Sean McLelland was a member of the United States International Skeet Shooting team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. McLelland put on a great performance at the Olympics, falling just one target shy of advancing to the finals.
McLelland finished his Olympic competition by hitting 118 of 125 targets during the five round prelims, which tied him for sixth place with six other shooters. In the shoot-off to determine which of those seven shooters would get the final spot in the six-person final, McLelland missed one of two targets on the first attempt and finished 11th out of 41 shooters in the competition.
McLelland opened up the event by hitting scores of 24, 23 and 23 on day one, which tied him for 10th place. He was a perfect 25-of-25 in the fourth round before finishing with another 23.
McLelland's final score of 118 after the prelims was better than 13 players above him in the world rankings, including five players in the Top 10. McLelland, who was ranked 41st in the world rankings before the Olympics, tied his best score in an international competition and had his best individual finish.
McLelland is the top shooter to come out of Lindenwood's clay target shooting team, which is the top collegiate program in the country. McLelland was a member of Lindenwood's ACUI Collegiate National Championship teams in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and he had top-five individual finishes all three years.
Donald Thomas, who has one of the most unique starts to his sport, competed for the Bahamas in the high jump competition at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In the 2008 Olympic preliminary round, Thomas passed on the first height and cleared 2.15m and 2.20m on his first try. However, he missed all three attempts at 2.25m and finished tied for 21st in the competition.
In the 2012 Olympic preliminary round, Thomas cleared the opening height of 2.16m. He passed the second height and then missed all three attempts at 2.26m. Thomas finished in a tie for 27th.
Thomas had his best Olympic showing in 2016. He reached the finals and cleared 2.29m, which was good for seventh-place.
Thomas competed in the 2008 Olympics less than three years after trying the high jump on a dare at Lindenwood. Thomas was a JV basketball player who was challenged by a member of the track and field team that he could not clear 6'6" in the high mark. He attempted the high jump and cleared seven feet.
Two days later, wearing sneakers and gym shorts, Thomas was a member of the Lions track and field team and he shattered a 13-year old meet record at Eastern Illinois. Less than two months after taking up the sport, he finished second at the NAIA National Indoor Championship and helped the Lions win the national title.
After graduating in 2006 from Lindenwood, Thomas used his final year of eligibility at Auburn, where he won a national championship at the 2007 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships.
That fall, he made his mark nationally by winning the World Championship in Japan. Thomas was one of three athletes to clear 2.35m (7-8.25) at the event, but the only one to do so on his first attempt. He then won the gold medal after all three competitors failed to clear 2.37m.
Reem Abdalazem competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic games as a member of the Egypt synchronized swimming team. The 2012 Games in London, England was the first time she participated in the Olympics while being a Lindenwood student-athletes.
In 2011, Abdalazem finished first in Egypt's Olympic Team Trials and she was the leader of the Egypt team which won the African Championship.
At the London Olympics, Egypt scored a 77.600 in the Technical Team event and then scored a 78.360 in the Free Finals. Those scores helped Egypt finish seventh out of eight teams, making the first time over the last four Olympic Games that the African champion did not finish last.
Egypt's improvement since 2008 was noted on the NBC telecast of the event and analyst Heather Olson singled out Abdalazem and her participation on Lindenwood's team.
Prior to participating in the Olympic games in 2012, Abdalazem led Lindenwood to a third-place showing at the collegiate nationals for synchronized swimming. She earned a bronze in the duet event at nationals, and placed fourth in the solo and team competitions.
Fernando Reis competed in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He represented Brazil in the 105kg Olympic Weightlifting competition.
In the London Olympics, Reis finished 12th out of 19 lifters. He recorded a mark of 180kg in the snatch and a 220kg mark in the clean and jerk.
In his home country in 2016, he placed fifth in the 105kg class. He had a mark of 435 kg in his two lifts.
Prior to the Olympics, Reis won a gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games and a silver medal at the 2010 South American Games. At Lindenwood, he was the 2010 and 2011 National Collegiate Champion and helped the Lindenwood program have immediate success as a collegiate program.
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Mary Killman competed in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England prior to coming to Lindenwood. The synchronized swimmer from the United States competed in the women's duet competition and came in 11th with partner Mariya Koroleva. She was a captain on the 2013-14 Lady Lions team which won the U.S. Collegiate Championships.
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Irene Montruchhio of Spain competed in the team synchronized swimming event at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. She helped the Spanish team record a score of 193.120 and earn a bronze medal at the Olympic Games. She joined the Lindenwood synchronized swimming program in 2013-14 and helped the Lady Lions capture the U.S. Collegiate Championships in her first season.
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Morgan Craft was a participant in the Olympic skeet shooting competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She represented the United States at the Brazil Olympics.
In the qualifications, she hit 69 of 75 targets, and she advanced to the semifinals after winning the shootout. In the semifinals, Craft hit 14 of 16 shots, which tied for third. She advanced to another shootoff for the bronze medal, and finished the competition in fifth place.
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Fabian Florant competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. He was a competitor in the triple jump for the Netherlands.
At the Olympics, Florant had a mark of 16.51m in his first jump, and then fouled in his final two attempts. He finished 22nd in the preliminary round of his event.
Florant competed for Lindenwood from 2002 to 2004 and was a four-time All-American and two-time national champion. In 2003, he swept the NAIA National Championships in the triple jump by winning both the indoor and outdoor titles. He finished second in the 2004 NAIA indoor triple jump competition and earned outdoor All-American honors that year in the long jump. He won four HAAC triple jump championships. Florant was the only individual national champion on Lindenwood's 2003 men's outdoor national championship squad.
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Nicole Hensley won the gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics with Team USA in PyeongChang, South Korea. Hensley earned two gold medals prior to the 2018 Winter Olympics, as she won gold with the U.S. Women's National Team at the 2016 and 2017 IIHF Women's World Championships. The Green Mountain product made 16 saves in a shutout of Team Russia during the 2016 tournament, while earning three victories and two shutouts in the 2017 tournament.
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In the spring of 2018, Hensley was honored by the St. Louis Blues in recognition of Team USA earning the first gold medal in women's hockey since 1998. Hensley inked a contract a few months later to compete with the Buffalo Beauts in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). Hensley was selected to compete in the NWHL All-Star game in 2019, and was named the fastest goaltender at the skills competition.
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With the Lions, Hensley was a four-time all-CHA goaltender and was named CHA Goalie of the Week on nine different occasions throughout her career. The Lakewood, Colo. native is the NCAA all-time leader in saves with 4,094, and holds many Lindenwood records including most wins with 30. Hensley got the job done in the classroom as well, earning CoSIDA Academic All-American recognition three times, while being a four-time CHA Student Athlete of the Year. The three-time winner of the Colorado Sportswomen of the Year award was inducted into the Colorado Sportswomen of the Year Hall of Fame for her outstanding achievements on and off the ice.
