: First Olympics
Results: Patterson and teammate Jake Gibb were eliminated from competition after finishing opening-round play with one win and two losses.
- Aug. 6: Beat Qatar, 21-16, 21-16. Watch here.
- Aug. 8: Lost to Austria, 18-21, 18-21. Watch here.
- Aug. 10: Lost to Spain, 19-21, 21-16, 7-15. Watch here.
Ryan Held, Swimming: 4×100 Freestyle Relay
To read our interview with Ryan Held, click here.
Date of birth: June 27, 1995
Eagle Scout earned: Dec. 16, 2010
Hometown: Springfield, Ill.
Olympics experience: First Olympics
Results: Held won gold in the 4×100 freestyle relay! Read more here.
Sean Ryan, Swimming: 10K Open Water
Date of birth: Aug. 13, 1992
Eagle Scout earned: July 19, 2010
Hometown: Chattanooga, Tenn.
Olympics experience: First Olympics
Results: Sean Ryan finished 14th with a time of 1 hour, 53 minutes, 15 seconds. See more here.
John Nunn, Track and Field: 50K Race Walk
To read our interview with John Nunn, click here.
Date of birth: Feb. 3, 1978
Eagle Scout earned: Aug. 12, 1992
Hometown: San Diego
Olympics experience: Third Olympics (2004, 2012)
Results: Nunn finished 42nd, race walking 50 kilometers in 4 hours, 16 minutes, 12 seconds. The gold medalist finished in 3 hours, 40 minutes, 58 seconds.
Greg Billington, Triathlon
To read our interview with Greg Billington, click here.
Date of birth: May 30, 1989
Eagle Scout earned: June 2, 2007
Hometown: Spokane, Wash.
Olympics experience: First Olympics
Results: Billington finished 37th, with a time of 1 hour, 52 minutes, 4 seconds. He was about 7 minutes behind the gold medalist.
Jared Ward, Marathon
To read our interview with Jared Ward, click here.
Date of birth: Sept. 9, 1988
Eagle Scout earned: Sept. 28, 2006
Hometown: Kaysville, Utah
Olympics experience: First Olympics
Results: Ward finished 6th, with a time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 30 seconds.
Great comments from Eagle Scout @jwardy21 after his 6th place finish in the marathon. pic.twitter.com/HQnSEkf93v
— Bryan on Scouting (@bryanonscouting) August 21, 2016
Rob Munn, Eight-man Rowing
Date of birth: July 26, 1990
Eagle Scout earned: Sept. 17, 2008
Hometown: Redmond, Wash.
Olympics experience: First Olympics
Results:
- Aug. 8: The United States men’s coxed eight finished second in its heat, losing to Germany.
- Aug. 11: The men won the repêchage, which gives teams get a second shot at the finals! They took first place, beating the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland and Italy.
- Aug. 13: Munn and Team USA finished fourth in the finals — just out of the medals.
Thanks to NESA’s Ryan Larson for doing the research that powered this post. He gets a gold medal.
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