How the seven Eagle Scouts fared at the 2016 Olympics

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

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

HometownNewbury 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

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

HometownSpringfield, Ill.

Olympics experience: First Olympics

Results: Held won gold in the 4×100 freestyle relay! Read more here.

Sean Ryan

Sean Ryan, Swimming: 10K Open Water

Date of birth: Aug. 13, 1992

Eagle Scout earned: July 19, 2010

HometownChattanooga, 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

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

HometownSan 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

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

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.

Rob Munn

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.


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.