PARIS – Slippery Rock University will be well-represented in the Summer Olympics over the next two weeks with former track & field standout Gary Aldrich and former basketball standout Joe Lewandowski serving as coaches for Team USA.
 
Aldrich, a 1982 Slippery Rock graduate and a 2006 inductee into the SRU Athletics Hall of Fame, will serve as the men's throws coach with the USA Track & Field Team. This marks the eighth coaching stint on the international stage and the second straight at the Olympics for Aldrich, who also coached the men's throwers in Tokyo in 2021.
 
Lewandowski, a 1999 SRU graduate, will serve as head coach of the USA Men's Basketball 3x3 team, which is making its debut Olympic appearance in Paris. Lewandowski has been coaching in the USA 3x3 program since 2014 and will be making his 18th appearance in international competition.
 
"We want to wish Gary and Joe the best of luck while representing the United States in Paris," said SRU director of athletics Roberta Page. "We're so proud of their accomplishments and thrilled to have alumni like them representing Slippery Rock on the biggest stage in sports."
 
Lewandowski will be the first of the two SRU alumni to see action in Paris when the USA Men's Basketball 3x3 team opens pool play July 30 against Serbia. The team is scheduled to play seven games in pool play between July 30 and Aug. 4 (full schedule below). The semifinals and medal rounds will be played Aug. 5.
 
The 3x3 team roster in Paris includes notable names in the basketball world with Canyon Barry, Jimmer Fredette, Kareem Maddox and Dylan Travis making up the roster.  That group, led by Lewandowski, won the 2023 Pan American Games gold medal and the 2022 FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup gold medal.

Lewandowski was named the USA Basketball 3x3 Coach of the Year earlier this year before being announced as head coach for the Olympics.
 
He earned his degree in secondary education from SRU in 1999 and was a two-year captain at The Rock, where he averaged 12.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals over 50 games. Read more about coach Lewandowski and his path to Paris HERE.
 
Aldrich, who is the head track & field coach at Carnegie Mellon University when he is not working with USATF, will see action for the first time Aug. 2 with men's throwing events scheduled for each day between Aug. 2 and Aug. 8 (full schedule below).
 
The USA Track & Field team is widely regarded as the best track & field team in the world and its throwers are led by a dynamic shot put trio of Ryan Crouser, Joe Kovacs and Payton Otterdahl. Crouser and Kovacs enter the meet ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world this year and Otterdahl is No. 5, giving the U.S. three strong medal contenders.
 
Aldrich is a former PSAC champion and SRU record holder that held the record in the discus throw for 35 years. He earned his bachelor's degree in health and physical education in 1982 and earned a Master of Science in sport and exercise, kinesiology and biomechanics from SRU in 1989. Read more about his path to Paris HERE.
 
USA MEN'S 3x3 BASKETBALL SCHEDULE (All times listed ET)
July 30 – 4:35 p.m. – Serbia
July 31 – 4:30 p.m. – Poland
Aug. 1 – 1:05 p.m. – Lithuania
Aug. 1 – 5:05 p.m. – Latvia
Aug. 2 – 12:35 p.m. – France
Aug. 2 – 4:35 p.m. – China
Aug. 4 – 1:05 p.m. – Netherlands
 
USA MEN'S THROWS SCHEDULE (All times listed ET)
August 2 – 4:10 a.m. – Hammer Throw Qualification
August 2 – 2:10 p.m. – Shot Put Qualification
August 3 – 1:35 p.m. – Shot Put Final
August 4 – 2:30 p.m. – Hammer Throw Final
August 5 – 4:10 a.m. – Discus Throw Qualification
August 6 – 4:20 a.m. – Javelin Throw Qualification  
August 7 – 2:25 p.m. – Discus Throw Final    
August 8 – 2:25 p.m. – Javelin Throw Final
 
 

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