This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Rio de Janeiro – The Pac-12 alumni's performances in track and field got even better late Thursday. In fairly quick succession, Oregon product Ashton Easton completed his decathlon victory, USC's Dalilah Muhammad won the women's 400-meter hurdles and then Andre De Grasse, who competed for the Trojans in 2015, finished second to Usain Bolt in the 200 meters. Those three medals brought the total to 44 for Pac-12 athletes and alumni. As a country, the conference remains tied for fourth place in the medal count. And now the Pac-12 is sure to top its 45 medals from London in 2012, just via the USA water polo and men's basketball teams. Former University of Utah star Andrew Bogut also can contribute to the Pac-12's medal haunt, if he can help Australia produce its first medal in men's basketball. The Boomers will meet Serbia in the Friday's semifinals at 4 p.m. MDT. A medal for Bogut would be a breakthrough for the Utes as well. As best I can determine, Blaine Lindgren's silver medal in track and field in 1964 is the most recent medal for any of the school's former athletes in the Olympics. Kathy Kreiner won a gold medal in skiing for Canada in 1976, and later enrolled at Utah and joined the ski team, so she's in a different category. – Kurt Kragthorpe