Once their collegiate careers conclude, most UW athletes move on to lives that do not revolve around constant training and high-level competition. There are a select few, however, who move on to professional and even Olympic competition.
These are just a few of the stories of former Wisconsin athletes who spent their summers competing at the Olympics in Beijing, China
Matt Tegenkamp, Track & Field
As a freshman at the University of Wisconsin in 2001, Matt Tegenkamp began to realize his dream of becoming an Olympic runner.
Well, dreams can come true.
After three years of grueling training, the man known as Tegs"" swapped out the Cardinal and White Wisconsin jersey for one of Red, White and Blue, representing the United States in the XXIX Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Tegenkamp, with a time of 13:33.13 in the final, finished as the 13th fastest runner in the world at 5,000 meters. Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele took the gold medal with an Olympic record-breaking 12:57.82 mark in the final.
""I just didn't have it. It was a slow first mile, and then they started going. At the mile we were seven seconds off 12:55 pace, but he still ran 12:57
